Chris
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staggerlee42.bsky.social
Chris
@staggerlee42.bsky.social
Love cinema, literature, music and art. Write occasionally about cinema. Married with two kids. Originally from Greater Manchester/Cheshire. Now based in Northern Ireland. Teacher of History and Politics. Degree, PGCE and MA Ed from University of Durham.
Pinned
Very funny. Very sad. Very angry. Classic Radu Jude ❤️❤️❤️❤️ #FilmSky

boxd.it/d4Ctj3
A ★★★★ review of Kontinental '25 (2025)
There are some lines and cameos in this that are amongst Jude’s best creations - the aphorism spouting delivery driver; the taciturn, frustrated (but weirdly confident) priest; the kindly pal who wish...
boxd.it
Very sad to hear that Lazy Claire’s on the Castlereagh rd is closing at the end of the month. We started going not long after opening and Daniel and his staff really did bring the best patisserie in the North to our fair manor. They will be missed x
February 13, 2026 at 11:13 PM
Reposted by Chris
Wouldn’t quite say it’s a masterpiece but Carnival of Souls (Harvey, 1962) is terrific. Candace Hilligloss is superb as the enigmatic and remote lead, and the cinematography is ace
February 13, 2026 at 11:04 PM
Reposted by Chris
“THE DEVILS” (1971) dir. Ken Russell

Oliver Reed, Vanessa Redgrave, Murray Melvin, Gemma Jones

🎬 Warner Bros.
February 13, 2026 at 8:54 PM
3 episodes done of How to Get to Heaven From Belfast and really like it. Very funny and a reasonably engaging, weird mystery element. A lot darker than Derry Girls. Great cast and they mostly avoid Irish cliches…
February 13, 2026 at 7:47 PM
February 13, 2026 at 5:58 PM
Love this film. It’s not quite as good as ‘All That Jazz’ but it’s still a good ‘un…
***ANNOUNCEMENT***

Coming on May 26th on #4K and Blu-ray in the US from @criterion.bsky.social: #Lenny (1974)!

Director Bob Fosse’s nervy, freewheeling showbiz drama tells the real-life story of taboo-shattering comedian Lenny Bruce, the counterculture prophet whose unfiltered style opened up new
February 13, 2026 at 5:03 PM
Think we are doing Wuthering Heights on Sunday morning. I must be one of the few who laughed a lot during Saltburn and enjoyed it so, so I go in with an open mind (not least because po-faced period pieces often make my teeth itch)…
February 13, 2026 at 5:01 PM
MrsL is in Coleraine. I am home with the kids. The boyo just asked for a movie marathon and takeaway.
Who am I to refuse? 🤣😎❤️
February 13, 2026 at 3:25 PM
Describing Bertrand Russell’s ‘Principa Mathematica’,

‘after 379 pages, Russell &his co-author Alfred North Whitehead were able to prove that 1+1 =2 (‘the above proposition is occasionally useful’, read the wry comment accompanying their proof).’
🤣🤣 #BookSky💙📚
February 13, 2026 at 1:33 PM
Reposted by Chris
Does anyone have any top tips for Copenhagen when it's minus 10 degrees, Tivoli Gardens is shut, the harbour is frozen and doesn't involve spending £500 to eat microherbs? I normally plan trips much better than this but I feel we're totally winging this one without much thought.
February 13, 2026 at 12:54 PM
Last four on @letterboxd.social
#LastFourFriday #FilmSky
A mixed bag… 🤣❤️
February 13, 2026 at 10:39 AM
Reposted by Chris
A court has ruled that the government's authoritarian ban on Palestine Action was unlawful.

Time to stop criminalising the people protesting a genocide - and start ending the UK's complicity.
February 13, 2026 at 10:22 AM
Reposted by Chris
Silent Hill is getting closer and closer to Larne
Very much here for Silent Hill: Townfall.
February 13, 2026 at 9:13 AM
I got this as a consequence of reading Benjamin Labatut’s extraordinary book ‘The MANIAC’. I wanted to know how much was true within the fictional version of Johnny Von Neumann’s life.
Turns out, there was a LOT of truth (so far)… #BookSky💙📚
After 4 Muriel Spark novels and one novella on the bounce, I am switching back to non-fiction… #nowreading #BookSky💙📚
February 13, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Chris
From the archive for Georges Simenon, #BornOnThisDay in 1903, thoughts on his excellent psychological novella THE VENICE TRAIN (tr. Ros Schwartz).

What to do when a stranger on a train asks you to drop off a briefcase at a nearby address? Run away! 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2023/07/20/t...
The Venice Train by Georges Simenon (tr. Ros Schwartz)
I love stories featuring trains, mostly because the settings offer so many possibilities for interesting fiction, from chance encounters and illicit affairs to good old-fashioned murder mysteries. …
jacquiwine.wordpress.com
February 13, 2026 at 8:46 AM
Reposted by Chris
Berlin world premiere of The Story of Documentary Film today.
February 13, 2026 at 8:56 AM
After 4 Muriel Spark novels and one novella on the bounce, I am switching back to non-fiction… #nowreading #BookSky💙📚
February 12, 2026 at 10:58 PM
Reposted by Chris
Just going to leave this here
February 12, 2026 at 6:54 PM
#nowreading #BookSky💙📚
Muriel Spark’s novella ‘The Go-Away Bird’.
February 12, 2026 at 8:07 PM
Reposted by Chris
The EU has just voted, by a VERY wide margin, for the full recognition of trans women as women…!
February 12, 2026 at 4:06 PM
app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/08a5...
Fourth Muriel Spark book in a row. Not quite as good as the previous ones that I have read but still, plenty to chew over… #BookSky💙📚
Review by chris_leathley - Aiding and Abetting
A bit messy, a bit chaotic and a little overstuffed with characters who sometimes remain curio...
app.thestorygraph.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:51 PM
Reposted by Chris
This talk for @niscifest.bsky.social about homosexuality & psychiatry is now sold out (!) but I will be talking with @williamcrawley.bsky.social about the topic on tomorrow's Talkback on BBC Radio Ulster (at about 12:40pm) - www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/...
February 12, 2026 at 6:17 PM
Reposted by Chris
Hoping to brighten up your Saturday with some sleazy house, D&B, funky beats, a dedication for my girls, and an unintentional wet set to finish. I'd love you to join me, and as always, the catch up link will follow early next week 💘
www.lovewillsavetheday.fm
February 12, 2026 at 5:55 PM
Reposted by Chris
New on the blog today for #ReadIndies, I've written about some of my favourite books from NYRB Classics.

Featuring books by Elizabeth Taylor, Barbara Comyns, J. L. Carr and more! @nyrb-imprints.bsky.social #BookSky 💙📚 #TranslationThurs

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/02/12/s...
Some of My Favourite Books from NYRB Classics
One of the most interesting literary trends in recent years has been the success of various imprints specialising in reissues – lesser-known or neglected books given a new lease of life by publishe…
jacquiwine.wordpress.com
February 12, 2026 at 7:21 AM