I listened to Philiphobia for a year or so when it came out about 10 years ago. Aidan Moffat’s morose interpretation of an explicitly drunken existence sat perfectly with everything I thought I aspired to at the time. Any comparison between the music of Arab Strap and my own life was, and still is, utterly… Continue reading Arab Strap, 100 Club. London
Year: 2006
Is armed robbery the new Rock and Roll?
What sort of bottle does it take to steal £50 million from the bank of England? I mean, how do you go about even imagining a plan like that? Talk about putting a team back together for another job is the stuff of movies, but it actually happens and these people actually exist. Just as… Continue reading Is armed robbery the new Rock and Roll?
Bully, Larry Clark (2002)
After only managing half of Wolf Creek last week I wasn’t in the mood for being upset by yet more violence. As it happens, along with sex and drugs, violence is one of this films underpinning themes. So I just sighed and got on with cringing at those realistic sounds of people punching each other… Continue reading Bully, Larry Clark (2002)
The wit of the perpetual student
The quest for wit consumes anyone who writes in broadsheet newspapers about food or TV. Slipping in as many witty one liners as possible is part of the training, along with giving your kids a mention and a little self depreciating humour about being useless at DIY. In this instance I’m referring to Thomas Sutcliffe’s… Continue reading The wit of the perpetual student
Shoot yourself, Dick
My heart bled this morning as I read a newspaper article about Dick Cheney accidentally shooting a friend during a Quail hunting trip. Apparently it was one of the worst days of his life, and that he will never forget the image of his friend falling to the ground. Poor Dick, what a dreadful experience,… Continue reading Shoot yourself, Dick
Did you get a deal?
Quite often, when I tell someone that I’ve brought something or that I’ve booked a holiday the first question that comes back is, “Did you get a deal?”. Getting a good deal now seems to take precedence over choice, quality and availability of any purchase, whether it be a house or a weekend in Vienna… Continue reading Did you get a deal?
Torino 2006
The good thing about the Olympic games, is that when switching on the idiot box the chances are that there’s probably going to be something worth watching. This winter we have two weeks of sport to look forward to and I’m addicted to it already. It’s sports that we’re not used to seeing in this… Continue reading Torino 2006
Grab a coffee 2 go
The trainee gamekeeper on the 8:52 had in her hand what has become the scourge of London in the 21st century. The takeaway coffee cup. ‘Grab a coffee 2 go’ is the latest fast food American craze to arrive at our shores, and it is commuter types driven by sheer boredom to faddism, that are… Continue reading Grab a coffee 2 go
Undercover gamekeeper
The person opposite on this morning’s 8:52 service to Victoria is wearing one of those tweed jackets favoured by gamekeepers and the country set. I see quite a lot of commuters wearing or carrying things to work that point to a life outside of their chosen vocation. First impressions might give that commuters are bred… Continue reading Undercover gamekeeper
Celebrity Big Brother
I try to trade Celebrity Big Brother for Match of the Day at home, Mandy of course is having absolutely none of it, and quite rightly so. For she knows full well that despite my protestations I’m as interested in the banal daily happenings of the freak show as everyone else. Not that I’d know… Continue reading Celebrity Big Brother