Miscellaneous Monday - Guilty Pleasures

[Esme Crutchley]

Happy Monday everyone!

I'll be honest, I've just spent the best part of May 2020 binge-watching all 8 seasons of Desperate Housewives and loved every minute of it! I've just finished it (about 10 minutes ago) and yes I cried!!

Though I'm a massive fan of horror (Hubster and I recently had a Stephen King's IT marathon, where we watched both of the originals (gotta love some Tim Curry action) as well as both of the new ones, in one sitting), I can't help but love a good American series!

I'm now seeing what Little Fires Everywhere on Amazon Prime has to offer, so we'll see what that's like, there are only 8 episodes, so it shouldn't take the whole of June!

When it comes to music, we like our coffee like we like our metal (yes that was a MSI quote, but very true!). Hubster is into the darker the better, some of them I can't even listen to because of all the screaming, but I'm nowhere near nu-metal, preferring middle of the road metal (with a bit of screaming and growling!). However, in my opinion, you can't beat a bit of Eurovision (I might be a little addicted)!

So, come on, confess, what are your guilty pleasures?!

[Matt Doar]

Well, I try to avoid guilt at most levels. Either I just do it, or I know that I'll feel bad about it and I don't do it.

But I have some pleasures that I think are not approved of by some people: alcohol, fine cigars, good meat, really smelly cheeses. Life is short.

[Esme Crutchley]

Before I gave up smoking, I loved a bi-annual cigar (my birthday and New Year)!

Alcohol on the other hand is a bit hit and miss with me, unless if Strongbow Dark Fruits, then all bets are off!!

Smells cheeses, unfortunately, for me, are a thing of the past. I have to content myself with mature cheddar as it's the only one they've made lactose-free and is readily available in the UK at the moment. There was a Brie last year, but that seems to have disappeared again.

And I'm just about to have steak and chips!

[Jimmy Seddon]

Hey @Esme Crutchley!

There are a couple of times I have almost posted this topic myself I love it!  I got sucked back into playing World of Warcraft.  I call it a guilty pleasure because I feel like that game and the people who play it have a bit of a stigma now.

I just always make sure that I don't let it consume every aspect of my life and otherwise I find it quite enjoyable!

[Dharma Ramos]

I go back to WoW for about a month or two a year or every other year. Vulperas almost got me to go back mots recently. We are back on Guild Wars 2 at the moment.

[Esme Crutchley]

Yup, Hubster used to play WoW all the time, but since he went to PS4 and the gaming rig went out of date, he's lost interest (not to mention the cost!).

We're liking Minecraft and Worms on the PS4 currently, but I know if we got the rig back out and hooked it up to the TV, he'd be back on WoW in a second!

[Helen Griffiths _Capgemini_]

Any reality TV, and i'm not even embarrassed to say 🤣

We have a weekly quiz at work, and I was gutted I missed one two weeks ago as it had my specialist subject - The Kardashians. 

My ultimate ultimate guilty pleasure is true crime though. True crime anything. Currently reading the 'Mindhunter' book about the real people behind the Netflix series. Read a couple of true crime books during lockdown too. If anyone has any recommendations, i'm all ears 🤓

Given i've been spending a lot of time with my other half during lockdown, i've had to listen to his music quite a bit and he's started listening to a band called Tool. I'm not going to tell him this but I quite like it. My usual preferred genre is reggae / dancehall, so quite different. 

[Esme Crutchley]

Tool are good!

If you want something sort of middle of the road when it comes to a bit of metal, try Amaranthe - imagine Eurovision does rock (without Lordi!), I listen to them constantly. They have 3 singers and personally, I love how they sound! Gotta love female vocals. If you're not sure, give this YT video a shot (trigger warning, it's a little bit like an old fashioned insane asylum) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GT3ZwF5qNSA

I REALLY like them, their entire discography is on Apple Music, and therefore on repeat in my house!

[Dharma Ramos]

Long time ago I read St. Joseph's Children: A True Story of Terror and Justice. It was later updated and renamed Innocent Blood: A True Story of Obsession and Serial Murder. I recall it was a very interesting read. If memory serves I believe the Hannibal Lecter was loosely based on him, because of the way he would manipulate doctors and authorities.

[Veronique DUFOUR]

I like watching renovation / home staging shows to learn how to fix my home :)

[Davin Studer]

Probably a pretty lame guilty pleasure, but I think I'm allergic to apples and I LOVE apples. : ( So occasionally I'll eat a spoonful of my kids apple sauce ... and pay for it later, but it was worth it in the moment.