Tag: writing
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Foxes, Seagulls, and Other Street Prophets
I walked past the takeaway and a man was chanting at a seagull like they had unfinished business. A bus hissed, a fox trotted through the queue like it owned the franchise, and for a moment the whole street felt beautifully unhinged. I didn’t find meaning. I didn’t need to. Sometimes the world just wobbles…
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Puddle, Late Afternoon
She was ahead of me on the pavement, blazer slipping, bag thumping against her hip in a way that suggested the day had not been kind. The puddle wasn’t remarkable; a shallow spread of rainwater collecting whatever the street had dropped into it. It gave her pause as she considered it with the seriousness of…
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The Constitutional Knot
Parliament’s particularly picky politicians peddle patchy policies with performative precision, while backbenchers bicker in brisk, bitter bursts about budgets, borders, and broken‑bus‑routes. Meanwhile, ministers muddle through midnight memos and misfired mandates, making major matters mysteriously more muddled. Across the aisle, opposition orators offer oddly optimistic options, only to wobble, waver, or wildly withdraw when the…
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The “Hand-Me-Down” Seat: Why the Makerfield By-Election Feels Like a Betrayal
When Josh Simons resigned his seat on May 14th, he didn’t just step down; he explicitly vacated the space to clear a path for Andy Burnham. This kind of calculated seat-swapping, where a constituency is treated like a personal asset to be gifted from one party figure to another, leaves a sour taste in the…
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The Gradebook of Small Griefs
We came for chalk and the sound of a question landing,for the slow bloom of a student’s face when a hard thing suddenly makes sense.We came with lesson plans like little ships and optimism folded into our pockets,and somewhere between the photocopier and the meeting room the compass got nicked. The salary letter arrives as…
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The Sneaky-Sneak’s Sneaky-Sneak Scheme
In the halls of Holyrood, dusty and grand, Where the leaders all gather to govern the land, There was a great kerfuffle, a hullabaloo, About money that vanished; a million? Or two? “Oh, where is the cash?” cried the people, quite loud, “It was meant for the Cause! It was meant for the crowd!” But…
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If The Newsroom Was a British Show
I love Aaron Sorkin’s show, The Newsroom. I think it’s one of the best pieces of television ever made. It’s also a show with a truly incredible opening sequence, wherein the main character lays out why the United States of America is, despite the propaganda, not the greatest country in the world. Here’s the clip:…
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Velvet Moss & Shivering Light
The stars were caught in a tangled net, Of willow bows and violet regret, When a man with a coat of velvet mossStepped over the bridge that no one would cross. He carried a lantern, hollow and wide, With a flicker of maybe trapped inside. He wasn’t searching for silver or gold, Or the stories…
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A Ban Today, a Precedent Tomorrow
They stopped Hasan Piker from entering this “United” Kingdomwith a decision already madesomewhere far from the desk in front of him. His ETA revoked,his name flagged,his presence declared“not conducive to the public good,”a phrase so vagueit can stretch to fitanyone a government finds inconvenient. No charges.No hearing.No explanation beyond implication. Just a door quietly closingon…
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The Case of the Forgetful First Minister
In a house near a hoose on a bright Glasgow day,A reporter popped up with a question to say: “Did your spouse do the thing with the funds in the can?”And she blinked and replied,“I don’t recall being married to that man.” She checked in the cupboards, she checked in her shoe,She checked in a…