This Month I’ve Mostly Been…(June 2025)

What a month! Myself and the family relocated from Leicestershire to Derbyshire and so as a result we had an incredibly busy time of unpacking, settling in, working in between and waiting for the internet to get plugged in! So whilst I didn’t manage much in the realm of leisure, there were still a few interesting cultural finds that grabbed my attention. As always there are some affiliate links that will bring me a bit of money if you make a purchase.

This month I’ve been reading

‘The Day of the Triffids’ by John Wyndham. This turned out not to be the book I expected it to be but was excellent all the same. I’d always been led to believe The Day of the Triffids was more of a survival horror style tale of a populace running in terror from an army of attacking plants, whilst that’s partially true it’s a lot more subtle than that. It sees the human race mysteriously blinded by a rare celestial event, save for a “lucky” few who retain their sight. This allows the mysterious “Triffids”, a genetically modified plant species, to seize their chance to multiply and begin the slow take over of the planet. I also recently read Wyndham’s “The Midwich Cuckoos’ which also contained similar themes of survival, loss of control, the disruption of human systems and constructs that we foolishly believe are infallible and bound to last forever. The really unsettling thing about the 'The Day of the Triffids’ however is it’s ability to display just how fragile we are as a race and that all that we take for granted could be changed in an instant. It also brought to mind the fantastic 'The Death of Grass’ which is also worth checking out if you like your science fiction with a dollop of plausibility.

Speaking of plausibility in fiction, I managed to find time to watch 'Flow’ on Mubi.

It’s a visually stunning, dialogue-free animated fable directed by Latvian filmmaker Gints Zilbalodis. Set in a post-human, flood-ravaged world, it follows a lonely black cat whose home is overwhelmed by rising waters. Evacuating on a makeshift boat, the cat encounters—and reluctantly joins—a group of other animals, namely a capybara, a lemur, a bird, and a dog. Along the way they attempt to overcome not only the environmental challenges put before them but also the challenge of finding unity amongst themselves after being randomly thrust together.

Like I said you can stream this one on Mubi and if you if you subscribe using this link we’ll both get 30 days free!

I also squeezed in the short documentary 'The Quilters’ on Netflix directed by Jenifer McShane it offers an intimate glimpse inside the South Central Correctional Centre in Missouri—a Level 5 maximum‑security prison . The film centres on a select group of men participating in a Restorative Justice sewing program. For around 40 hours a week, they craft personalized quilts for local foster children, including weighted quilts for kids with disabilities. It’s a beautiful and heartfelt look at remorse and the power of creativity to help make positive changes in people’s lives.

Finally this month I’ve been listening to a lot of…

'Quilted Lament’ by Claire Rousay/Gretchen Korsmo

'In Limerence’ by Jacob Alon

'Solace of the Mind’ by Amina Claudine Myers

And the triumphant return of Pulp!

Thanks for checking in, see you next month for more things that have piqued my interest.