Perhaps unsurprisingly, I like celebrating St Patrick’s Day. Who can object to a merry pint of Guinness or three, a convivial slurp of the Bushmill’s or clinking Sláinte with a slug of Jamesons? Pass the potato bread, the soda farls and the wheaten loaf! I’ll have a crisp from Mr Tayto too, if I can …
I’m sure everyone does this, right? Have a few beers, see a discarded wardrobe in the street, climb in and pretend it’s a Tardis. Everyone does it. Right?
I’ve been loving the efforts of people to thoroughly lampoon David Cameron. MyDavidCameron.com has lots of lovely spoof posters. You can make your own here. Here are some of my own efforts. Nothing clever. Just a bit childish. Here’s a brace for for Doctor Who fans and lovers of The Divine Comedy.
When I was 17, I was arrested during a Reclaim the Streets demo at the Old Steine in Brighton. I spent the afternoon in cells and my bicycle was confiscated. Subsequently, I went to court, pleaded guilty and took the punishment (bound over for a year and a modest fine, as I recall). On the …
You’ve doubtless been moved by the heartbreaking tragedy in Haiti over the past few days in the aftermath of the earthquake there. I’ve found the urge to help overwhelming and yet, combined with a sense of powerlessness, also very frustrating. This article from DFID caught my eye today: Killing relief with kindness. Lots of people …
When Alec Douglas-Home died in 1995, I remember asking one of my teachers whether he thought there would ever again be a Prime Minister who’d been schooled at Eton. I paraphrase his reply, but it was unequivocal, slightly venomous and laced with regret. “Never again. John Major and his “classless society” nonsense has seen to …
I’m inclined to use PCs. It’s how I began. It reflects what I need computers for. It speaks to how I see the computer market and audience and, perhaps most importantly, it is a vote of confidence from my experience. It’s also a bit of “yah boo!” at the ‘Mac Wankers’ who like to take …
I’m always too scared to visit this chemists. I can’t imagine why.
Have you noticed? We’ve tidied the place up a bit. Do you like it? Good websites are evolutionary. A tweak here and a tinker there. Every version is the iteration before the one that comes next. A few weeks back I was chatting with my good chum Sue Bailey, AKA blogmum. Regular readers will know …
Backstreet boozer not far from the sea, sunny Sunday evening. A flame haired, ill-tempered 30-something woman approaches the bar. She has enjoyed a few scoops. And I don’t mean ice cream. Her: (Rudely) What wine have you got? Barman: Red or white, madam? Her: White. (As if he should have known that) No Chilean. I’m …
The Crystal Maze was a big deal during the early nineties. If you were like me and in your early teens, it was required watching and, frankly, terribly exciting and cutting edge. It represents the pinnacle the adventure-style game shows that replaced boring old quiz shows for a while and filled the gap before they …
Early on, Channel Four specialised in Granny-Vision. Countdown was obviously vital for the old folk as well as students. Treasure Hunt was Sunday afternoon entertainment. Certainly in our household, it was family viewing. Especially if Granny was around. Treasure Hunt in a nutshell (as I remember it). Anneka Rice is in a helicopter with a …
I live a stone’s throw from Brighton’s oldest church, St Nicholas’s. So I felt an urge to attend the funeral of Henry Allingham, one of the last veterans of World War 1. Many hundreds of people were there too. It was a moving occasion, even outside the church. Sombre certainly and all the time you …
It was a tremendous giggle to go and see my mate Martin Stockman strut his stuff on Anthony Gormley’s fourth plinth as part of the ‘One and Other’ project. Dressed in cricket whites, resplendent in team blazer and cap he read his own poems (some with a cricket theme) and also lyrics from Roxy Music …