The Glory Year 30th anniversary podcast - we saw things you'll never see

 

Ah, the 1990s! It was the era of Britpop, Cool Britannia, Loaded and lager.

It was for me anyway, it was also the Blackburn Rovers “glory year” the mid-decade roller coaster that was the title winning season!

We saw things you’ll never see!

I really enjoyed taking part in this nostalgia fuelled trip down memory lane in this special episode of the 4000 Holes Blackburn Rovers podcast series!

If you were around, this is shameless nostalgia, if you weren't, this is what it once was like when a Rovers owner used to "Think Big!".

Join host & producer Ian Herbert as he chats with former PL referee (& Rovers season ticket holder) Tony Leake and fellow Rovers fans Katharine McNamara and Roger Whiteside.

We recall the highs/lows & the tension of that final week...do you have the bottle to listen to the end? ;)

Appearing on the We Built This City podcast with Lisa Morton

“I just love telling people’s stories”

I was invited on to Lisa Morton's excellent podcast, WE BUILT THIS CITY.

Her blurb for me was lovely: "When Michael Taylor left Lancaster for university studies in Manchester, he gained more than a sociology degree - he found a city to call home, a true adopted Manc.

"Experience 1980s Manchester through Michael's memories of the clubs, relationships and a cultural vibrancy he came to embrace and love.

"What did Michael learn from being at the heart of the city’s business world as the editor of Insider, and what are the valuable lessons that have informed change in Manchester over the past 20 years?

"Michael’s career has taken him down several different avenues into politics and academia, so what led him to recently return to his first love, journalism and become editor of online magazine The Business Desk.com and what does he feel is still left to be written?

"The conversation demonstrates the power of place in shaping identity and the relationships and connections that help to build a career in Manchester."

I probably displayed more vulnerability than I usually would, and at times it felt like therapy, but that's LIsa's skill as an interviewer. 

We also recorded it before the conclusion to the rape trial of Lawrence Jones, a senior figure in the Manchester tech world, which I wrote about. Lisa also wanted to remind me of my own shortcomings during the laddish 2000s and the times when she suffered harassment. 

I've known Lisa since 2000 a few years after she started PR company Roland Dransfield in 1996, one month after the fateful IRA bomb that tore apart the city centre.  From that point, the business, and its team members, have been involved in helping to support the creation of Modern Manchester – across regeneration, business, charity, leisure and hospitality, sport and culture.

To celebrate the 26 years that Roland Dransfield has spent creating these bonds, Lisa is gathering together some of her Greater Mancunian ‘family’ and will be exploring how they have created their own purposeful relationships with the best place in the world.

Andy Burnham on Northern Spin

 

I had that Andy Burnham on my podcast the other week.

The Greater Manchester Mayor spent a good hour talking politics, sport and culture in a wide ranging interview on the Northern Spin podcast that I do with a small c conservative called Chris Maguire.

But I fluffed my lines.

I was meant to use the opportunity to get a few lines for the Music Therapy show. A few musical tips and to ambush Burnham with a story I’d heard about a nickname he acquired at the South By South West (SXSW) music and technology festival in Austin, Texas a few years ago.

A very reliable informant told me that word had rippled around the festival, amongst women of a certain age and disposition, that the Manchester stand was the place to hang out. 

Not to pick up a brochure on how the city has become a tech hub, but because of the presence of ‘Hottie Mayor” with the big eyelashes and a charming smile.

Getting a selfie with “HM” became the thing.

I’m sharing this with you now, but though it was in my mind when we were doing the interview in the podcast studio, I couldn’t quite find a way to get it into a question.

We did talk about SXSW though, where he was earlier this year too, partly to launch Manchester’s very own music convention later this year - Beyond The Music, the brainchild of Rose Marley and Oliver Wilson, son of the late great Tony Wilson, who’s passing at the age of 57 in August 2007 we still mourn. 

Here’s what he said:  “Does it get any better than introducing New Order from the stage in Austin? 

“I think it is possible because it's actually well documented that South by Southwest took inspiration from In The City, which was a Tony Wilson music conference that ran in the early 2000s.

“Beyond the Music is going to be a parliament for music. It's going to be a sort of co-operatively owned event, and it's going to be about getting all voices in the industry coming forward. So it will bring something different.”

The Mayor has been a regular and consistent supporter of local music since he was elected. He picks an Artist of the Month and encourages people to get along and support live music.

He also goes to gigs for fun, not just for the photocall. It’s his thing.  

In a magazine aimed at lads like us, Paninaro, up pops Burnham again.

The Scottish blokes who put it together were equally as charmed, though they didn’t call him ‘HM’.

A totally phoney politician would come up with stories for this audience about dancing on the stage of a certain Manchester nightclub in the 80s and 90s. 

Burnham tells the story about being turned away from the door as a fresh faced townie from Warrington.

He plugs a few bands for Paninaro - Slow Readers Club are the latest.

“In a different era they would have been everybody’s band. Quality wise, they are right up there.

“The Mayor’s Artist of the Month is there because of my upbringing and the joy music has given me. But you have to be critical of the place you are from as well. There is a tendency to trade on past glories…you’ve got to take inspiration from that and fire up what’s next.” 

  

A few days after we recorded our podcast, the Mayor was on stage at the Kendal Calling festival introducing big favourites of this show, Blossoms, giving a big shout-out to Stockport in the process.

I can’t think of many politicians who could get away with something like that without getting completely slaughtered.

As music fans, I think we’re very lucky to have support like this.

To hear his views on cricket, Catholicism, northern values and Gary Neville check out the Northern Spin podcast on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Northern Spin Extra - Special Guest, Economist Nicola Headlam

What’s Boris Johnson really like?

Nicola Headlam should know because she was one of the most senior civil servants at the Northern Powerhouse and she’s lifted the lid on him and other senior politicians.

Now the chief economist at Red Flag Alert she’s the latest guest on Northern Spin Extra and didn’t hold back on her views on Northern Powerhouse Rail.

When we launched the podcast it was to get insight from people like Nicola and she didn’t disappoint.

Give it a watch (above).

#northernpowerhouse

Northern Spin podcast goes to Blackpool, and the Phoenix

"Really good episode" says former civil servant David Higham, a man who knows his history and appreciates insight.

This week we talk about Blackpool's regeneration efforts over the years, Andy Burnham's appointment of Kate Green as his Deputy Mayor and the disgrace of Boris Johnson's honours list.

And why, despite everything, I still love Phoenix Nights.

We're on Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.

https://lnkd.in/eQYwV-cJ

Apple - https://lnkd.in/eX8eiNhT 

Alan Cavill, Andy Morrell, Nicola Headlam, The Manchester Metropolitan University, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, The Labour Party, Blackpool Council, The Centre for Social Justice.

September blog challenge

I need to get my mojo fired up and my writing head on. I've created a whole load of deadlines and expectations for the month, that will keep me motivated. However, I've also set myself the blog a day target as well. 

I've done this before in July 2019 and November 2020. I may even get around to covering some of the topics I promised to cover last time, but didn't. Like on our radio show, I do requests, but reserve the right to not do ones I don't like.

In short order, and on the list are:

• Academic writing v journalism
• Refugees
• Magazines
• Debate and disagreement
• Networks, why we need them, and why we don't
• 24 Hour News vs Slow news
• Family
• Friends
• All Those Things That Seemed So Important
• Aesthetics
• Devolution and Democracy
• Living with medical conditions
• Welsh Nationalism
• Some book reviews
• The 143 (not a bus route, a music list)
• Folk horror
• Kinder Scout, my complex relationship 
• Cumberland

Just to be clear, I don't often suffer from writer's block, but I am old enough to recognise that I work best under pressure. I should also at this point link to the Big Issue in the North, which published my feature on the BBC. I'd love you to buy a copy from their digital archive, here.

I also do a weekly column on music (mainly) for the Weekender section of the Tameside Reporter and Glossop Chronicle. One of the recent ones is here.

I was also involved in the Inset Day at Aquinas College yesterday, which prompted this piece on LinkedIn. 

So, which me luck and I hope this works.

My Sounds of the Season 1983/84

So I've done my Sounds of the Season on Rovers Radio, like a Desert Island Discs for Blackburn Rovers fans. Usually, I do the interviews, but this was my turn to be in the hot seat.

You can link to it here. But this is the preamble.

Honestly, in many ways 1983/84 was a bang average season for Blackburn Rovers, not many memories feature in the history books, compared to what came several years later. The crowds were really low, in fact, we hit a new low. But it was really memorable for me for all sorts of different reasons, just going to Rovers, them becoming part of my life, was one of the emerging pillars of my identity, as were music, ideas, fashion, amongst others.

On the pitch, Simon Garner had a great season. Norman Bell got injured in the first game and never played again. So Garner was partnered with Chris Thompson mostly while Miller or Brotherston or Patterson provided the crosses. This season saw the emergence of Simon Barker alongside an ever-present John Lowey in the centre of midfield.

At the back, it was still Baz, Faz, Keeley and Branagan, in theory, but David Glenn filled in for Baz for most of the season, and all-rounder David Hamilton popped up wherever he was needed. Terry Gennoe was a solid presence in goal, with a cup run, an unbeaten league run, strong home form, on paper it looks like a good season, but too many draws meant although we finished 6th, it never felt like a promotion push. Chelsea and Sheffield Wednesday were comfortably ahead, Newcastle finished third and Manchester City had to endure another season down in the doldrums. 

It was however a great year for music. A massive turning point, a breakthrough. Just look at the choices I make and think what it must have been like to be alive and excited by all of that happening for the very first time.

Culturally, this period of time probably had a more profound and lasting influence on me than many of the later years. I bailed out of my Grammar School a year into sixth form and enrolled at Lancaster and Morecambe FE College instead, and instantly felt so much more at ease. Some of the things I got into later I quickly backed away from, but there is a reasonably straight line from the person I was in 1983 to where I am today, which I am very comfortable with.

It was also a pretty violent and racist time. There was always tension in the air, a sense it could kick-off, especially as you were hunted down at away matches, or when the bigger clubs arrived at Ewood. I also could have relayed scrapes at nearly every match I mention here, but I survived. 

These are my Sounds of the Season, 1983/84. Do give the show a listen if you want to hear the rest of the story. I’ll dedicate it to Chris Heath (RIP), Nick, Phil, Tony, Mick, Daz, Dave, Neil Fell, Phil Shaw, Lancaster and Morecambe FE College, Baz Dootson, and an apology to Louise Stokes for not returning her David Bowie LP.

The Songs

My Ever Changing Moods - Style Council

Modern Love - David Bowie

This Charming Man - The Smiths

Thieves Like Us - New Order

Boys Don't Cry - The Cure

Ain't Nobody - Rufus and Chaka Khan

Nelson Mandela - The Specials

White Lines (Don't Do It) - Grandmaster Flash

The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen

The Day Before You Came - Blancmange

The Unlikely Accountant

 

I was really humbled to be invited to be a guest on Victoria Mortimer's excellent podcast The Unlikely Accountant. In a very crowded market it really stood out as being authentic, warm, informative and it really piques my curiosity every time a new episode drops. I hope this half-hour chat comes across as OK. We explore some interesting issues around authenticity in business, the old chestnut about the values and attributes of certain professions, debate, but also about mental health, social media and the importance of being nice. 

Hosting at Invest North 21: Selling the north to the world

Had a wonderful time hosting this final session at the Invest North 21 conference last week, Selling the North to the World organised by The Business Desk. The discussion was great, but I'm probably more excited by the way the new podcast rig looks and sounds.

I was joined by Collette Roche, chief operating officer at Manchester United Football Club, James Mason, chief executive for Welcome to Yorkshire, Sheona Southern, managing director at Marketing Manchester and Kerry Thomas – head of marketing – Blackpool Cluster – Merlin Entertainments Group.

We covered so many great things our tourist sector is gearing up to market as the economy reopens. But the spirit of the people was a constant. “Friendly”, “Down-to-earth” and “Hospitable” were just some of the attributes which will be used to help maximise the North’s attraction to international visitors, according to our panel of experts. I was pleased to slide in references to Freshwalks, my DJ work and Tame Impala, which hopefully added something.

Hope you enjoy it. It reminded me of a couple of things, I really enjoy doing this kind of thing. It's not for me to judge whether I'm any good at it, but the feedback was good. There's a link to coverage of the session here.

Upping my podcast game, an update

I said I wanted to 'up my podcast game' a couple of weeks ago. Anyway, on that theme two recordings I did this month have landed today, rather proving the point that the production, marketing, social and framing of podcasts generally has been through quite the evolution.

First up, two of my hiking friends Mitch and Richard asked me to carry on a conversation that probably started at Kinder Downfall earlier in the year, just as we came out of lockdown one. They have an amazing podcast series about the world of work and it was so good to speak with them.  

Then the Higher Education policy platform and news hub WonkHE invited me on to the WonkHE Show pick through the week's news. Hope you enjoy it.

Upping the podcast game

One of my New Year resolutions is to up my podcast game. I want to do more of it, I want to get better at it, and I want to have a bit more production control over an end product. 

I'm getting some better gear to complement a top quality microphone (currently without a cable), and have got the youngest son on the case for a mixer and the best software. 

But that's enough about me. The reason is down to the absolute game changing quality of podcast output over the last year. The ones I'm involved in have got really good, so a big shout to Ian from the BRFCS podcast for nailing the tech and the production. Obviously doing a show with a proper radio station with broadcasting professionals means we have raised our game too.

Even in a global pandemic with travel restrictions, the dramatic quality of podcasts keeps getting better. My mate Macca casually asked me this week if I could recommend a few and that's focused my mind. 

Here they are:

Nonce hunting with John Sweeney (above).

Lions Led by Donkeys, history podcast from the US. The ones on the Khmer Rouge are amongst the most harrowing I've ever come across, but because of their presentation style, it's more digestable and at times it's darkly entertaining.

 

I recommended this about a major financial scam, but I've also blogged about it before, here. It was the story of 2019 and it's far from resolved.

   

A couple of deep dive investigations. One into an absolute balloon who managed to con her way around New York, and a far more sinister account of spooks, skullduggery and dark state actions in war zones and online.

   

So many of these music and culture nostalgia trips are absolute crap. This is actually really good. Creditable sources, captures the scene really well.

   

For curiosity and stimulation, no-one gets near the RSA. You'd expect the son of Laurie Taylor to be a good broadcaster, but Matthew Taylor is a peerless public intellectual.

   

Finally, there's Matt Forde. You know I'm a fan so I'm not going to miss him off a list of great podcasts.

 

The Three Kings - another outstanding and ambitious sporting documentary from Jonny Owen

I'm really looking forward to seeing The Three Kings documentary about the lives of Jock Stein, Bill Shankly and Matt Busby, all former miners from the Scottish coalfields who shaped the destiny and identities of Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. There's been a bit of a buzz around at work about it because it features footage from the North West Film Archive, but I'm particularly pleased for the director Jonny Owen, who has form in this emerging genre of storytelling.

The first of his films I saw was the high energy celebration of Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest winning the European Cup, I Believe in Miracles. It's a wonderfully warm and inclusive tale, and you can tell that the players enjoyed their interviews and encounters with Jonny. The funky soundtrack added something really special too, evoking the rhythms of that team and the refreshing way they broke the mould.

Next up was Don't Take Me Home, which blended behind the scenes footage with the fan experience of Wales at the European Championships in 2016. It wasn't just about the football, it can never just be about the football, and sometimes it takes someone with drive to tell that story, someone who gets it. Me and my eldest lad Joe met Jonny in London just after he'd got back from France and was putting the film together. I know I go on about people I've met and bore the arse off you all with my namedropping but he really struck me then as a very special talent. We only recorded a podcast together, with our mutual friend Mark Webster, but I've not heard anything since that contradicted that view I formed in the space of that afternoon together.  He's not only compellingly passionate about the things that really matter to him, but also hyper aware of how sport forms cultural and emotional bonds between people, way beyond the field of play. His background in the South Wales valleys also forms his frame of reference, rather than the baggage of the place he's escaped from, as many other film makers and artists often define themselves. 

As well as the historical footage that he's pulled together with the help of Will McTaggart at the archive, the film also includes musical contributions from, amongst others, Richard Hawley, the musician and songwriter from Sheffield who feels like an incredibly good fit for this project. 

Sporting documentaries can be a bit hit and miss, like musical ones, as I found with the unexpected delights of the Style Council Long Hot Summers film on Sky Arts. It takes effort, access and a burning passion for the subject. I don't normally do enthusiastic previews, but this will be a banger, I guarantee it. 

POST SCRIPT: I’ve seen it now and it’s absolutely magnificent in every way, I particularly enjoyed a cameo by Granada TV cub reporter Tony Wilson in 1974. It's available on Apple TV, Prime and Showtime, and DVD. I would happily go and see it again in a cinema when they reopen.

Downtown Den #111 // Michael Taylor in the Downtown Den

I had great pleasure in joining my old friend Frank McKenna in conversation last week. Inevitably, we're having to adapt to all kinds of new event formats during isolation, lockdown and working from home. This was an old fashioned two-way interview, conducted over Zoom.

We covered a lot, spanning the time we've known each other. The state of the regional media, social media, my first novel and the state of fiction, politics, mental health and my job at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Music Therapy on Tameside Radio

On Sunday nights from 9pm until 11pm me and my mate Neil Summers are going to be playing a few records and telling stories on a new show, Music Therapy on Tameside Radio 103.6 FM. It's a breezy mix of the new and the familiar, designed to end the weekend on a blissed out way. I think of Neil as my far more clued up younger brother, nudging me to appreciate richer, deeper and more exciting music. There's no such thing as a guilty pleasure in our book, just an open mind and a love of great music.

You can listen to us live here. We'll probably get round to setting up a website with mini features, extended interviews and playlists. Possibly.

Massive thanks to Chris Bird and Andy Hoyle at Quest Media for giving us the chance. 

'Proper Tea' with OBI featuring David Dunn

This was a bit special - having a lockdown chat with my pal Will Lewis and one of my all time favourite Blackburn Rovers players, David Dunn. Such a nice bloke, and hopefully something for everyone.

Podcast with Influential Communications - managing news in the digital age

The advance of digital into all aspects of our lives has increased the rate news can spread exponentially. We are working in a 24-hour news cycle, with stories constantly breaking and updating. This has put great pressure on print media; a situation only accelerated by the COVID-19 crisis.

I took part in this podcast at the invitation of Chris Hulme, a director of Influential, and it was largely looking around the changing face of news in the built environment, but was also pretty relevant to news more generally, especially since the lockdown. I was billed as one of three "vastly experienced communicators" which was nice, but daunting. The others were Paul Unger, publisher of Place North West and Place Tech and Zak Garner-Purkis, head of content at Construction News.

One of the topics we touched on was the spreading of misinformation. In these strange times of social isolation, we seem even more desperate for the inside track. I'm sure we've all had messages claiming knowledge about the next phase of the crisis or medical insights. Some we can dismiss as outright disinformation designed to upset and degrade our resilience. Rightly, the tech companies are being asked to do something about this and clamp down on harmful spread of false information. We also all want to be the person who points out that the WhatsApp shared is a fake, because we're connected to Marianna Sprigg at the BBC who does an amazing job of researching and debunking such rubbish. Some nonsense on Facebook is easily reported and dissed in the comment section. But the forward button on WhatsApp is the biggest single cause of spreading conspiracies and wrong information. Often this is done by family members who can't spot fakes, and because of its source is more likely to be believed.

All this rather reinforces the trusted brand status of the BBC and the trusted local media. I'm a staunch defender of the BBC and their public service ethos. They tread that line between being a public body and being state controlled and do it very well. In some countries the equivalent is a tool of propaganda, and in the US this is faced with a battle by stealth from a President actively peddling outright lies and accusing any media who don't go along with him of being 'lamestream', 'fake news' or being a 'con'. Luckily we're nowhere near that.

The other vital and vulnerable source is the local media. Just when we need our community more than ever, our local outlets are in need of state support. This could be for advertising, or some kind of partnership. I'm in support of the News Media campaign and in particular the local version of it nearby, where my good friend Chris Bird is working wonders with Quest Media in Tameside.

I think we need journalism and informed scrutiny more than ever. These troubled times remind us of it on a daily basis.

The Missing Crypto Queen - the story of the year

My favourite podcast of the year has been a real roller coaster of a story, the gripping tale of Ruja Ignatova, the so-called Crypto Queen of the so-called crypto currency One Coin, who seemingly vanished in 2017. I tried to book Jamie Bartlett to come back and speak in Manchester last year but he said he was involved in something which would blow my mind, and recommended his mate Carl Miller instead. He wasn't wrong (and Carl was great, as I said at the time).

More than just a radio documentary, Jamie has managed to create a compelling platform of information and an active network around the story. Jamie's narration, the use of music, the trust of experts, the whole feel of the production crafted by producer Georgia Catt. Jamie has written a really useful long read, here, which provides background, captures everything, but shouldn't stop you from delving in and listening to the series if you haven't already.

In the days when I used to write about conmen and scams I came across several individual acts of callous nastiness, all helped along by added helpings of delusion and greed. This has all those hallmarks on a massive industrial scale, but also with the added dimension of One Coin being almost cult-like, exploiting some of the poorest people in the world. It brings in global money laundering, tax havens and the dark web. In short it's a belting true crime tale for these dark times.

I can't believe it's not been a bigger story, and I'm now avidly following the trial in New York of some of the players in this unfolding drama. You can follow that here on a fabulous site called Inner City Press, which is all over the detail.

It feels like a real frontier moment, not just for crypto currencies, but also for the methods the BBC have deployed to get the story out.  Highly recommended.

Podcast: Change, choice, and the future of politics

In other exciting soul searching news, I recorded a podcast with my mate Tom Cheesewright. We have a right old ramble through politics, choice and LibDem bar charts. And what it was like getting creamed for Change UK.

The link is here.

The Golden Age of Podcasting - a bit of a top 10

I've been an avid consumer of podcasts for the best part of a decade. For a while, most of the best ones were podcast versions of BBC programmes. It's true that my regular downloads do have plenty of them - including The Bottom Line - Evan Davis' very warm hearted business discussions - and Desert Island Discs, where I think Laura Leverne has been a great successor to Kirsty Young and always manages to reveal fascinating nuggets about the castaways.

But we now seem to be entering some kind of golden age. Major media groups are getting better at these, but for me the gems are elsewhere. So here are my top 10 podcasts - not produced by BBC, radio companies or national newspapers, in no particular order. I won't do the links, you know what to do.

Delving into Malcolm Gladwell's Revisionist History is such a great journey to go on, and right now we're exploring Jesuit thought and the casuistic method - though I must confess to getting really irritated by the adverts, especially when Malcolm voices them. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but you have to be able to spot the difference between advertising and editorial.

Unherd - Giles Fraser's Confessions - each one has been sublime. Even the one with Claire Fox.

CapX is a bit to the right of me, but I enjoy their takes on business and politics. The interview with historian Anne Applabaum was superb on Putin's Russia.

Progress - Alison McGovern has a remarkable brain - a real ability to see the bigger picture.

New Statesman - if there's a better reader of the political day-to-day than Stephen Bush I've missed them, his double act with Helen Lewis has sadly ended with her move to The Atlantic, but happily Anoosh Chakelian is getting into her stride impressively.

Polarised from the RSA - Matthew Taylor and Ian Leslie never disappoint. Their basic premise is to look again and how society is getting more divided and find ways through that. The episode with Elizabeth Oldfield from Theos think tank is a good starter.

Political Party with Matt Forde - making politics fun, but also ready to jab when needed. His interviews manage to get real insights and stories from his guests.

Intelligence Squared do some fabulous recordings of their live debates, but their one offs are courageous and compelling too. Rose McGowan on MeToo and finding a voice was unsettling but an urgent message on gender power.

I've been a contributor to two which in any other circumstances I'd be an avid listener regardless. Vaughn Allen's Cottonmouth Manchester really captures the best of Manchester. It's been a real honour to work with Eve Holt to run the rule over local issues around our city.

BRFCS - I can't believe how good Ian Herbert is as a radio producer. An absolute natural. The episode that Linz Lewis and Jenn Bellamy did a women's takeover was a pearler.

Back in the pod - Cottonmouth Manchester

We recorded the first edition of the new format Cottonmouth Manchester podcast this month. I was chuffed to have been asked by Vaughan Allen, CEO of CityCo, and the pod host, to be one of two regular guests commenting on the news, Manchester culture, business and politics. I was doubly chuffed that alongside me would be Eve Holt, Chorlton councillor and social activist, and someone I've enjoyed working with over recent months.

The first one was pretty good, I think. I listen back and always judge it harshly, and know it could be even better. But now we know what's expected and what we're both like on the mic, then I think it's going to be great fun.