Will You Cast my Vote in the EU Referendum?
I’ve screwed up: I’m registered to vote in Liverpool but am going to London on the day of the EU referendum. I know I know, I should have organised a postal vote but I didn’t. (more…)
In Defence of Foreign Aid
A newspaper is like a puzzle. Journalists write material that fits the exact requirement of particular pages – news, sports, health, arts, business. Like every puzzle, the structure of a newspaper is clear and logical when you understand it. Newspapers are predictable; readers know they can turn to the back page for sports news and page three of some publications for a topless teenager.
When a newspaper has a great story they will break their own format and spread the news over many pages. This is rare but it happened twice in the last week: the Guardian’s Monday April fourth edition dedicated their first 7 pages to the “Panama Papers” – a story which they broke in the UK and is having a global impact.
A day earlier, on Sunday April third, the Mail on Sunday (MOS) did something similar. They dedicated 11 pages, including the front page, to a scandal of their own making about Britain’s “£12 billion foreign aid madness.” (more…)
Letter to Asylum Seekers
Dear Asylum seekers,
First of all, welcome to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – the cumbersome name of my home country, a name that not many of my fellow Brits actually know. We tend to call ourselves English, Scots, Northern Irish or Welsh.
I don’t know your personal story, ethnicity, religion, or if you had a traumatic journey here but I’m glad you came and I’m sure many Brits would agree with me. Not only are we sympathetic to your plight (escaping terror and poverty at home) but we need you. (more…)
Can God Help Addicts?
I avoid conferences and seminars as they can be so boring but recently I spent two days of my life at the Recovery from Addiction Conference at Chester University and it was really interesting. And I’m not saying this because somebody paid me to be there or write this (I wish they had). The truth is I was there out of genuine interest in addicts and their condition. (more…)
The Martian Helped Me Overcome Writers’ Block
I wanted to see a film last night and the only thing on at my local cinema was The Martian. All I knew about this film was that it starred Matt Damon. The film is great and it gripped me so tightly that I forgot about the real world outside. It also helped me overcome writer’s block. (more…)
What’s it Like to Live With a Neurotic?
I am constantly reminded of the Glass Menagerie, a play by Tennessee Williams that I recently saw in Liverpool. The play is about a neurotic mother who lives in the past and makes her daughter’s life a misery. She reminds me of several people I have come across. (more…)