The common cold vs humanity — Dear humanity, We sat by in 2019 and decided to take no action over your dalliances with our sibling — COVID-19. We took no action because we believed it would be a brief and passing fancy. We thought you would come back to us once you realised your mistake. Even…

It’s time to talk about Dr Satler’s behaviour on an important issue — In an interview this week, Laura Dern spoke up on the age gap between her character (Doctor Satler) and on-screen lover Dr Grant (played by Sam Neill). She was twenty-three at the time while Neill was forty-four. Many have commented across social media that they had no idea they were…

It is *not* in favour of minority groups — On Twitter last week, we all suddenly became aware of a page promoting “white working class voices in publishing.” This group was openly challenged about their racist stance, something on which they continued to double down before deleting the page on Friday. It’s no secret that UK traditional publishing is…

The oft-repeated nonsense about selling books on Instagram — Every so often, authors on Twitter target another platform for being “rubbish” for authors. More often than not, it’s Instagram though more recently I’ve seen such criticisms thrown at other platforms like TikTok. My answer is always the same: It’s perfectly easy to find readers and sell books on Instagram…

It started with Boris Johnson and Lord Sugar — expect more — In two separate (but not doubt linked by the right-wing rags that dictate political narrative in the UK) diatribes, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Lord Sugar both wrote and published articles (both in The Daily Mail) about how bad working from home is for business and the economy. Boris Johnson ‘My experience…

— — A transcript from January 2022 — — Suit one: Following another null point last year we have to think long and hard about how we’re going to do it better in 2022. Suit two: It’s almost like everyone hates us. The French never give us any points. Suit…

We have a long way to go — About four years ago in a city near where I live, a man with severe mental illness climbed to the roof of a block of flats and stayed there for about two days. …

And I have the perfect route for you too — Brits are not alone in Europe in driving on the left (Eire, Malta, Cyprus, and the Channel Islands also drive on the left) we are vastly outnumbered. It can be daunting, especially crossing from the UK to France and doing so in heavy traffic. A rural island like Rhodes is perfect I’ve got a hire car on…

Even now, his stories bring chills — Montague Rhodes James — better known as M.R. James — was a noted medievalist scholar who worked at both Eton (England’s foremost public school) and King’s College Cambridge (the one famous for Carols from Kings). M.R. James wrote horror. More specifically, gothic horror primarily featuring ghosts, ghouls, and ghastly creatures…