I’ve launched a new regular email of original writing, for subscribers. It’s called The Border Crossing and it’s running via the Substack platform.
The Border Crossing is a regular email to explore the frayed, radical edges of globalised culture, technology and storytelling. Each edition has a…
You can hear me and Rifa kvel about binge-watching Glastonbury on the BBC live streams, over on our Refigure podcast. During the podcast I mention I’d compiled a full score list, so here it is. …
In the shaking shower
Of a low hanging branch
We damp ourselves
Before this orange sun
Takes the precious water
For its own
Copenhagen, Denmark. Noma’s former dessert superstar, the Chicago-raised Rosio Sanchez, who also previously did stints at the Fat Duck and with Spanish pastry master Paco Torreblanca, runs her Hija de Sanchez taco shops at two cool central sites, plus a proper restaurant just called Sanchez. This lives on a corner…
Friday 15th February saw many thousands of children across Britain walk out of school to ‘strike’ and take part in protests about the climate crisis. It was a very heartening display of peaceful direct action. …
I have not yet tasted grief
So I reach the muddle years
Having never felt the sting
That spikes the stricken
Into brutal excavating
To weave vivid clothe from tears
Drop that work out in the world
And/or,
collapse into themselves
And retreat into the thickening
Of molten metal
Poured into a hole. Still,
I have not yet tasted grief
So I wait. And I will.
Three years ago we had a go at the KonMari process of decluttering. Our friend Frit made a YouTube series following Marie Kondo’s method, so we joined in. Japanese superstar Kondo blends tips for tidying up your living space and storing possessions with a bit of quasi-spiritual ritual and self-help…
Best Of 2018
As usual, here are my arts and culture favourites of the year.
ALBUMS
1. Bruce Springsteen — Springsteen On Broadway
2. Stick In The Wheel — Follow Them True
3. Kathryn Joseph — From When I Wake The Want Is
4. Idles — Joy As An Active Of Resistance
5. Jorja Smith…
I got a reminder letter from my surgery, telling me I ought to go see them about a check-up of my lungs — and politely telling me off for ignoring the previous letter. …
Here’s a fascinating, odd listicle from BBC Culture of ‘100 stories that shaped the world. Chosen by writers, it focuses solely on fiction and poetry — and the most recent inclusion (the only 21st century entry) is J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. …
