If in Dowd

Like any normal relationship, mine with radio has its ups and downs. Radio keeps me up late at night, wakes me up in the morning, sometimes makes me uncontrollably giggle, sometimes forces me out of my comfort zone but nearly always puts me in a good mood. Occasionally I can't help but wince and cringe at the industry, though. For instance, when a station twists their metrics to proudly claim "We're No. 1", omitting that this is only among the demographic of deaf farmers in Leitrim called Padraic. Or when a station presents their 'guess the mystery sound' competition as if it is a world-first (to those not in radio: it's the Ford Focus of radio competitions - ubiquitous and unexciting). But my largest radio bug bear is when presenters and producers throw hissy fits at the news that a celebrity or public figure will be the newest addition to a radio schedule. Ronan Keating and Harriet Scott - Presenters of the Breakfast Show on Magic in the UK. If y...

I've seen bits of the new season of Netflix's Stranger Things recently. The series is set in 1980s America and follows these teenage friends with supernormal powers. Everything has a orangey-red haze and is shot to a backdrop of mock Girgio Moroder synth. For the characters, Starcourt Mall is the epicentre of their social lives - it's where they go to hang out, spot their crushes and refuel in the Scoops Ahoy ice cream parlour. The set is straight out of the catalogue of American malls complete with airy atrium, austere neon signs, a water feature and unquestionably fake vegetation scattered at various levels. You'd be forgiven for thinking that it's a good replica, but the titular Starcourt Mall is set in  a largely derelict mall in Georgia called Gwinnett Place Mall . The Starcourt Mall from Stranger Things 3 The show is an homage to the carefree '80s childhood where freedom was endowed by a bicycle and the back door was always left on the latch. It'...