(an experiment in escapology)
A nice Thai massage is what you want, they said to me, that’ll sort you out. A bit of pampering is what you need to get rid of those aches and pains. Go on treat yourself. A few hours later, a few hundred Bahts lighter, about to miss my plane and the owner of a... Continue Reading →
A long and dusty road stretches off into the distance of a barren and parched landscape, a dirty barefoot girl in bloodied rags is staggering across the scrubland frantically waving and shouting at an approaching vehicle. The car skids to a halt a hundred meters down the road and as the girl clambers onto the tarmac the... Continue Reading →
It seems too coincidental that just a few days after David Cameron rolled out the old “This is a Christian country with Christian Values, we'll have no trouble here” speech like an old racist shopkeeper, he and his family, friends and everyone in Christendom and beyond who happen to be uber rich have been exposed to be paying... Continue Reading →
Hold onto your hats, the battle of Brexit is on its way to a TV near you. The referendum will be held on Thursday 23rd June, which means the first three weeks in June might be a good time to go on holiday, or at least pretend to go on holiday, cancel the papers and... Continue Reading →
As sad as I was to hear of the death of David Bowie; it is quite lovely to think that as I sit here alone in my lounge listening to him, across the world thousands of people are doing exactly the same. Record players have been dragged out of lofts, dusty vinyl cleaned up using one of... Continue Reading →
Photo: Thahara Pindaya If you were to ask a dozen visitors to (or residents in) Myanmar if they had ever been to Pindaya, I would bet a bottle of beer that the majority of answers would be in the affirmative. If you then asked those that had been there to describe the town or name... Continue Reading →
Each November in the UK we celebrate a failed attempt to once blow up a king by huddling together in a draughty back garden to watch (from a safe distance) someone’s dad struggle to ignite (at arms length) a succession of damp fireworks. This bizarre festival to celebrate the capture of a religious terrorist is... Continue Reading →
"Cinema’s ‘ban’ the Church of England Lord's Prayer advert!" And so they should! When I go to the cinema to watch a movie filled with guns and explosions and people being killed, with a hint of a love story and maybe one comedic character for the kids. I want lots of sneaky product placements to subconsciously... Continue Reading →
British politics today is like wrestling, and I’m not talking about that fake American stuff, I’m talking about real (and it was absolutely real) wrestling, proper British wrestling (circa the late 1970’s early 1980’s), when it was televised on ITV World of Sport on a Saturday afternoon. Curtains would be drawn at 4pm every Saturday... Continue Reading →
“Do you have the time.” This is barked at me across the aisle in the quiet carriage on a Thursday afternoon by a man who makes it very clear that this is not a question, this is an order. From the manner in which he has spoken and way that he is dressed I imagine... Continue Reading →
With the rain on the tin roof playing an out of time accompaniment to the cacophony of snoring from the dozen or so men around me on the floor of this monastery I snuggle further into my sleeping bag, mummified to the extent that only my nose is uncovered I’m still cold, but it’s a... Continue Reading →
There are no rules, (or if there are I was too busy boozing to catch them) and there are absolutely no distasteful and bizarre British initiation ceremonies involving animals. A simple interest in whisky will suffice. I'm not a big fan of 'clubs' it has to be said, organised fun doesn't interest me, and I find the condition that by being a... Continue Reading →
