A little about me

My name is David Allen and I’m a 50-‘something’ Welsh librarian who works in London and lives in Brighton.  My mother got me into watching old movies on television when I was very young having read to me at bed times when I was younger still. ‘The Faraway Tree’ and ‘Worzel Gummidge’ were big favourites and I remember the feeling of being taken away to these amazing places just through the words that my mother spoke out loud from the written page. A few years later, I read ‘A Christmas Carol’ and wept as Bob’s children cried out in grief at the loss of their younger brother, Tim. I knew then that I wanted to do that, to move people like that.

Why this site exists

This site began as a means for me to express my thoughts about movies and television shows I’d seen (as well as pop concerts etc). The aim was to practice writing to further my ultimate ambition of becoming an author. By my last review in May 2021, I was yet to write anything creatively so I set the reviewing aside to focus on writing my book (my old reviews are still accessible via the Blogging (Then) page.

As of November 2025, I had written 5 drafts, taken it through various edits and ran it by a trusted friend. More on this can be found on the The Book page.

I’ve been looking for an agent and publisher ever since.

To keep my hand in with the writing, I was approached by Roger from Queerguru early in 2026 to write reviews on LGBTQ+ content for his website. I’ve included links to them all here on the Blogging (Now) page.

Going through some old school workbooks not too long ago, I came across this piece from my English class from when I was 12 years’ old. I’m not sure I was that dedicated a coin or stamp collector but the will to write existed then and has remained with me since.

The title of the site

A long time ago when I was thinking of ideas for stories, I thought about Toto in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and how we had a non-speaking character who’s there every step of the way.  I saw him as an observer (even though it’s because of him that key events happen) and so I thought a film-related name from a film I love for a blog site about watching things would be fitting.

And now… well, I figured that as I already had the name and a lot of content, I’d keep it and repurpose to promote my current works.