How do you react to stillness? What lessons will you take from the stillness forced by the pandemic?
Recent Posts
Equality is fragile
We can never take equality for granted. Any progress towards equality is always at risk of being reversed. Prejudice will always find new forms.
Many lifetimes, days and confused
Life will never remain just one thing. You don’t have have to remain just one thing. This is one of life’s greatest gifts to each of us.
The miracle of Bill & Ted
What is the secret of the infectious sweetness of Bill & Ted? How can you stop good ideas turning from sweet to sour? Bill, Ted (and one of their creators, Ed Solomon) might just be able to help us answer these questions.
Equal in all directions
If we believe in equality for one, we must believe in equality for all. Remembering and acting on the belief that humans are equal in all directions should be a core part of all our actions, always.
Think about luck
You’ve got to ask yourself one question: “Do I feel lucky?” Well, do you, gentle reader?
When we become history
When we become history, what will our story be? Some thoughts on time and change, inspired by the all-encompassing, endlessly renewing wonder that is London.
Infinite good fortune?
We are endlessly lucky to be here and alive and on this planet. With this infinite good fortune comes great responsibility.
Andrew Weatherall: Ripples and tiny reminders
Do all roads lead to Weatherall? Almost a year on from the untimely loss of Andrew Weatherall, tiny reminders of the great man’s enthusiasm, taste and impeccable values abound.
Savour the sweet air
Savour the sweet air, if you can, whenever you can. Remember that a small part of what passes for wisdom in this world is actually just patience.
Time to open and change?
If each of us has a limitless capacity to do good, why not use it?
Living in two worlds
When you find yourself living in two worlds, embrace the new world that is manifesting around you.
Brian Eno’s diary: A very strange time indeed
Brian Eno’s wonderful 1995 diaries A Year with Swollen Appendices (finally back in print) offer an endless wealth of wit and inspiring ideas, and a fascinating snapshot of a past world that is both recent and long, long gone.
The ghosts of Soho record shops past
Soho’s record shops were magical places for me and for so many others. This post takes a saunter through Soho’s record shops and ponders how places change and evolve.
A better normal
What would make a better normal for you in the post-pandemic world?
Forbidden Planets,Tin Pans and London’s eternal trick
Forbidden Planet turns 42 today (Saturday 29 August 2020 = #FP42)! This post celebrates both FP’s status as London’s foremost comic shop and London’s ever-changing brilliance.*
The possibilities are infinite
What do you want the post-pandemic world to look like? The possibilities are infinite. The world doesn’t have to be the way it was.
2000AD: Five memories of the future
2000AD memories! This post celebrates the first forty(-ish) years of 2000AD – and all its inspirational joy and anarchy – through five memories of the future.
A Tweet from Sir: Of @StephenFry, Oscar Wilde and secrets
Stephen Fry has helped shaped my words and my outlook on the world for more than 30 years. This post celebrates what Stephen Fry means to me, and considers whether “the secret of life is in art”.
Peak surreal
2020 has been at times profoundly surreal. The cavalcade of surreal events is showing no signs of slowing down. Have we even arrived at peak surreal yet?
To listen with compassion and empathy
This is a time for some of us to speak. It’s a time for others to listen with compassion and empathy. A post inspired by the powerful words of Shereen Daniels.
Take yourself out of the story
What happens when you take yourself out of the story? This post is inspired by wise words from Naval Ravikant on choiceless awareness – the art of taking yourself out of the story.
Giles Paley-Phillips interview: Spread a little light
A short but sweet interview with Giles Paley-Phillips – author, podcaster, musician, huge-hearted Twitterer, and all-round good gent.
You can prove anything with facts
“You can prove anything with facts,” as the excellent Stewart Lee would remind us*. And that is no bad thing.
#7songs: Beasties, beer spraying and Saṃsāra
I think you know what time it is… This an update of my 2015 post, celebrating the Beastie Boys, and including an unwitting encounter of the Yauch kind in Soho Square.
Monty Python’s Bicycle Repairman sketch: It was 45 years ago today
Bicycle Repair Man’s superhero origin story took place on the first ever day of filming for Monty Python’s Flying Circus, with cameras starting to roll on Tuesday 8 July 1969!
