Sunday, 29 March 2026

TV

Peaky Blinders
6x06 Lock and Key [series finale]
Hmm. This does feel like a series finale... but also, there are quite a few things left unresolved, so it's no surprise they've always said there'd be a movie continuation. I had somehow garnered the impression that the series per se had ended and the movie was a kind of additional story and/or epilogue, but from this it feels like it would be necessary to actually end things. Well, I guess I'll see when I watch it.
[Watch the whole series (again) on iPlayer or Netflix.]

Fiction

The Valley of Fear by Arthur Conan Doyle
Part 1, Chapters 1–5

There are 60 canonical Sherlock Holmes stories (56 short stories and four novels) and I've read 44 of them, including three of the novels. So what better way to mark reaching 75% — or, to put it another way, arriving at the final quarter — than by reading that fourth novel.

(Not that it's really an occasion that needs "marking". But that's probably for the best, considering this novel is widely regarded as one of the weaker adventures. Either way, it comes next in publication order (more or less), considering I last finished Return; although I've jumped around plenty in the past (I've already read four stories from the remaining two books), so that's immaterial as well.)

Video Games

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition

I crossed the 200-hour mark today. And to think the fact it would take at least 27 hours once gave me pause, and I could scarcely conceive of spending 130+ hours finishing it. And yet I’m still nowhere near done — here’s a little “state of the game”…

I have:
• visited 4 major cities and 2 minor cities
• cleared 5 Civil War forts
• bought 2 ‘vanilla’ player houses
• bought 2 plots of land and fully built houses on them
• acquired 2 Creation Club houses
• joined the Companions.

I have not:
• visited 1 major city and 3 minor cities
• visited the island of Solstheim
• cleared 4 Civil War forts
• bought 3 ‘vanilla’ player houses
• bought the 3rd plot of land
• acquired 8 Creation Club houses
• progressed the main quest beyond the very beginning (there are no dragons flying around my Skyrim)
• become a werewolf
• joined either the Imperials nor the Stormcloaks
• joined the Thieves Guild
• joined the College of Winterhold
• joined the Dark Brotherhood
• joined the Dawnguard nor become a vampire.

Obviously a whole bunch of very specific stuff could be added to both of those list, but that’s an overview — the point being: I have done quite a lot, but there’s still so much to do. I wonder where I’ll be at 300 hours? Because, based on what I haven’t done, it’s hard to imagine I won’t hit that mark — at least.

Great game.