Lists

As is traditional on the last day of the year – well it is on these pages anyway – here’s a couple of end-of-year lists.


Top Ten Films Seen At The Cinema This Year

Zone Of Interest
All Of Us Strangers
The Substance
Grand Theft Hamlet
Io Capitano
There’s Still Tomorrow
The Holdovers
The Beast
A Different Man
Anora

(Honourable mentions to Love Lies Bleeding, Small Things Like These, The Persian Version, Perfect Days, Kinds Of Kindness, La Chimera, Emilia Perez)


Top Ten Vinyl Albums Bought This Year

Adrianne Lenker – Bright Future
The Innocence Mission – Midnight Swimmers
Kim Deal – Nobody Loves You More
Dana Gavanski – Late Slap
Godspeed You! Black Emperor – No Title As Of 13 February 2024 28,340 Dead
Moin – You Never End
Saint Etienne – The Night
ML Buch – Suntub
Andrew Wasylyk & Tommy Perman – Ash Grey And The Gull Glides On
Yard Act – Where’s My Utopia?

(Honourable mention to albums from Floating Points, Kim Gordon, Mo Dotti, Pye Corner Audio)



It’s been a pretty full year culture-wise with plenty of art and theatre and whatnot to go with the films and music, not to mention a lot of reading. I also made it down to London for a few days for the first time since pre-pandemic and loved it so much that I immediately booked to go again a few months later. Plus I took a fortnight off from work during the Edinburgh Fringe and had a blast. In fact, if I had to pick one thing from this year, one thing that completely blew me away, one thing that I was absolutely wowed by, it would be Natalie Palamides’ show ‘WEER’ at The Traverse back in August. Whoever knew that me and physical clowning would be such a match?

Away from the culture there’s been some travel...basically to Spain (holidays to the mainland, Balearics, Canaries), the aforementioned London weekends, Hull trips to see my folks, a lovely Northumberland weekend with friends, and plenty of visits to Glasgow. And that Glasgow element is probably the biggest thing that’s happened for us as a family all year, with both our girls now living and studying there, leaving us in Edinburgh child-free. They've finally gone! It still feels a bit weird without them at times but, as I mentioned, I’ve seen more of Glasgow in the last year than I have in the last twenty.

OK, at work, this week's overnighter, it will be next year when I get to leave in the morning. 2025 - bring it on.


Summat From My Album Of The Year