PinnedThe ‘Wilhelm scream’ of modern activismIf you’ve seen a few movies, it’s extremely likely that you will have heard the ‘Wilhelm scream’. It’s so ubiquitous in film, that when you did, it’s just as likely it will not have registered. That is, unless you were specifically listening out for it. The Wilhelm scream is a…Activism5 min read
PinnedCancel Culture and Useful IdiotsEver the cliché, I belong to a Facebook group ‘for writers’. Aside from the regular scam posts about ‘Reviewing your book for free! No strings!’ one of my favourite recent posts was from an author promoting their new novel. …Transgender7 min read
PinnedThe Many Stages of LockdownMost of us have been in some semblance of lockdown for over a year. In the UK, we started this gruesome social experiment on 26 March 2020, and in theory, we emerge blinking and drinking from our cocoon in June. Like grief, lockdown has its own stages. I’m not talking…Lockdown5 min read
PinnedHow We Use ChildrenBack in August of 2020, in a statement on her website, J.K. Rowling explained why she was returning her ludicrously monikered ‘Ripple of Hope’ award. It was following the President of ‘Robert F Kennedy Human Rights’ claims, that Rowling’s views, “diminishes the identity” of transgender people. Hot on the heels…Children5 min read
Oct 4, 2021The Cowards of ComedyOne shouldn’t be shocked when a comedian shows themself to be a morally weak and cowardly individual in the hope that it will sell books, fill gigs, or retain their position in whatever panel show circuit they’re on. When Matt Lucas, former star of Little Britain, went on Twitter last…Transgender4 min read
May 22, 2021Covid: A Corporate Tale“When one gets in bed with government, one must expect the diseases it spreads.” ― Ron Paul A man and a woman from West Yorkshire, England, were recently arrested in connection with a suspected £3.4 million fraud under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme, also known as ‘furlough’. Regarding the arrests…Capitalism4 min read
Nov 29, 2020LinkedIn — A Confederacy of FraudsLinkedIn is ‘the world’s largest professional network’. They have over 720 million members, and if you want a job in the corporate world, or indeed most office-based environments, you need some kind of presence on it. For many, their LinkedIn journey would have started on a Monday morning, probably in…Work6 min read
Oct 30, 2020Hey Hollywood? Shut up.As the US election enters zero hour, we find ourselves once again bombarded by celebrities informing us not just how they have voted, but how others should vote. Even at the height of the UK Labour party’s Red Wedge tours in the 80s featuring The Style Council, Madness, The Specials…Trump5 min read
Sep 6, 2020Rave: a brief historyDon’t Worry Everything is Going to Be Amazing by Billy Moran, is set during the era known largely as ‘Rave’. I love the book and not least because it’s a time that for me, was the last great youth culture and one that has significant personal resonance. When I read…Music4 min read
Sep 6, 2020The Top 10 Rave Tunes of All Time10. Mark One | Hoovers and Spraycans [1992] Choci produced such a weird sound, such a chunking beat and instrumentation that sounded like an afternoon at Screwfix. We revelled in the homemade sounding track that put two fingers up at so called traditionalists who felt every artist should have a guitar…Culture6 min read
