TV – House of the Dragon

Now as many Game of Thrones fans will agree there was a lot of pressure riding on the premier of the new HBO series which is a prequel to the iconic GOT series. However, I can confess I am seriously on the House of the Dragon hype as I was obsessed with this series from the very first episode. Without giving away any spoilers, as you can imagine, there is a fair amount of bloodshed, betrayal, epic fight scenes and even more dragons! It should 100% be on everyone’s ‘to-watch’ list before the year is over.

Art – César Manrique

After a recent holiday to Lanzarote, it’s safe to say, I’ve been obsessed with sculptor and architect César Manrique who was recognised for his sculptures and buildings which are integrated within the natural volcanic landscape of the Canary Islands. Whilst on holiday I had the chance to visit his iconic ‘volcano house’ which was built around five volcanic bubbles which were naturally interconnected by tunnels formed by volcanic eruptions. To see more of his work click here.

Music – Glass Animals

This is a super easy decision, it’s gotta be Glass Animals! They are an English indie rock band formed in Oxford led by singer, songwriter, and producer Dave Bayley. They are most famous since their iconic ‘Heat Waves’ single went viral on TikTok. They are also single-handedly responsible for pineapples now being banned at a majority of UK festival sites ­– google it if you don’t believe me. They are my all-time favourite band and, as everyone at GRIN knows, I will sneakily add their songs to every studio playlist so I can listen to them every chance I get.

Book – The Handmaids Tale

With the fifth season of ‘The Handmaids Tale’ being released a couple of months ago, I thought this was the perfect time to go back and re-read one of my favourite books.

The dystopian novel by Margret Atwood explores themes of the oppression of women within a patriarchal society and the loss of agency and individuality for women. Although it’s a very heavy read which addresses some dark subject matter, it’s a compelling book which will keep you on edge with every page.

Podcast – No Such Thing As A Fish

Now I can confess, I’m not much of a podcast listener but ever since my friend introduced me to the podcast ‘No Such Thing As A Fish’, I’ve been hooked – no pun intended. The weekly podcast is presented by the researchers behind QI and basically consists of each speaker presenting their favourite fact of the week. As you can imagine, it gets very random very quickly but it will definitely have you creasing.

Film – How To Train Your Dragon

Sticking to the Game of Thrones inspired dragon theme – but something far less scarier – is my go-to film, ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ (yes I am still a child at heart). The 2010 dreamworks animation is loosely based on the book by Cressida Cowell and follows the story of a young Viking who befriends a dragon.

Aside from the very wholesome storyline, It’s the first animated feature made with MoonRay – Dreamworks’ newest rendering software that accurately simulates how light behaves in the real world and as a result the realistic 3D animation and detailed cinematography is captivating enough to have made me watch this film about ten times.