Derfel Cadarn

Reminds me of my OST training (was a special for 8 years); we were told that if we had to hit/baton strike someone, use full force. Whacking someone with pulled blows 15 times until it has an effect looks really dodgy to witnesses/cameras. Never hit anyone or had to draw my baton/cs spray in anger in those 8 years.

Recently got the VR Aim gun and the twin stick controllers for my PS4 as well as some new games. Air Combat 7's VR mode is great fun, albeit felt a bit queasy doing rolls while dogfighting. Still to play Resident Evil 7 beyond a 5 minute experiment; not a very relaxing game even without VR goggles. Blood and Truth is also very good with the sticks, though its easier to reload with the normal PS4 controller letting my strut around with a sawn-off shotgun in each hand. Wit the sticks, I need to manually grab ammo off my belt and put into the gun making dual wielding impractical in protracted firefights. Skyrim's graphics are kind of blurry, but probably a trade-off of having such a big world on VR. Great shooting fire from my left hand while waving my sword around in my right. Still to try the Star Trek VR game with the stick controllers. Farpoint is awesome with the gun. Shitting myself firing everywhere while giant spiders leap at my face. VR aside, I've also returned to Lego Dimensions. It's great loading any characters into any level mode, i.e playing the Goonies with the Doctor (Who), Superman, and Michael Knight helping Sloth and Chunk. No kryptonite in the game so Supreman is invulnerable to harm. The Doctor Who pack is good; once the mission is completed, you can go into the TARDIS and regenerate the Capaldi Doctor to any prior Doctor (including the War Doctor). When you put the Doctor with the Doc from Back to the Future, he makes a snide comment that "You may a doctor, however I am the doctor. The definivite articule one might say." And when you put the Doctor into the DeLorean, he makes a comment abut how he's be halfway across time and space by the time it got up to 88kph. The Capaldi Dr has new dialogue recorded; the other Doctors just have a line or two from previous episodes. Bart Simpson has no dialogue which is a disappointment. Batman does make a Bartman comment when they're together.

As Ants to the Gods, an alternate history novel by Alex Burcher comes out on kindle tomorrow, and paperback in August. It essentially explores what would have happened if the Moors in 711 CE had defeated the Franks at Tour. https://elsewhen.press/index.php/catalogue/title/as-ants-to-the-gods/ It's published by Elsewhen Press, an independent publisher. The link has links to the usual ebook vendors plus more info. My own 3rd published novel, Lord of the Hunt (Sooty Feathers #2) came out as paperback last week, available direct from the publisher's site (or Amazon UK). Postage is a bit costly, though. As it's through Amazon marketplace, Amazon basically make up an estimated arrival date of approx. 3 weeks or more, but the books always arrive much sooner, usually about a week.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/coronavirus/mps-renew-calls-for-virtual-parliament-to-return-as-alok-sharma-is-tested-for-coronavirus/ar-BB14ZOX7?ocid=spartandhp No sooner are MPs forced back to parliament than one member takes ill. Rees-Mogg's responsible, and all so Johnson has a mob of braying donkeys behind him to cheer whatever nonsense he comes out with.

History of Violence is very good.

Yes. Season 3 was nuts.

Voyager follow-up episodes were usually bad. The Kes one was horrible as you say and ruined thw character. Didn’t she evolve? The end as such an anticlimax- BSG was a masterpiece in comparison. Voyager should have explored how the characters coped with being back home. They should have returned home when DS9 ended

Yes you did, Brett. Yes you did... You claimed some years ago that fears of British culture being lost was why some people voted for Brexit. And failed, over the years, to back this up.

You for one

It is the reality. You’ve provided nothing to counter it. Years ago you made a claim that it was due to fears of British culture being lost, but never backed up exactly what parts of British culture were at risk

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52865206 In Flint, Michigen, the sheriff seems to have handled things much better (scroll down)

My fantasy, Thorns of a Black Rose, published last year, just got a review on the British Fantasy Society site http://www.britishfantasysociety.org/reviews/thorns-of-a-black-rose-by-david-craig-review/

What’s interesting is, I believe in his ‘statement’ his answer to the accusation that he breached rules he had helped write was that he hadn’t written the lockdown rules, and wasn’t in favour of it (if I’m remembering correctly?) Woulsnt surprise me, he strikes me as the sort happy to sacrifice lives. Not sure why someone didnt press him on did he believe the PM was wrong to lockdown the country. Make him either defend or publicly disagree with Johnson.

Rewatching Peaky Blinders. A great show I never watched, for some reason, until a couple kf years ago

Not so many years ago, there wasn’t a massive difference between labour (bit left of centre) and the Tories (bit right of centre) for a time. Obviously no longer. My issue with Hancock’s announcement is they would have left the fines as is, but are effecticely binning them based purely on one of their own being caught breaking that restriction.