这一期“敏彻斯特评论”节目，我和烂木头（Lassie）一起聊一聊我们在不同的时候去到英国约克郡哈沃斯村子的旅游感想——那里，也是蜚声文坛的勃朗特姐妹的老家。 Hiiiii Welcome back to The Minchester Review. In this episode, Lassie joined me in discussing her recent trip to Haworth, a town in northern England where the Bronte sisters lived. Haworth has a special place in my heart: I've been a passionate Bronte fan since I was young and I was fortunate to have visited the parsonage museum twice. I enjoyed every minute there and I was glad so did Lassie (maybe minus the waiting time at the bus stop)! Lassie's Haworth experience was a special one because Bronte Museum was freshly reopened and put on some special policies to ensure the safety of staffs and visitors. Also when the bus didn't come in due time, the local people were very kind to help her. We also discussed how the real deal writer's museum/house asks for such a friendly entrance fee while some place with no real deal (cough cough Jane Austen Centre in Bath) charges a lot and how the experience at a National Trust estate differs from that in the Bronte museum. 04:15 Lassie's first taste of Yorkshire was to Shibden Hall, Halifax 09:00 Unlike the Jane Austen Centre in Bath, the Bronte Parsonage Museum presents real life objects that allows visitors to build an indirect connect with the writers 13:33 Catherine's first time to Haworth was a 'very very sunny day', the second time 'not Brontely' neither 15:35 With the uncertain prospect of author's house, Lassie finally decided to make the trip to Haworth 17:00 You can support Bronte Museum via its Just Giving website 18:45 Lassie wants to find out more about Yorkshire because her friend Joe worked there for 6 months as a crew member of ACGAS 21:10 Lassie departed from Manchester Victoria Station to Hebden Bridge 22:07 Catherine's two travelling experience: one time from Bradford, another from Keighley 24:40 National Media Museum, Bradford - a hidden gem in the north 25:50 The north provides lots of opportunities for British TV industry talents 27:35 The schedule of Covid19 test required Lassie to put the trip on a Sunday when the bus to the museum didn't show up... 31:22 The local people in Haworth stepped out to help 36:45 Visitors need to book their time slot now 39:10 Entrance ticket price is very friendly! 43:28 A normal house on the outside, a lot of wonderful things in the inside 46:05 Catherine was surprised to find Lassie only spent 1 hour in the main building of Chatsworth House 49:20 The museum's policy to control the number of visitors 53:08 Anne Bronte's embroidery introduces Lassie to this youngest sister of the Bronte family 56:20 Patrick Bronte used to send his daughters' pieces of belongings to fans as souvenirs 58:53 Experience in National Trust places can be quite different 59:20 Why there is no tea room in the museum? 01:01:00 There seemed always to be a study room for the males of the house, but the female writers (Brontes and Elizabeth Gaskell) did not own a study 01:12:10 A real wedding at the Haworth church! Music: Kate Bush - Wuthering Heights

Hi! Welcome to this episode where I talk about my favorite American TV show - Homeland. This is the first episode with a written script - hopefully it sounds more polished and finally I can get hold of the time. Homeland follows its iconic female lead Carrie Mathison's CIA (or independant) career. Starting as a US version of Isreal's hit show 'Prisoner of War', Homeland reinvents itself after season three, which sees it expanding the stories and settings. It is an excellent show in that it reflects and comments on the current affairs. The characters are captivating and the performances are ace. I talk through the story, compare the first seasons and the later ones, share my story as a long-time Claire Danes fan, my West End experience to see the Damian Lewis play, and my Homeland-themed Berlin visit. In the end, I also introduce some of the advices given by Lesli Linka Glatter, the amazing executive producer and director of Homeland (and Mad Men & Twin Peaks among others!). I found the advices helpful and inspiring. Hope Homeland can have won a few nods from Emmys this season, but no matter what, it is one of the best shows, and will always be that special show for me.

Hello! It's been a while. This episode is dedicated to a lovely indie movie Departure featuring young British actor Alex lawther. Departure is a coming-of-age story set in southern France. I find the movie refreshing in that it presents a complex palette of characters. I also look into its abundant narcissism-related metaphor/motifs and try to understand/defy the connection between myth, metaphor and queer culture. I continue to talk about Alex's film/TV/theatre works, among which Imitation Game and The End of The F***ing World are my favorite. As Alex says, be like Sally Hawkins and stay hydrated! References: Greg Goldberg, 'Though the Looking Glass: The Queer Narcissism of Selfies' Elizabeth Lunbeck, 'The Narcissist Homosexual: Genealogy of a Myth'

Welcome to the fourth episode of The Minchester Review! This is a very special episode 'cause guest Lassie joins me ;) We talk about a Netflix TV show we adore - it's called Feel Good. It will make you feel good after watching it! The 6-episode show tells the story of stand-up comedian/Canadian girl Mae Martin (played by Mae Martin), following her journey of falling in love with another girl George (Charlotte Ritchie) and her life of trying to stay clean and pursuing a career in the UK. It is a comedy but it also looks into heavy topics such as addiction, parent-child relationship (mum played by Lisa Kudrow), etc. We CANNOT RECOMMEND IT enough!! In this episode - SPOILER ALERT - We share our passion of the show. We also talk about other shows including Closer, CMBYN, The L Word, Killing Eve, Sex Education, and Girls. (I criticize Killing Eve a bit; for the record, I still love it.) Some key points: 2:30 What is Feel Good about? 6:20 Does 'being in love' promise happiness? 11:30 Some facts about Mae the writer/actor 13:12 Wait...did I hear Lisa Kudrow?! 14:46 The beginning of the story 22:45 The L Word overlooks the daily concerns of lesbians, Feel Good doesn't. 24:20 Mae and George's learning journey of pain and sober 26:05 The fantastic sex scenes 30:00 Favorite lines 35:40 Is Mae/George good for each other? 40:35 Binky and co.: Shitty friends or genuine friends? 43:00 A diversified cast 44:00 Me criticising Killing Eve S2 48:10 Favorite episode (ep4) 51:00 Did I hear Pride and Prejudice? 54:00 Our predictions Apart from Feel Good, Mae has also done a lot of podcasts such as GrownUpLand. Go check them out!

Hello! In this episode, I share my history of becoming a fan of Harry Styles, and look back at how his work inspired my thesis. I review his two albums, 'Harry Styles' and the newly released 'Fine Line'. I also talk about his fashion choices, the books he recommends, and how he supports LGBT community. I hope this episode can give you an idea of the wide range of Harry's music and his creative vigour. Stream FINE LINE!!! TPWK x

Welcome! In this second episode of The Minchester Review, I talk about the novel House on the Hillside (坡道上的家) written by Japanese writer Mitsuyo Kakuta. Intrigued by the author's comment that the novel is more about where the communication fails than the difficulty of motherhood depicted by the TV show, I delve into the nuanced parts of the book where the author studies people's fear of being otherised and how the self can be hypnotized by enigmatic conversation. House on the Hillside is written in a clear and straightforward style; the details and analysis of interpersonal relationship between family members are fascinating.

Welcome to The Minchester Review. In this episode, I talk about the hit Netflix show YOU (season 1). YOU asks 'What would you do for love'. It tells a story of boy meets girl but boy is a stalker. It revisits the idea of love and reveals to what extent it is a production of Hollywood romcoms. It is chilling, funny, dark, cheesy, and addictive.