The National Lottery Loses The Spirit Of Christmas

If you've regularly visited this blog for countless years, especially around Autumn, you're bound to have seen me hype up the annual National Lottery Advent scratch cards.

I play one each year, scratching off one window a day from December 1st through to Christmas Eve.

Unfortunately, I've made the decision not to buy one for Christmas 2026. Here's why.

The National Lottery's current owners - Allwyn - have made some drastic changes to the 'Christmas Countdown' theme.

As you can see above, this year's card offers players thirty-two chances of winning a £1 Million jackpot. On the surface, that's excellent, giving six opportunities more than previous versions of the £5 cards.

There's one of a few problems, however.

These cards were devised using an Advent calendar theme. There should only be twenty-four windows. Thirty-two 'windows', in this game, is losing the spirit.

Sure, I could change things up by scratching once a day from late November.

The design doesn't even look like a regular Christmas theme. For example, check out the cards I played in 2014 and even the previous version. 

This year's looks like a generic scratch card with a half-assed attempt to make it look somewhat festive using colours associated with Christmas and throwing a bit of decorations here and there.

Contrasted with every single Advent card I've ever played in my lifetime, it is shoddy.

This isn't the only change Allwyn has made to the traditional National Lottery business this year. 

A few months ago, the operator - who picked up the licence in 2024 - introduced a new way of playing the regular National Lottery. Players' numbers are now entered into two draws each Wednesday and Saturday.

Just like with this scratch card shake up, I found the new approach pointless. As did a family member who opted to stop buying tickets after being a weekly player since the first draw in 1994.

I could close by stating 'if it ain't broke, why fix it?' but that would mean I'd know how good or bad the National Lottery's business is doing right now. 

What I do know is this: Advent begins December 1st. Not November 22nd. 

'Uh Oh', Gremlins 3 Gets A New Release Date

Gremlins 3  has a new release date.

The third film is set to hit cinemas on October 6th 2028. That's eleven months later than what was announced last year.

This news was revealed in a teaser posted by Warner Bros. on social media overnight.

The seconds-short clip shows Gizmo's head visible from inside of a bag. He utters 'uh oh' in his famous Mogwai tone.

And that's it. For now.

The first Gremlins flick in thirty-eight years

Gremlins 3 will be the first movie in the franchise since 1990's Gremlins 2: The New Batch. The original was released forty-two years ago and is one of my favourite films. 

I loved Gremlins, but found its sequel to be a letdown. Despite that, I am keen to revisit the franchise after all this time.

I Try Some World Menu Heist Menu Items From McDonald's

McDonald's UK has relaunched its World Menu Heist promotion by bringing out new and intriguing items to its menu.

I ordered a few things yesterday for my lunch. Here's what I had.

Paprika McShaker Fries (from the Netherlands)

For the previous edition of McDonald's World Menu Heist, the company introduced its customers to 'McShaker Fries'. All you do is place your fries in a bag, throw in some seasoning and then shake. Last time we were given sour cream and black pepper to mix with the fries. Apparently, that way of serving fries is accustomed to Poland. Now it's the Netherlands' paprika fries.

As a fan of paprika flavoured Pringles and Walkers Max crisps, it wasn't surprising to realise I enjoyed having the fries seasoned with this spice. In fact, I came away from this experience thinking I should use paprika seasoning when I next cook chips in my air fryer.

Maple & Cheddar Chicken (from Canada)

The main event, from yesterday's lunch, was the Maple and Cheddar Chicken burger from Canada.

It was delicious.

To steal McDonald's own words, this burger consists of 'a 100% chicken breast fillet in a crispy coating, mustard maple sauce, citrus mayonnaise, cheddar cheese, slivered and crispy onions, lettuce, tomato' inside a toasted poppy and sesame seed bun. 

Here's a messier photograph which shows most of the ingredients closeup. 

As noted, I found this to be really nice. I've enjoyed foods with chicken and maple together in the past. This has that sweet and savoury mix. However, the addition of the mustard (and likely the citrus mayonnaise) adds a bit of a kick.

With all that said, I am also keen to try the beef patty that's also part of this promotion.

Other McDonald's World Menu Heist Products

The Big Rosti is a beef patty which contains 100% British and Irish beef along with a crispy rosti potato, bacon, cheese, baconnaise and cheese sauce inside a glazed sesame seed bun.

I'll give that burger a try when I next order from McDonald's.

Also available are the returning Mac and cheese triangles, which are apparently found on the menus in the United Arab Emirates. 

There's also a S'mores McFlurry (Canada) and a Guava X Sprite drink from India. 

Those who like to dip can also find a Szechuan style from the McDonald's China menu.

Breakfast is also covered in the latest World Menu Heist

The morning menu is offering a couple of foreign breakfast takes with a chicken and egg McMuffin from Singapore as well as an Australian chicken and bacon McMuffin.

Intriguing. 

2026 Booker Prize Shortlist Confirmed

The Booker Prize shortlist for 2026 has just been announced at an event held at the Southbank Centre in London.

I was able to watch the livestream of the event from the venue's website. Here are the titles which made it to the next stage of the voting process.

The 2026 Booker Prize Shortlist

• Black Bag by Luke Kennard
• John of John by Douglas Stewart
• May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry
• The Disappearers by Marlon James
• The End of Everything by M. John Harrison
• The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout

This year's judges

This year's judging panel is chaired by Mary Beard. Her fellow panellists are Raymond Antrobus, Jarvis Cocker, Rebecca Liu and Patricia Lockwood.

When the 2026 Booker Prize winner will be announced

The winner of the 2026 Booker Prize will be revealed on Monday 9th November at a ceremony scheduled to be held at Old Billingsgate in London.

The winning author will receive £50,000. The runners up will each earn £2,500.

The 2026 Booker Prize Marathon

Since 2021, I've written posts in which I have read every book of the that particular year's shortlist and then had a gamble on the title, or titles, I have felt had a chance of winning. I'm happy to reveal that I will be running the Booker Prize Marathon once again. You can read the previous exploits below:

The 2021 Booker Prize Diary

The 2022 Booker Prize Diary

The 2023 Booker Prize Diary

The 2024 Booker Prize Diary

The 2025 Booker Prize Diary

I Knew It

I knew it.

I rarely watch Sunday Night Football (or Monday Night Football, for that matter) live. I had planned to do so last night, because the Colts were on the road against the Kansas City Chiefs. However, tiredness - plus knowing I could watch the main parts on the NFL GamePass 'Game in 40' option - won out.

I clicked on the Game in 40 this morning. I saw the length. Forty-eight minutes. 'This one's going to overtime' immediately crossed my mind.

I knew it.

A brilliant back-and-forth. Both teams were at 27 in regulation. They were also tied for 30-30 in OT until the last second of the game, when the Chiefs won 33-30.

Obviously not the result I had been hoping for, but it was a positive performance. Kinda.

Indianapolis are now 0-2. Huge negative.

Batman Day Was Yesterday

In a weird coincidence, I opted to write about Spider-Man yesterday. I should have really written something about Batman considering it was Batman Day.

The fact is, even though I am aware that Batman Day is a thing, I didn't know when it's celebrated.

I now know it's honoured on either the third or fourth Saturday of every September.

The first Batman Day wasn't in September

The first-ever Batman Day wasn't celebrated in September, though. It initially took place on Wednesday 23rd July 2014. 

That date coincided with it being the year of Batman's 75th Anniversary and when the San Diego Comic Con was going on.

September became the traditional month to give the Dark Knight his flowers from 2015 onwards. 

If I remember next year, I'll spend a couple of hours, or so, watching a Batman movie. Which one will depend on my mood at the time!

Spider-Noir Cancelled, Plus A Futuristic Hope

I have only just noticed I didn't write a post about the cancellation of Nicolas Cage's Spider-Noir series.

As I wrote earlier this year, the programme was something I had been looking forward to watching as soon as I first became aware it had entered production.

I wasn't disappointed. The Marvel series, with a detective noir take on Spider-Man, more than met my expectations. 

Cage played the role of the hard-boiled detective - Ben Reilly - whose alter-ego, The Spider, works within 1930's New York City,

According to reports, the decision to nix the series after its initial run was due to costs. Some have pointed to the fact the programme was filmed in both colour and black-and-white. I opted to view it in the latter. It made more sense to do it in that fashion because it felt more authentic considering the genre.

Also noted in the news about the cancellation is Amazon/MGM and Sony are exploring other opportunities to put Spider-Man content on the small screen.

I have one idea.

Spider-Man 2099!

Back when I was a teen, I regularly bought the 2099 series of comics produced my Marvel. One of the titles was based on a futuristic version of Spider-Man.

It would fit the theme, too. Viewers were able to see how a Spidey character existed in 1930s America. How about one from the advent of the 22nd Century?

Spider-Man 2099 hasn't been forgotten since the 90s. I've seen the character pop up in the Spider-Verse movies. It would be cool to see him get his own series. A live-action one at that.