In defence of Prince Charles

Right, to lay out my position on the Royals. I'm pretty much neutral. I won't be bending the knee anytime soon, but I'm not calling for us to wheel out the guillotine. I think they seem nice enough people, if odd, and do some good work for the country, through charity and tourism, but I …

15 Minutes #GE2017: Who to vote for?

The general election is fast approaching, and I thought I'd write about it on my blog. However, to stop it just turning into a massive rant I'm keeping it simple and to a 15 minute timer. So here we go. Ever since Theresa May announced the snap election a few weeks back the British press …

#FreeKesha: What about the men?

Earlier this week pop star Kesha was in court trying to get released from her contract with Sony and Kemosabe. The situation is horribly ugly for the singer, who finds herself trapped in a deal and obligated to record six more albums with a man who has abused her, producer DJ Luke. I'll make no …

Bulletproof Monk?: The Dalai Lama slips up

Very few famous people enjoy a position free from criticism, which is good in many ways, the public can criticise their leaders in a way that previously they couldn't. And leaves them accountable for what they say and do. The days of Teflon figures are gone, with even Big Liz catching flak on occasion. One …

Why we need a new anthem

Despite having been written off as a no hoper in the next general election, new Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is clearly worrying the Tories given David Cameron's recent hyperbolic scaremongering and the rather desperate attempts of the press to find something to smear him. Earlier this week Corbyn didn't sing the national anthem at something …

Crew cuts for all

As we sat watching Ghost Rider the other night MWF was on Facebook when she exclaimed "You're gonna flip!" She then preceded to show me a story, or rather comments on a story that had annoyed her and she guessed would push my buttons. She knows me so well. The story was about a 13 …

Campaign name inspired by whaling? Yeah, you’re probably in the wrong: Thoughts on Project Harpoon

Sometimes it's really hard to maintain my cheerful, "people are basically good" attitude. Most folks are just trying to get through their day to day and not harm or bother anyone if they can help it. But often you get these outbursts of nastiness and cruelty. This happens on a large scale and in smaller, …

Gone to Pot: Legalising Cannabis

Disclaimer: My medical knowledge is shaky and I haven't done tons of background reading, this is just my opinion. You're free to reply and disagree, but keep it civil. Recently three English police forces have announced that they won't be going after people who grow cannabis for their own use. Predictably certain elements of the …

Who watches the Watchman? Not I

Today saw the publication of Go Set A Watchman, the second novel by Harper Lee. It's a sequel to her 1960 classic To Kill A Mockingbird. Mockingbird is one of my favourite books of all time. I studied it for my English Literature GCSE, and it utterly captivated me. Studying a book can kill it …

The New Josie? I don’t think so

So way back in December I made an unofficial resolution that I would no longer mention tabloid regular Josie Cunningham on this blog. I felt that Josie and her family would be better served if she slipped out of the limelight, and that any comment on her would be contributing to keeping her in the …