Films

Love 'em! Especially thrillers, blockbusters, sci fi, superhero and adventure films. So I am a great fan of the Bond movies - love the Daniel Craig incarnation - Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Bourne trilogy, The Matrix. Anything out of the Marvel comics (see below) is a must see, but I guess my all-time favourite is The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which I believe did the books justice. I had been waiting for all my life in the vain hope they would make the transfer to the big screen, but doubting that they ever would. It was worth the wait, and now we look forward to The Hobbit. Having said all that, it may surprise you that among my favourites are Chariots of Fire, Witness and Hook.

Books

Well it won't surprise you to find out that The Lord of the Rings is my all-time favourite. After Tolkien, I really rate Stephen Lawhead. Lawhead dabbled in sci-fi and fantasy, but has specialised in celtic novels, of which the Pendragon Cycle is the best example. However my favourite Lawhead book is Avalon, a modern day Arthurian fantasy that has not been published in the UK. I also lap up CS Lewis (Narnia and particularly His Hideous Strength), GP Taylor and CK Rowling (have just read through the whole Potter series). My early interest in sci fi and fantasy is on hold as I divert to thrillers, so I am catching up on Frederick Forsyth, Robert Ludlum, Daniel Silva, and even Dan Brown (even though his religious theory is tripe he still writes cracking page-turners)

Comics

Well to be precise Marvel Comics. To be even more precise I really enjoy the early episodes which are now being re-released in book form (Thanks Stan!!). My favourite superhero is Daredevil, the blind superhero whose senses were dramatically increased by the accident that robbed him of his sight). I also enjoy the Fantastic Four and the original X-Men, although the films of the latter have awakened an interest in the subsequent incarnations. I guess Spiderman would have to be my other favourite.

The release of the films have been very welcome, and for the most part I really enjoy them - the fact that I am interested in how they develop the stories and characters from the comics says something about my real interest.

TV

The V+ box is great - it means that after working odd times I can watch some of the programmes that I've recorded. I still enjoy sci-fi - the return of Dr Who is very welcome, as was Battlestar Galactica (until Virgin lost Sky One - I'll have to wait for the DVDs), Heroes is breaking new ground. Thrillers are also on the menu - 24 is a favourite (see comments about Sky One), as is Spooks, and various mini-series. I still enjoy detective shows, whether that's classics such as Morse, or newer fayre such as Waking the Dead. While none of this is unexpected, you may be a little surprised that I am a fan of reality shows based around performance, such as Britain's Got Talent, X-Factor and Strictly Come Dancing. Less surprising is that I'm an avid viewer of Time Team.

Music

So why have a separate section when I've got a music page? Because these are the bands and artistes that I thoroughly enjoy listening to. My favourites from the 70s/80s are still there, bands like U2, After The Fire and Seawind. The latter two have re-formed, while U2 keep on going, and their last two albums recall the quality of their first five albums. I managed to get a ticket to the Police reunion tour - fantastic evening.

More recent bands such as Coldplay, Keane and Athlete have also captured my imagination. I've caught Athlete a couple of times in concert, although my favourite album is their first.