My Top Thirteen 1992

1. Richard Marx - Hazard - 05-1992
2. Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness - 06-1992
3. Jimmy Nail - Ain't No Doubt - 07-1992
4. Sophie B. Hawkins - Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover - 07-1992
5. Guns N' Roses - November Rain - 02-1992
6. Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe - Barcelona - 08-1992
7. Mr. Big - To Be With You - 03-1992
8. Bon Jovi - Keep The Faith - 10-1992
9. Def Leppard - Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad - 09-1992
10. Kiss - God Gave Rock And Roll To You II - 01-1992
11. Right Said Fred - Deeply Dippy - 03-1992
12. Shakespeare's Sister - Stay - 01-1992
13. R.E.M. - Man On The Moon - 12-1992


Bryan Adams - All I Want Is You - 07-1992
Michael Ball - One Step Out Of Time - 05-1992
Nick Berry - Heartbeat - 06-1992
Michael Bolton - To Love Somebody - 11-1992
Mariah Carey - I'll Be There - 06-1992
Cher - Oh No Not My Baby - 11-1992
Joe Cocker - All I Know (Feels Like Forever) - 03-1992
Crowded House - Weather With You - 03-1992
The Cure - Friday I'm In Love - 02-1992
Billy Ray Cyrus - Achy Breaky Heart - 08-1992
Deacon Blue - Your Town - 11-1992
Def Leppard - Let's Get Rocked - 03-1992
Del Amitri - Always The Last To Know - 05-1992
Celine Dion & Peabo Bryson - Beauty And The Beast - 05-1992
Genesis - I Can't Dance - 01-1992
Annie Lennox - Walking On Broken Glass - 08-1992
Brian May - Too Much Love Will Kill You - 09-1992
Metallica - Nothing Else Matters - 05-1992
Roy Orbison - I Drove All Night - 08-1992
Roy Orbison With kd lang - Crying - 08-1992
Pearl Jam - Alive - 02-1992
Cliff Richard - I Still Believe In You - 12-1992
Lionel Richie - My Destiny - 08-1992
Diana Ross - One Shining Moment - 06-1992
Bruce Springsteen - Human Touch - 03-1992
Lisa Stansfield - Someday (I'm Coming Back) - 12-1992
Take That - Could It Be Magic - 12-1992
Ugly Kid Joe - Everything About You - 05-1992
Luther Vandross & Janet Jackson - The Best Things In Life Are Free - 08-1992
Wet Wet Wet - Goodnight Girl - 01-1992
Vanessa Williams - Save The Best For Last - 03-1992

1990s Top Thirteen Movies

Following on from last week, here’s a more detailed look at my/our fave movies – all three of our kids have grown up with a glorious appreciation of movies and TV shows – when we got a copy of Scene-it the battles were hard fought, and both Jo and Steph quote lines at each other all the time – perfectly mimicking all the accents and able to remember entire scenes. And don’t get them started on Friends …

1. 10 Things I Hate About You '99
Fave scene/line: When Heath Ledger serenades Julia Stiles to Frankie Valli’s “Can’t Take my Eyes off You,” (you may know it by Andy Williams). Or when Kat (Julia S) gets Patrick out of detention by showing the PE teacher “the distraction plan.”

2. Strictly Ballroom '92
Fave scene/line: When Scott and Fran dance backstage to Doris Day’s “Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps.” Or the Paso Doble scene when the music stops and they dance just to handclaps.
Quote: Fran: “What happened to a life lived in fear and all that stuff? You really are a gutless wonder!”

3. Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves '91
Fave scene/line: “Just taking a lady’s advice,” when Robin (Kevin Costner) is bathing in a pool. Side note – we walked behind that waterfall (at the back of a pub in Yorkshire), and also found the waterfall where Robin challenges Little John (Nick Brimble) and Azim (Morgan Freeman) advises him to “move faster.”

4. Hook '91/Mrs. Doubtfire '93
Bit of a cheat here, but these both show off the fabulous talents of Robin Williams and are proper kid’s movies.
Fave scene/line: Hook – the food fight scene “You lewd, crude, rude, bag of pre-chewed food, dude!”
Mrs Doubtfire - “Stu? It’s more of a thick soup than a name.”

5. Galaxy Quest '99
Fave scene/line: “I see you managed to get your shirt off.” A fabulously cynical Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman) to Tim Allen's scene-stealing hack (Jason Nesmith) after the fight scene with the rock monster.

6. The Mummy '99
Fave scene/line: Where Evie (Rachel Weiss) gets drunk around the campfire: “I may not be an explorer or an adventurer, or a treasure-seeker or a gunfighter, Mr. O'Connell, but I am proud of what I am. I... am a librarian.”

7. The Mask of Zorro '98
Fave scene/line: Where Elena (Catherine Zeta Jones) challenges Zorro (Antonio Banderas) to a sword fight and he cuts all the ribbons so her bodice collapses. Or the Tango scene.
Don Rafael Montero: "Did you recognize Zorro?" Elena: No, but he was young and vigorous. He was very vigorous, father."

8. True Lies '94
Fave scene/line: The one where Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) rips off the frills from her dress, slicks back her hair and attempts to dance for Arnie (playing her husband). Or the Tango scene. And the quote: "Kids - ten seconds of joy, thirty years of misery."

9. Sister Act '92
Fave scene/line: When the choir first perform in the church, rocking up Hail Holy Queen, and the people walk in off the streets.
Quote: Dolores (Whoopi Goldberg) "How can you say that? I worked my butt off with these women! They've given up their free time to do this, and they're good! I mean, sister, we could, we could Rock this place!"

10. Independence Day '96/Armageddon '98
Another cheat, but I really couldn’t choose between them and they both tick a lot of high-octane boxes. Fave scene/line:Independence Day: “I picked a hell of a day to quit drinkin'.”
Armageddon: “Well, we all gotta die, right? I'm the guy who gets to do it saving the world."

11. Pretty Woman '90
Fave scene/line: I'm torn between the the one when Kit De Luca shows up at the posh hotel and the one when Vivian returns to the snobby shop assistant who snubbed her, showing off the dozens of expensive purchases from Rodeo drive. “You work on commission, right? Big Mistake. Big. Huge.”

12. Con Air '97
Fave scene/line: Poe (Nick Cage) comes across a dead body in the landing gear and tosses it out with a message for Larkin (John Cusack). He interrupts one of the convicts rifling through the cargo and is forced to kill him.
Quote: “Why couldn’t he put the bunny in the box?

13. Die Hard: With a Vengeance '95
Fave scene/line: When John McClane (Bruce Willis) and Zeus, (Samuel L Jackson) try to solve a puzzle involving jugs of water to stop a bomb going off.
Quote: Zeus: “Wait a minute. You mean to tell me I'm in this shit 'cause some white cop threw some white asshole's brother off a roof?”

1990s Movies

We had a tradition for several years when Bri worked shifts, that the kids would stay up until he finished work at 9pm on Friday. We'd have a carpet picnic including hula-hoops, mini cheddars and popcorn, but the star turn had to be the sandwiches with "billy-bear" processed meat. We always watched a movie - more often than not a Disney one, but many of those listed below found their way into our movie night.

1990 – Pretty Woman, Ghost, Home Alone, Kindergarten Cop, Bird on a Wire, Mermaids, Edward Scissorhands, Goodfellas, Dances with Wolves, Misery, Total Recall, Flatliners, Arachnophobia, Days of Thunder, The Hunt for Red October, Tremors, Die Hard 2, Gremlins 2, Godfather 3, Back to the Future 3

1991 – Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Hook, Hudson Hawk, The Silence of the Lambs, Thelma & Louise, Beauty and the Beast (animated), City Slickers, Point Break, JFK, Cape Fear, The Fisher King, The Commitments, Father of the Bride, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

1992 – Strictly Ballroom, Sister Act, Aladdin (animated), Scent of a Woman, Batman Returns, A Few Good Men, My Cousin Vinny, Basic Instinct, Wayne’s World, Death Becomes Her, Reservoir Dogs, Under Siege, Patriot Games, Malcolm X, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, Alien 3

1993 – Mrs. Doubtfire, Sleepless in Seattle, Jurassic Park, The Fugitive, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Schindler’s List, Groundhog Day, The Piano, The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Remains of the Day, Philadelphia, Shadowlands, Cool Runnings, Carlito’s Way

1994 – True Lies, Pulp Fiction, Four Weddings and a Funeral, The Lion King (animated), The Shawshank Redemption, Speed, Natural Born Killers, Leon, Serial Mom, Timecop, The Mask, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Forrest Gump, The Madness of King George, Body Snatchers, Clear and Present Danger, Star Trek: Generations

1995 – Die Hard: With a Vengeance, Desperado, Toy Story (animated), The Usual Suspects, Twelve Monkeys, Get Shorty, Braveheart, Leaving Las Vegas, Apollo 13, Babe, Seven, Sense and Sensibility, Dead Man Walking

1996 – Independence Day, The Rock, Mission Impossible, Romeo + Juliet, The Hunchback of Notre Dame (animated), That Thing You Do!, The Birdcage, Secrets & Lies, Stealing Beauty, Michael Collins, Matilda, Trainspotting, Scream, Jerry Maguire, The English Patient, Star Trek: First Contact, Mars Attacks!

1997 – Good Will Hunting, Con Air, As Good as It Gets, Men in Black, The Full Monty, The Fifth Element, Contact, Face/Off, L. A. Confidential, Starship Troopers, Donnie Brasco, What Dreams May Come, Jackie Brown

1998 – Armageddon, The Mask of Zorro, Truman Show, The X Files, The Big Lebowski, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, Saving Private Ryan, There's Something About Mary, The Thin Red Line, Pleasantville, The Negotiator, Antz (animated), A Bug’s Life (animated)

1999 – 10 Things I Hate About You, Galaxy Quest, The Mummy, Notting Hill, The Matrix, The Sixth Sense, She’s All That, Sleepy Hollow, Fight Club, The Green Mile, Analyze This, Eyes Wide Shut, Wild, Wild West, The Talented Mr. Ripley, Toy Story 2, Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, The Blair Witch Project, American Pie, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, Being John Malkovich, American Beauty, The Cider House Rules

My Top Thirteen 1991

1. Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You - 06-1991

2. Guns N' Roses - Live And Let Die - 12-1991
3. Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes - (I've had} The Time Of My Life - 01-1991
4. The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go - 03-1991
5. The Scorpions - Wind Of Change - 09-1991
6. The Waterboys - The Whole Of The Moon - 04-1991
7. Robert Palmer - Mercy Mercy Me/I Want You - 01-1991
8. Extreme - More Than Words - 07-1991
9. Chesney Hawkes - The One And Only - 03-1991
10. Queen - Innuendo - 01-1991
11. Right Said Fred - I'm Too Sexy - 08-1991
12. Simply Red - Stars - 12-1991
13. Zucchero featuring Paul Young - Senza Una Donna (Without A Woman) - 04-1991


And the bubbling unders:
Paula Abdul - Rush Rush - 06-1991
Oleta Adams - Get Here - 01-1991
Marc Almond - Jacky - 10-1991
Rick Astley - Cry For Help - 01-1991
Bananarama - Preacher Man - 01-1991
The Bee Gees - Secret Love - 03-1991
Michael Bolton - When A Man Loves A Woman - 11-1991
Cher - The Shoop Shoop Song (It's In His Kiss) - 04-1991
Alice Cooper - Hey Stoopid - 07-1991
Deacon Blue - Twist And Shout - 08-1991
Jason Donovan - Any Dream Will Do - 06-1991
Guns N' Roses - You Could Be Mine - 07-1991
Michael Jackson - Black Or White - 11-1911
James - Sit Down - 04-1991
Lenny Kravitz - It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over - 06-1991
Kirsty MacColl - Walking Down Madison - 06-1991
Madonna - Crazy For You - 03-1991
Brian May - Driven By You - 12-1991
Metallica - Enter Sandman - 08-1991
George Michael & Elton John - Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me - 12-1991
Bette Midler - From A Distance - 06-1991
Dannii Minogue - Jump To The Beat - 07-1991
Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit - 12-1991
Alexander O'Neal - All True Man - 01-1991
Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark - Pandora's Box - 07-1991
Queen - The Show Must Go On - 11-1991
Chris Rea - Auberge - 03-1991
R.E.M. - Shiny Happy People - 05-1991
Diana Ross - When You Tell Me That You Love Me - 12-1991
Roxette - Joyride - 03-1991
Salt-N-Pepa - Let's Talk About Sex - 09-1991
Seal - Killer (EP) - 11-1991
Simply Red - Something Got Me Started - 09-1991
Slade - Radio Wall Of Sound - 10-1991
Soft Cell featuring Marc Almond - Tainted Love - 05-1991
Sonia - Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy - 09-1991
Lisa Stansfield - Change - 10-1991
Rod Stewart - Motown Song - 06-1991
Tina Turner - Way Of The World - 11-1991
Midge Ure - Cold Cold Heart - 08-1991
U2 - Mysterious Ways - 12-1991
Paul Young - Don't Dream (It's Over) - 11-1991

My 1990s

The 80s was a busy decade and saw me going from a single journey away from the UK (to Brittany in 1978) to four wonderful trips to Greek Islands, the first being Rhodes in 1985. The second of these (Crete, May ’86) included an off-the-cuff proposed and a mere 6-months later, I married my wonderful hubby, Bri, and we honeymooned in Corfu. A year later saw our second trip to Crete, and we came back with our first addition to the family, a beautiful, bouncing son whose arrival in July meant we didn’t get away during 1988. After a short week in Yorkshire a year later, our daughter burst into the world on November 30th 1989, with merely a month to go before the new decade. 

1990 – Returning to work after maternity leave was harder this time, but I found a childminder who was a national treasure (Auntie Anne) and she brought up our first two way better than I could ever hope to. May/June Tremorel, Brittany (a gite most memorable for the full-sized pool table which dwarfed Chris) + Limousin in the Massif-Central - land-locked, lake-district with oppressive humidity.
September Dunoon, Scotland

1991 – Ambitious or what? A 3-week, 3-centre holiday took us back to Tremorel (Brittany), Biarritz (Pyrenees) & Loire.
Then in October, back to the Loire.

1992 – La Grange, Royan with a small pool heated by solar panels - way ahead of its time. Then in September, back to the Loire (again - we loved that river and its environs!)

1993 – 16th May our second daughter gave up the week-long struggle and finally emerged into the light - a massive 9lb 9oz and on the 90th percentile for height. She was only 3.5 months old when we took a 2 week holiday (Lorgues, Var) which ended up in Eurodisney, where Chris blended with the cowboys, Jo got a beautiful Belle ballgown and Tigger made a big fuss of Stephie.

1994 – Flayosc, Var (pool) + Disneyland, Paris

Steph took her first steps amid the vine-covered courtyard where we shared many a happy candle-lit barbeque. And Brian made the second of his daily pan-run journeys into town, accompanied by Garth Brooks' "Sail My Vessel." Wonderful stuff. More fond memories of Jo singing "Little Town," "A Whole New World" and her signature tune "Part of Your World." Most of which we have on DVDs which I torture her with on a regular basis. 

1995 – Flayosc, Var (pool) + Disneyland, Paris. Yep, a total repeat of the previous year's holiday. Except this time the fridge in the room had been switched off and turned around. Also, some rotten thief stole the camcorder (and Steph's nappy bag including my purse) on the second day so we have no video footage. Plenty of pix, though.

1996 - Moraira (with views of Calpe), Spain
Our first taste of the Costa Blanca, this beautiful market town is almost midway between Valencia (to the North) and Alicante (South) . First time we went, the place was very much an upmarket resort-in-the-making, including a spit-and-sawdust funfair. We were absolutely smitten with the Crazy Frog - the funkiest  ride ever which went forwards, backwards, spun, undulated and even hopped. Not for the weak-stomached. 

1997 - (Vidiago) Llanes, N.Spain
The coast of North Spain is nothing like as crowded and Brit-centric as the Eastern coast - chalk and cheese spring to mind. It's way closer to Brittany, with a similar climate, lush green vegetation and glorious beaches. We discovered the Beach of Caves (Playa Cuevas del Mar), and it drew us back to the area several times.

1998 - Marans, La Rochelle (pool) + Disneyland

A wonderful holiday, the highlights of which included Bri reprising his Indiana Jones role piloting a punt and a motor boat through Green Venice. The glossy sheen had definitely worn off Disneyland, with everything a tad care-worn, cheaper and less generous than the previous two visits. The fridge had disappeared completely from the room in the cowboy hotel, portion sizes seemed smaller and worst of all, they were no longer showing the Beauty and the Beast show in the main theatre (Videopolis) in Fantasyland.

1999 - Camango, N.Spain + Moraira (Norte Mer), Spain
Another ambitious one with a week exploring the mountains and after a two-day drive via Madrid, a week in the sun, including a trip to nearby Benidorm for a ride on a submarine.

My Top Thirteen 1990

The start of the decade saw me with two kids under 18-months, which meant I didn't have the same opportunities to listen to music. Suddenly all the cool music from the previous two decades got booted out by tuneless techno-drivel and repetitive hip-hop with lyrics which could have been written by five-year-olds. And it just got worse as the decade played out.

1. Heart - All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You - 04-1990
2. Alannah Myles - Black Velvet - 04-1990
3. Roxette - It Must Have Been Love - 06-1990
4. Berlin - Take My Breath Away - 10-1990
5. Tina Turner - Steamy Windows - 02-1990
6. Aerosmith - Dude (Looks Like A Lady) - 03-1990
7. The Beautiful South - A Little Time - 10-1990
8. Del Amitri - Nothing Ever Happens - 01-1990
9. The Farm - All Together Now - 12-1990
10. Jon Bon Jovi - Blaze Of Glory - 08-1990
11. Go West - King Of Wishful Thinking - 08-1990
12. The B-52s - Love Shack - 03-1990
13. Kylie Minogue - Better The Devil You Know - 05-1990


And a few which deserve an honorary mention:
Luciano Pavarotti - Nessun Dorma - 06-1990
Sting - Englishman In New York - 08-1990
Seal - Crazy - 12-1990
AC/DC - Thunderstruck - 09-1990
Chris Rea - Tell Me There's A Heaven - 02-1990
A-ha - Crying In The Rain - 10-1990
Cliff Richard - Saviour's Day - 12-1990
Betty Boo - Doin' The Do - 06-1990
Belinda Carlisle - (We Want) The Same Thing - 10-1990
Cher - Just Like Jesse James - 02-1990
Natalie Cole - Wild Women Do - 04-1990
Deacon Blue - Queen Of The New Year - 01-1990
Deee-Lite - Groove Is In The Heart / What Is Love - 09-1990
Bruce Dickinson - Tattooed Millionaire - 05-1990
Jason Donovan - Rhythm Of The Rain - 09-1990
EMF - Unbelievable - 11-1990
Erasure - Blue Savannah - 03-1990
The Hothouse Flowers - Give It Up - 05-1990
Whitney Houston - I'm Your Baby Tonight - 10-1990
Iron Maiden - Bring Your Daughter... To The Slaughter - 12-1990
Chris Isaak - Wicked Game - 12-1990
Janet Jackson - Black Cat - 09-1990
Londonbeat - I've Been Thinking About You - 09-1990
Madonna - Vogue - 04-1990
MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This - 06-1990
George Michael - Praying For Time - 08-1990
Kylie Minogue - Step Back In Time - 11-1990
New Kids On The Block - I'll Be Loving You (Forever) - 03-1990
Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U - 01-1990
Robert Palmer & UB40 - I'll Be Your Baby Tonight - 11-1990
The Proclaimers - King Of The Road (EP) - 11-1990
Cliff RIchard - From A Distance - 10-1990
Jimmy Somerville - You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real) - 01-1990
Lisa Stansfield - What Did I Do To You (EP) - 05-1990
Status Quo - The Anniversary Waltz - Part One - 09-1990
David A. Stewart featuring Candy Dulfer - Lily Was Here - 03-1990
Rod Stewart & Tina Turner - It Takes Two - 11-1990
Paul Young - Softly Whispering I Love You - 05-1990

Release of Turn Back Time

Who doesn’t love a Marvel Movie? My absolute favourites are the Guardians of the Galaxy, but the Thor movies are second fave. I’ve always been keen on Norse Mythology, so it was great fun for me to dive into a bunch of the stories, especially the ones involving Loki. Such an awesome character, and the parallels between his mischief and what Isaac got up to made for some great storylines. This should give a clue:

They say three's a crowd. And Isaac doesn't like crowds.
He likes his cousin Lizzie even less. So the day she invites herself to stay and he gains a third woman sharing his life, he’s not a happy bunny.

Based on bitter childhood memories, he imagines she’ll pick up her cruel torment where she left off. He’s not wrong. And there’s no safety in numbers as all his housemates are fair game for her particular brand of torture. Even work holds none of its normal refuge as his boss sics a Rottweiler on him to scrutinise his every move.

2022 wanes, diminishing his opportunities to use the Time Machine for his grand plan. The trouble is, it requires a level of cooperation from certain individuals. And Isaac doesn’t do people.

If you like The Big Bang Theory, you'll see a lot of Sheldon in Isaac - and fans of Marvel's Thor movies (especially Loki) will appreciate some Norse myths which haven't yet made the cut.
Fifth in the Time Doctors series, this fun-filled romp could be read as a stand-alone, but readers will have massive spoilers in going back to read the previous stories. What can I say? Pretty inevitable in a serialised story.

Anyway, you can pick up your copy of Turn Back Time by clicking the link - a steal at £2.99/$3.49 or read for free on Kindle Unlimited. Continue the fun adventures of a bunch of 30-something geeks as they explore their familys’ pasts with the aid of a temperamental time capsule in the attic.