My Cultural Life - Human Interference

What's Up?

Post-viral fatigue, that's what's up. When I first heard about it, I was sceptical, but considering I was suffering from it that scepticism didn't last long. PVF can affect anyone, not just people with underlying health conditions, and the worst things about it are the fact it can last considerably longer than the influenza that caused it and there's also the general feeling of hopelessness it gives you.

I have been 'ill' since October 11th, when I said to the wife I thought I was coming down with a cold. By the 13th it was clear it wasn't a cold because whenever I get one my appetite increases; this time I went off food very quickly and I felt about 100 times worse than any cold virus I'd ever had. I had the flu once before, the year I started going out with the wife, so about 43 years ago and it floored me for two weeks. This time it lasted just as long, but my compromised immune system meant I was probably a prime candidate for PVF and trust me when I say that having fatigue when you have COPD is possibly one of the worst combinations you could possibly imagine.

One of the biggest problems with PVF is the general attitude of others; there's that borderline disbelief you get and as someone who has suffered with back problems for most of my adult life, having something you can't see rarely gets any sympathy from anyone (apart from people in a similar boat). What has made it worse is that I'm 64 and have had a piss poor year of health already, probably as a result of a sleep disorder that is only now coming to light. It looks like I have something called tachypnoea, which is related to sleep apnoea, and it means I have spent months of 2026 not getting good sleep, because of breathing problems. This compromised an already struggling immune system and led to a number of problems and infections throughout the year that were treated independently of the root problem.

So, I was already borderline exhausted before I got PVF and I have mentioned at different times over the last few years that I have an anxiety problem and these have simply exacerbated this. Ordinarily, 2026 would have ranked as a brilliant year - good weather, positive things happening and lots of things achieved, however the health issues have meant there have been times when death seemed a preferable option than trying to get through the shit that every day seemed to bring. There is no cure for PVF apart from time and gradually trying to push myself to getting back to normal. Even if the sleep issues are solved, there's no guarantee the PVF will disappear - it can take a year to go away, which fills me with all kinds of dread. I've also lost almost 20lbs since the start of October, losing weight this way is not a good thing.

There have also been a couple of other things which just feel like there's been a conspiracy of bad luck plaguing me. For the first time since I've lived in Scotland, I didn't get a flu jab when it was due - no reason for this has been given, but I get it at the end of the this month. The same with COVID - I've had my vaccine every year since 2020, but not this year - it's like I disappeared off the NHS Scotland database, despite being high risk and the recipient of countless vaccines in previous years. 

The wife has been an absolute trooper, but she has her work and life that I do not like impinging on and can't expect her to be able to be there for me all the time. It's been tough month and it's scary to think it might last a lot longer...

Monty Python's The Thing

We went into Zach Creggar's Resident Evil with limited expectations. It has a good IMDB rating and several reputable review pages rate it very highly. I know very little about the video game and have seen the original Resident Evil movie, but a long time ago and can only remember the laser room sequence and nothing else (apart from the awful Milla Jovovich and her quite useless director husband, who seems to love making bad films based on video games). What we got was a movie that started off quite serious and quickly descended into a comedy horror; one which wasn't exactly funny, but was slightly amusing. It is essentially a riff on John Carpenter's The Thing and while that isn't a bad thing, it's also lacking in originality. The thing [ahem] is, while I don't rate this as high as IMDB, it wasn't that bad; the main protagonist - Austin Abrams - does a good job of replicating what your average Joe would do when faced with this kind of madness and there's some nice nods to first person shooters and the special effects are considerably better than many recent films. I was a little disappointed by the ending, it either sets it up for a sequel (let's hope not) or ends on a note you didn't want. 7/10

Eva Loves Her Meat

Mentioned last week, we've been filling in the gaps in our viewing by watching - on iPlayer - Eva Longoria - Searching for [insert country here] and these are companion shows to the original Stanley Tucci - Searching For Italy, which oozes class, while Ms Longoria's seem like an ode to meat. As vegetarians, this puts most everything grown in the ground as a long distant cameo. Eva is an amiable host who throws herself into her job with gusto, but unlike Stanley Tucci's show, which is like a fine wine, this is more like a Hen Night with emphasis on getting as much cheap booze into your 40 minutes as possible. It's a little like they felt they had to cram in too much rather than appreciating what they had in front of them. Next up is France and the prospect of Eva trying even more cuts of meat and different mammals over a grill...

The Stark Film

Iron Man 3 might have more Iron Men than you can shake a stick at, but it is essentially a Tony Stark movie. I've never been a fan of this third outing for Marvel's #1 hero, but if you overlook the slightly naff story and some dodgy dialogue, it isn't as bad as you might think. Shane Black isn't a good director, he makes some crap features, but this almost works despite it feeling like a poor idea executed badly. RDJ, as usual, is great as the pompous and irreverent Tony Stark, while Gwyneth Paltrow is finally given a more substantive role as Pepper Potts, even if it's a little cheesy towards the end. Essentially it's the story of a nerd turned psycho - Guy Pierce - who hatches a number of plans to elevate himself into the upper echelons Stark's world. I've always had a problem with Ben Kingsley's Trevor Slattery and this debut for him makes most of his other appearances all the more problematic. The film however feels at times like it doesn't know what it wants to be. 7/10 

The Black Godfather

Based on a true story, American Gangster is long, very dark (in film quality as well as subject matter) and not at all riveting. Denzel Washington plays the eloquent drug dealer surpassing all his rivals, as he brings heroin in from the Far East and cuts out the middle man. Russell Crowe plays the cop charged with stopping him and it felt like it could have done with being a lot shorter. It's a Ridley Scott movie, so there is an element of quality about it, I just struggled to stay invested in it. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as everyone seems to think - IMHO. 6/10

Top of the World

I like a good biopic and Tenzing is a bloody excellent one. Telling the life story of Tenzing Norgay, the Tibetan/Nepalese sherpa turned mountain climber, who along with Edmund Hillary were the first people to ever climb Mount Everest, on May 29, 1953 (which was my Dad's 23rd birthday). It starts off rather dourly, with a very antiseptic look at Tenzing's early years and his brief meeting with Mallory, who was the inspiration for many to try and tackle Chomolungma. Starring Genden Phuntsok as Tenzing and Tom Hiddlestone as Hillary, it tells the story of their friendship and the drive to be the first to achieve something special. It is a gobsmacking movie, with awesome special effects and will leave you gasping for breath at the scale of their achievement. It really is an adaptation that leaves you breathless... 9/10

Something Happens

Oh FFS, there I was thinking we'd have the final two parts of VisionQuest and the thing would be over and done with, especially as we've had two episodes a week for the last three weeks. But no, we just had the one and while it was actually the most entertaining so far, it was also still just a confusing mess of trying to tie everything Vision together while adding to an already crowded and difficult to follow storyline. It really isn't helped by the introduction of a bunch of new characters - some necessary to the Vision's origin, to be fair, but others just not needed at this late stage. 

Xtra Extra

QI XL is back and now it's up to X we're probably homing in on the final few series, which isn't a bad thing really as, like other shows, this is probably beginning to outlive its welcome. The opener featured Sheila Hancock, who is 93, didn't really understand the show, made some points that probably most viewers have thought over the last 20 years and, of course, won it, even if she didn't - the audience did. Gyles Brandreth was a guest, which is always as painful as having Rosie Jones on it and where once there was guffaws galore, this felt a little restrained and safe.

My Hero

About seven years ago, I wouldn't have known who Kevin Sinfield was if he'd bitten me on the arse. I wasn't a fan of rugby league, I knew nothing about the Leeds Rhinos captain and the only person I'd ever heard of who had Motor Neurone Disease was Stephen Hawking. Then some bloke called Rob Burrows was diagnosed with MND and it became a news story; Sinfield's mate and fellow Leeds player was in his 30s, he had a young family and was unlikely to live very long. MND was something no one talked about despite it being a cruel, vicious disease. Gradually over the space of a few years, as Burrows' health deteriorated there was more about Kev Sinfield on TV. Why? Because he was fundraising for the disease and bringing it into the spotlight. The more I saw, the more I was drawn to this man and his efforts to do whatever he could to make money to research a treatment. His love for his friend was staggering - he'd run marathon after marathon; campaign tirelessly and be there, with his team of athletes bringing Rob Burrows plight to the nation.

About a year before Rob died, I saw Kev do something that choked me up. As he was completing another fundraising marathon, he stopped, picked his friend up and carried him over the finishing line, in his arms; the sentimental old fool I was becoming just welled up and blubbed at this and when Rob died, this guy who I never knew and had no idea existed suddenly became this extremely important person, but it was his friend Kevin Sinfield that really had a profound effect on me. I remember talking with my lost friend George about what a fucking hero Sinfield was and every time I heard about Kev doing something else, it filled me with some weird sense of pride and love - this was one of the most selfless and wonderful people to have ever walked this earth. He got knighted this year for his work for MND - amongst other things - and to echo Prince William, I don't think there has ever been anyone who deserved this accolade more. I watched the tribute - available on iPlayer - to him and spent about 25 of the 28 minutes trying to stop myself from bursting into tears. Sir Kevin Sinfield is a genuine hero, someone I believe shows the rest of us what is possible. Thank You, Sir Kev is a fabulous tribute to a fantastic man, who makes being a hero look easy. You should watch it, with many tissues...

Black Ball

Biopics seem to be the way forward with some of our viewing. Our second of the week was again an excellent story, albeit a little homogenised. 42 is the story of Jacky Robinson, major league baseball's first professional black player, at a time when discrimination was still as ubiquitous as a sunrise. Chadwick Boseman played Robinson and was excellent, but a special mention needs to go to Harrison Ford, who played Branch Rickey - the owner of the New York Dodgers - who decided it was time for black ballplayers to step into the big (white) leagues. usually Ford just plays himself, but here he had to act and he was excellent as the man who made this film possible. The thing that let this down was while the N word was used in abundance, it was devoid of bad language, sex and violence, which I expect was prevalent at the time. It did a good job of reminding us what a vile hateful racist country the USA is, but that there are many people who don't see colour, but human beings. It was an excellent film. 8/10

Hope Poo

The thing about the Korean film Hope (Hopeu) is that it's a bit like watching a monster movie crossed with Laurel and Hardy. The opening hour is pretty relentless, although the monster isn't seen for half of it, just the destruction it leaves in its wake. The acting is pretty indicative of what you'd expect if your crummy little seaside town was invaded by something unknown and destructive, but the interactions between the locals makes it tough viewing. This is an alien invasion movie and apparently the aliens were played by actors including Michael Fassbinder and Alicia Vikander, but were they? I mean, you have no way of knowing and they don't speak English. The thing is once you get past the first hour it slows right down for almost an hour before livening up in the last 45 minutes. It is, as stated, relentless, the special effects are pretty good, but it's simply not a good film. 5/10

Rock Stars My Arse 

Part one of Rise of the Rock Star Chef is all about Marco Pierre White, with added bits from Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal. White is an arsehole; a self absorbed, egotistical wanker who is still so hoisted by his own petard that you have to wonder why, because he's fat, going bald and looks like he's on his last legs. This was about his rise from working for the Roux brothers to opening Harveys in Wandsworth and establishing himself as the bad boy of British cuisine. He's an absolute cock. Oddly enough, I expected Ramsay to be the one who comes across as a complete turd, but so far he's been quite self-effacing. The few snippets of Blumenthal we see suggest a man in a worse state - healthwise - than White. It's fascinating viewing and we're doing it the old fashioned way - watching it weekly rather than in one go from iPlayer. I'm hoping that at some point Ramsay kicks White up the arse. 

The Future is Unknown...

We have reached a point in our TV watching lives where we think we might be out of step with the rest of the world. I have noticed over the last few months that television has been drastically outweighed by films and many of those films are second and third viewings. New is not a mark of good for us any longer. New television is proving to be a constant disappointment and I did a wee bit of research and now that there's two months left of 2026, our new movie consumption has dropped by a third - we have literally watched far less in 2026 which could be called 'new' than in 2025 or 2024. However, our new TV is even worse, almost 50% fewer shows than in 2025.

Obviously, the Guardian plays a part in this - as loathe as I am to ever watch anything the newspaper recommends, sometimes it seems to agree with other critics and reviewers, so in the case of Yaga we thought we should give it a try - a high IMDB rating and a four star Guardian review must be something, surely? Except, we got through the first episode and found it to be overly poor. Bad acting, dislikeable characters, a slightly preposterous story and the promise of something supernatural all wrapped up in a shit Canadian production. Just what aren't we seeing? Is TV now so driven by Gen Z and Millennials that anyone over 50 is going to find anything new difficult to like?

We decided to start watching a TV show we had been recommended as long as 18 months ago and given how much we liked the film it was based on, The Gentlemen seemed like a no-brainer. I quite enjoyed it, but I found it annoying, probably because Theo James's character was so forgiving, when he should have been far harder, especially towards his brother. The wife, however, wasn't quite as charitable... She's struggling far more with 'new' TV than I am and I find her a useful yardstick - if she doesn't like something, I probably won't either and this extension of Guy Ritchie's 2019 film felt a little cheap and slightly tawdry and while I will be happy to watch a couple more, that depends on the other half, because I watch very little on my own now.

Watching new drama is fraught with failure and don't get me started on the 40 odd movies that inhabit the aforementioned Mystery Stick and the set top box's hard drive. We look at them almost every night and rarely watch any of them, because when we do we know we're scraping a barrel we scraped a long time ago. While I was ill, we watched fewer TV shows and films than normal and now I'm getting my shit back to normal, we're having the same thing happen, which makes writing this blog more difficult. I'm seriously reaching a point where I'm wondering if the future of this is to retire gracefully and find something else to write about...

What's Up Next?

I'm hoping for a vast improvement in my day-to-day health, to enable me to return to something like a semblance of normality. TV and film will still be there, but I expect the next four weeks are going to be tough, because I have to do things that I can't avoid.

Next week I have a quiz night - the last social evening I had before the flu was the last quiz night - so whatever happens, next week's blog will be shorter than usual. As ever, it will be what it will be...