Anyone who knows me will tell you I’ve become a bit obsessed with poetry lately. Writing, performing, reading and gigging; it seems to be all I can talk about these days. Mentioning my historical love of the written word in a previous post, I have been feeling lucky to have seen spoken word star Neil Hilborn twice in … Continue reading Evidently…John Cooper Clarke
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It’s Not Pie
Anger is a poison; a toxin of nuclear potential that can quietly fester and slowly destroy the holder or explode with volatility and take aim at those in their vicinity. It is part of the human condition, a force that can drive and motivate us, but could equally be our undoing. Growing up, my own experience with anger … Continue reading It’s Not Pie
There is a Light that Never Goes Out
London is absolutely melting right now. Not that summer hasn't happened here before, but it is usually a week of higher temperatures followed by some traditional cloud, a little breeze and some relieving rain. I never thought I’d develop a thirst for precipitation on ‘Mud Island’, but following months of sustained heat the ground is beginning to resemble … Continue reading There is a Light that Never Goes Out
Queues of the Stone Age
I must confess this headline isn’t mine, I overheard it last Saturday and had to laugh as I was in fact standing in a queue for a porta-loo at a day festival. I was glad to have found this particular bank of individual cabins, since hours earlier I was among a potentially dangerous crush of bodies trying to get around a corner … Continue reading Queues of the Stone Age
Maybe If I Make Enough Noise
Growing up in South Africa has woven into my childhood a rich tapestry of culture and language. Apartheid was still in control when I was born in the eighties and as my awareness expanded the landscape changed. Mandela was released, democracy was achieved and I still follow the developments as my home country continues to … Continue reading Maybe If I Make Enough Noise
Suffrage Was Only the Beginning
Suffrage: Noun, the right to vote in political elections. Synonym, franchise. 100 years ago, some women in the UK were given the right to vote. One had to be at least 30 years old and a property owner to qualify for this right, but another decade later in 1928 it was extended to all women … Continue reading Suffrage Was Only the Beginning
Patti for President
Hearing my alarm shock me awake yesterday morning was more difficult than usual for a Monday; hardly a highlight in my weekly calendar, since I was still reeling from the day before. Shortly after seeing Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds last year and thinking I’d reached peak gig experience, I saw they were billed … Continue reading Patti for President
Stranger than Fiction
A strange and silly joke has made its way to my desk at work; a friend thought it suited my sense of humour and I couldn’t disagree. It’s a realistic looking, darkly funny, sun-beaten tin of ‘unicorn meat’. The bewilderingly thorough label includes a less than appetising gamey-looking serving suggestion, but also a complete list … Continue reading Stranger than Fiction
Banners
Mass display was a concept I first heard about in high school. As part of gym class, across our year, each class was to create such a display to perform in front of the whole school. The point of it is still lost on me, but I remember my class needing some explanation as to … Continue reading Banners
Crisps at Claridges
Testing my relatively thin end of day patience, I dodged other pedestrians on the ever congested Regent Street on a warm Wednesday evening. Making my way passed the persistent protest efforts outside Canada Goose (and tweeting it like the modern social justice warrior I think I am), I turned down Hanover Street and felt like I … Continue reading Crisps at Claridges