Arts
The Return of the Native
Sorry to disappoint the diehard Thomas Hardy fans amongst you, but this has nothing at all to do with Clym Yeobright, Egdon Heath and the heathlands of Wessex, nor the love tangles and tragedies he [more…]
Arts
Arts
Postcard from Saint Agnes
I suppose the best way to start this article is to say it has almost nothing to do with St Agnes, the patron saint of girls, although rather weirdly I am unintentionally writing it on [more…]
Democracy
An Appointment at Noon
The Medical Officer and the young lieutenant inspected the work of the firing party; “She’s still alive, the volley has failed to kill her said the MO,” the young lieutenant looked down at the sagging [more…]
Arts
Fabulously Flamboyant Fridays: Synth Pop Part Three – Breaking Up Is Hard To Do
Greetings pop pickers and welcome to another edition of Fabulously Flamboyant Fridays – our occasional Campari and soda drenched probe into the rainbow and glitter world of artistes who are quite simply fabulous, darling. This [more…]
Arts
Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review
Question Time 25th January 2024 The Panel: Alex Burghart (Conservative) Jonathan Ashworth (Labour) Bronwen Maddox (CEO of Chatham House) Sonia Sodha (Columnist and Author) Konstantin Kisin (Satirist and Podcaster) Venue: Gillingham Despite, or perhaps because [more…]
Arts
No More Heroes Any More?
The recent death of JPR spurred me on to complete an article I started a few months ago on the subject of childhood heroes. I know for many JPR was a proper hero in the [more…]
Eating
Caribbean Christmas 2023/24, Part Two
Day 1 – 22nd December, Gatwick to Bridgetown Barbados My alarm woke me at 05:00. In no rush to get up, I lay there for 15 minutes before struggling out of bed. I showered and [more…]
Arts
Inventions that changed music – Part 1: The Piano
[This is part one of a short and sproadic series of articles exploring a number of inventions/creations that I think of as being instrumental (hah!) in changing how music is made and/or or how music [more…]
Arts
Iggy Pop – The Idiot (1977)
Listening for the first time to a bone fide legend of music comes with more than a small amount of trepidation and expectation. One expects to be immediately impressed, wowed, surprised and entertained; one expects [more…]