This morning's “while the rest of the world was sleeping” early bird short film was...

Here we go, it’s time for Poe.

As it’s the season for short ghost stories by candlelight, I couldn't resist adding this to my modest library. OK, it’s glue bound, not preferred stitched sections, but as it’s slim, I forgive it. (Stitched sections fall open and lay flat. Lovely. Glued only lay flat by breaking the spine.)

Now I am on my Christmas holiday, it’s my first day of enjoying an early morning classic movie, while it’s still dark outside. Today’s choice complemented my seasonal re-read of the novel quite nicely.

A bit of Edgar Allan Poe goodness from The Folio Society to add pleasure to my Christmas holiday reading. I must praise their customer service. I paid the premium for next day delivery but DPD failed to deliver yesterday as scheduled, so the Folio Society refunded the next day premium to me.

worth house is always worth a visit at Christmas. Lovely grounds, great café that has recently stepped up what it offers, fabulous second-hand book shop, and the grand house itself, which puts on a grand Christmas display each year.

Some spinny disc soundtracks heaven courtesy of Quartet records. Do you love these ones as much as I do? @quartetrecords.bsky.social

Why I’m drawn to this modest Christmas television film, and why I ache for John Barry’s music from it. open.substack.com/pub/stephenw... #TheGathering #ChristmasMovies #JohnBarry

A question, though: why is M.R. James’ name printed large on his volume while Margaret Oliphant’s is printed small on hers?

Alongside my season re-read of Dracula, this year from the beautiful Folio Society edition, I like to spend my two weeks of Christmas and New Year delving into a mix of favourite short stories from these volumes. Shirley Jackson will be read too, from the Folio Society edition of Dark Tales.

An audio-book for bed time. Well, half audio-book, half audio theatre, actually. A favourite ghost story.

Film music doesn’t need to be big, noisy, and busy to be effective. Some of the best film music is sparing, simple, and intimate. You want an example? Not only of my point but of why I hold John Barry in particularly high regard? This piano cover tells all. youtu.be/Ny-MiYzYZvE

A rare team day in London yesterday, with lunch at Grind. I don't talk much about my work here. We are the Growth practice of Lean Tree. We help businesses grow and change through coaching, training, and hands-on support in leadership, business change, and agile product development. Now you know.

What is it about December and the long run up to Christmas? Perhaps the dark evenings, cosy indoors, and tendency to dimmed lights and candles. It’s become the month for my traditional re-read of Dracula and the short ghost stories of James, Dickens, Jackson.

CDs that have been purchased over the last 18 months, ready to be taken upstairs to the CD boxes so the downstairs shelves around the CD player can become a bit less cluttered. Don’t worry. They’ll still get played plenty. I just can’t store everything around the downstairs CD player forever.

Now December is here and I finished my Professional Scrum Trainer development, I plan to finish my current leisure read (Star Wars) so I can start my seasonal re-read of Dracula to finish on Christmas Eve, and, hopefully, one Hitchcock per cosy evening running up to Christmas. #leisureplans

My inbox be like, “Save 70% by buying all this stuff you don’t need at our Black Friday prices.” I be like, “I’ll save 100% by not buying it at all, thanks.” For more cost saving tips, follow me right here. 😄

Guess what I’m listening to in Café Nero this morning. The funny thing is I don’t rate it as highly as OHMSS or Thunderball, but it’s still the expanded 007 music release I’m playing most. Do you like my custom cover for the original album program? I tried to echo the iconic Goldfinger album vibe.

This morning, I’ve been attentively listening to the new recording of Jerry Goldsmith’s THE CHAIRMAN. It’s always been one of my favourite Goldsmith film scores. I bought the LP back in 1986 and played it to death. To me, this is him on his top musical form. The reconstruction is absolutely amazing.

Scars of Dracula is the weakest of Hammer’s Dracula films, but it has saving graces. It delves into hitherto unexploited elements of Stoker's novel. It has a glorious James Bernard score. I have a special personal connection to the Delia Lindsay scene. It looks stunning in 4K.

Tell me. What kind of a home office doesn't have a gold USS Enterprise?

I just finished THE HOOK AND THE EYE by friend Raymond Benson. Terrific plot with friendships, betrayals, surprises, and moments of spectacular tension and violence. The fallible humanity comes through and, like Casino Royale, is rooted in a doomed love story. Excellent! @raymondbenson.bsky.social

Now, here are two particularly interesting soundtrack releases from yesterday. I love Hamlisch’s SOPHIE’S CHOICE and the scores on this Lalo Schifrin set are very exciting.

MOONRAKER is a great 007 score and a marvellous slice of John Barry at his delicious best. It’s a delight to see what @lalalandrecords.bsky.social with producer @nsbulk.bsky.social are doing to get this music out in its best sound and most expansive content.

In 1980, Laurie Johnson conducted new digital recordings of his film and TV music, released on vynil LP. The US LPs are pictured top. Varese Sarabande released these recordings on CD (bottom), but incomplete. The tracks from The Professionals have still not surfaced on CD. I'd love them to.

Arrived today. There was much hoopla about the price, but it was £50 less than initially advertised in the end.

Four fabulous scores by John Barry that illuminate one of his greatest strengths. They all get into the romance, glitz, and glamour of bygone American showbiz periods while simultaneously touching the tragedy, pain, and loss that was hidden behind the veil. It's something he was especially good at.

I always enjoyed The Seeds of Doom, but it always struck me as out of character for Doctor Who. The Doctor neck cracking thugs? Jumping through glass? Holding people up with a gun? When the info text reminded me this story started as an unmade episode of The Avengers, the style suddenly made sense!

I'm 32 years late to the party, but I've finally acquired this rerecording of lost music from the first two years of Tom Baker’s Doctor Who. It was arguably the show’s best years. Considering the music was done on a shoestring budget, it ended up remarkably memorable and effective. Dudley Simpson!

Although the Kung-Fu wasn’t that great and the philosophy a bit hokie, I loved this show. I'd love to see a hi-def remaster, with all episodes in the correct aspect ratio. I'd also love a proper release of music for this show. We got music-and-dialogue album, but more please! Jim Helms!

My favourite voice in film music, born this day in 1933. He didn’t write the most complex music out there, but there is an extraordinary musical and cinematic intelligence to his music, as well as a certain stylishness, which makes his work consistently first class for me.

Tonight's Halloween double bill.

Last Saturday, it was 50 years since episode one of Doctor Who: Pyramids of Mars was broadcast. Today, it’s 50 years since the big ITV premiere of Doctor No. I know I watched both. I know I was thrilled by both. What a week of television that was!

This evening’s viewing. One of my favourites. Episode one was first broadcast on October 25, 1975. Yes, 50 years ago yesterday. #DoctorWho #PyramidsOfMars

Bloke overheard in café to his mate in an exasperated tone: “I had to get up at **5:30** this morning!!” Me: “Hold my Chai Skinny Latte.”

I’m hearing that many Doctor Who fans are appalled at the new Season 13 Blu-Ray box set for excessive use of AI to smooth the video and “enhance” facial details. I won’t get a chance to see for myself till Thursday. Any thoughts from my mates? #DoctorWho

What a lot of fans miss about the ending of The Curse of Frankstenstein. An appreciation I wrote in celebration of the new 4K UHD release from Hammer Film Holdings. #Frankenstein #TheCurseofFrankenstein #HammerFilms #HammerHorror @hammerfilms.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/stephenw...

A little more spinny disc therapy.

These deluxe hammer box sets are beautiful, but I really don’t have the space for too many like this! I want Dracula like this. For others, I hope we get 4K editions with special features, but I'd be content for them to be 2-disc slim case editions. My shelves can’t take it otherwise!

The spinny disc delight of the day, with apologies to Mrs W. @hammerfilms.bsky.social #Frankenstein #TheCurseOfFrankenstein

Reading typically disturbing Shirley Jackson short stories while Humphrey Searle music fills the room. A sin of sensory context switching, I know, but it’s a poetic connection. The initiated will understand. #ShirleyJackson #HumphreySearle @foliosociety.bsky.social

A reminder in case you missed it. stephenwoolston.substack.com/p/a-return-t...

It was quite a good day for spinny disc soundtracks yesterday. The Miklós Rózsa title was an unexpected free gift! Thanks, guys! “Steve, are you only just getting Thunderball?” No. Don’t worry. This is a spare copy. I’ve had a primary copy for quite a while.

To my point about size, here it is next to the most recent Folio Society large volume edition, which is admittedly gorgeous, just big! Incidentally, I’m not sure who, for this new edition, decided the novel is suffixed, “A Mystery Story,” but that’s a matter I can overlook. #Dracula #BramStoker

As you may know, I have a small collection of Dracula editions. I’m particularly fond of hand sized editions. Much as I love Folio Society quality, I’m not mad about large volumes. They must be hardback and bound with stitched sections. This new one, with red-gold gilding, ticks all the boxes!

Something I wrote on Substack: An appreciation and reader’s guide to Shirley Jackson’s THE SUNDIAL. stephenwoolston.substack.com/p/a-return-t... #shirleyjackson #thesundial

It was a pleasure to be invited by Ian Fleming Publications to the launch party for my friend Raymond Benson’s latest book in the James Bond universe: a Felix Leiter adventure called THE HOOK AND THE EYE. I look forward to getting stuck in with it!

It’s one of Hammer’s weakest, most perfunctory films. But... It’s Christopher Lee doing Dracula; it’s Patrick Troughton being devilish just after Doctor Who; the James Bernard score is splendid; and it’s a beautiful looking 4K edition. Plus, this film has a special and unique connection with me.

Interesting. I knew there must be a market for custom amaray case insert covers, but I didn’t realise there was an underground supply of custom-made steel books.

Fang-tastic news.