Tom Wiggins, Letter Carver & Writer

1.  "Hurt Me" -  Låpsley   I don't know what's cool and what's not at the moment.  And - to be frank - I don't care.  The benefit of having listened to a lot of music over the years leads to an unshakeable self-assurance in one's own tastes.  And while some songs grip you over time, others scream instant classic within the first ten seconds.   "Hurt Me" by Låpsley is an example of the latter.  The last time I felt so strongly about a song within the first few seconds was back in 2012 when I first heard "Angels" by The XX.  Songs like  "Station", "Falling Short" and "Painter (Valentine)" established the 19 year-old as a prodigious talent.  But it is with the addition "Hurt Me" to her  repertoire that may herald her breakthrough.  It is  the most anthemic of the teenager's career so far and possibly her most radio-friendly.  It is a huge sound.  All the songs add up to an auspicious star...

Apprentice : Indentured trainee tradesman. The stonemasonry apprenticeship was once 15 years, it is now reduced to 3. Generally doubles [as] a tea boy, errand run ner, doer of the dirtiest jobs, victim of warped practical jokes and experimental humour; slave. -  A Stone Mason's Dictionary (www.finestoneminiatures.com/dictionary_a.htm) An apprentice's honeymoon period - if you are lucky enough to have one - can last anywhere between one hour and one week.  This is a period in which you are given special dispensation for your stupidity, clumsiness and complete lack of initiative.  You are taken under the mason's wing and cared for like you were their own son or daughter.  Mistakes either go unpunished or are tactfully and politely corrected away from the earshot of the other masons.  You could be forgiven for thinking that you're (a) actually good at this and (b) the mason you're serving under actually likes you.  Make no m...

Roughly halfway through Nuri Bilge Ceylan's 'Once Upon a Time in Anatolia' , after a long night in search of a body through remote Turkish hillsides, a weary parade of officials and the accused stop for sustenance.  Tiredness and confusion has muddled the mind of the suspect over the whereabouts of the body.  The search party, consisting of a police commissioner, doctor, prosecutor and driver, are all past the point of tiredness.  They've all written the night off and have resigned themselves to the fact that they're unlikely to return to town with either a confession or the missing body.  In the early hours of the morning, the  three-car parade stop for a break in a village and gather in the darkness of the local mayor's home.  All the men are physically and emotionally spent.  Even in the darkness, the stresses and strains of their working and personal lives are discernable through the shadows thrown on each of their faces.  Cracks ar...