A blog of blurbs. “Derivative and one note.” “Oddly compelling.” “A novel idea that ultimately proves wearing.” “Brief, thought provoking – but in a bad way.” “It is as if the act of inverting the blurbs – tucking them between the covers of the piece itself James reveals… precisely nothing.” “What exactly are these blurbs […]

I’m going to say something truly disgusting. Truly abhorrent. I can’t believe I am actually going to say this. Here goes… ‘Impactful.’ What an utterly unpleasant, unnecessary, unbecoming word. Is there a more malodorous, misbegotten malady than the word ‘Impactful’? “Thanks for that session Greg it really impacted me.” Did it? Did it? You should […]

The older I get the more I realise – people just want to be heard. It’s wired into us. Our first act is to scream for attention. When in pain we cry out. We know that our only chance of survival is to be heard, to be noticed. When we fall off a bike and […]

10 programmes I saw this year that enriched my life… black-ish On All4 For fans of 30 Rock, Kimmy Schmidt and Brooklyn 99, when you’ve got 20 minutes to kill (or multiples of 20 minutes…) Why A glorious return to the family sitcom that is smart, savvy, has a great gag rate and that sets […]

We can breathe a sigh of relief folks! Yes Cadbury Dairy Milk products are no longer going to have the FAIRTRADE mark. But this is cause for Celebration(s), if you read this illuminating post from Fairtrade’s blog: Why I want to cheer, not jeer, what is happening with Cadbury and Fairtrade. The piece clarifies that […]

I wrote a piece for Sanctuary First as part of the Songs of Remembrance series, discussing the Arctic Monkeys’ Track Riot Van and using it to explore the tragic-comedy of adolescence. I suggest Alex Turner looks on his creations, as God might look at us, with fond lament. Most of us, I reckon, have a […]

At Church the minister used the American election as a lead in to talking about the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector. Her premise being, that 21st century Americans and 1st century Jews could both identify with being stuck between a rock and a hard place. In the fraught presidential contest two figures […]

If you are in Scotland and are expecting a baby next year you may well get an additional bundle of joy with your bundle of joy courtesy of the government. Scot Gov will be trialling a ‘Baby Box’ scheme on New Year’s Day with a full implementation over the summer. The initiative is modelled on […]

I would love to draw your attention to this fantastic BBC Earth article about beavers. The piece is brilliant for two reasons. In the first instance it’s about beavers! Those loveable, toothy cornerstones of nature. It brings good news about the aforementioned. But it’s also utterly, wonderfully bonkers. Laboured puns that are labours of love and metaphors […]