30th March 2022
Slap And Tickle
It was not, in the pantheon of American humour, the greatest of jokes. But, as…
11th September 2021
The Grey Snow of 9/11
Early on a June morning in 1986 I entered the lobby of the World Trade…
6th August 2021
Laying Low In Cavan
“It’s lashin”, she said, when I arrived down to breakfast. And as her patrons filtered…
4th August 2021
Grass And The Grotto
The lack of athleticism in my cycling is shocking to behold. I am in no…
3rd August 2021
Circumnavigating Ireland’s Torso
I almost showed up in Naples, not Navan, yesterday. Three days ago, I sat having…
24th October 2020
After The War
I watched a brief interview with Doris Lessing, the British author who learnt she had…
3rd October 2020
By The Dawn’s Early Light
And the virus’ red glare, Its bombs bursting in air Gave proof through the night…
15th August 2020
A Man And His Grass
I worked with a talented, experienced landscape gardener named Lisa, some years ago. We were…
11th August 2020
Qualitative Research And Zoom
Qualitative research is the act of focused curiosity, between people. Not so focused that the…
6th August 2020
Conspiracy Of Truth
When I first met Dixie Longate, somewhere between Marseille and Rome, I was bent on…
3rd June 2020
Teacher
My teacher died this week. He taught me throughout my secondary school years - English…
29th May 2020
Worth A Thousand Words
If the invention of moving pictures allowed us to capture and recreate how we live,…
26th May 2020
Notes From A Bedside
My friend will never leave this bed she is lying in. There is a guttural,…
25th May 2020
Casting Connell
Look at the actor Paul Mescal from a distance, and he’s like any fella walking…
19th May 2020
On The Instinct To Conserve
I have found the 2016 election of Donald Trump challenging. But not in the manner…
4th May 2020
Oh, Framing!
China speaks of absolutes Sweden speaks of calm Germany speaks of common sense Holland speaks…
11th April 2020
Before The Fall
It was a halcyon time. That time when woman, wrought from the rib of man,…
6th April 2020
Crown And Corona
She did not mention it once. Looking straight to camera, back upright with the gait…
1st April 2020
Why I Don’t Give A Fuck About Your Tips
There's been a worrying Corona-rise in people dispensing advice. In the form of tips.…
20th March 2020
Ovid’s Nineteen on Covid-19
The great poet’s name rhymes with the viral pall that hangs above us. What can…
18th March 2020
Corona: Collapse Between Fact and Fiction
Eski knows there’s something up. Why the hell is my Master here all the time?…
12th March 2020
The Corona Chronicles
Each of us is a citizen, bound in a unique moment of jeopardy. The earthquake…
8th March 2020
Clara In Valencia
As we walked down the sunny side of the street she described her student life,…
5th March 2020
Bridge Over Troubled Innovation
It is fifty years since Paul Simon released his songwriting masterpiece, 'Bridge Over Troubled Water',…
24th February 2020
Why I’m Sacking TripAdvisor
In brand-building, it can be fun and instructive to have enemies. We understand better what…
9th February 2020
Shoah: under the watchtowers of Auschwitz
The German words encountered in the world’s most notorious concentration camp are predominantly those of command…
6th February 2020
On The Road To Auschwitz
Because it cost them everything, it will cost me nothing. 1.1 million people were murdered…
28th January 2020
Dear Kobe
He had lived in Italy for some years from the age of six, describing it…
17th January 2020
Look Sharp. See 1917.
Urgency. There is no time to spare. If an order is not delivered there will…
15th January 2020
Megxit, Pursued By A Bear
We are living a singular regal moment. The British sovereign, aged 93, has successfully put…
5th January 2020
My Dream Of Marian
It was my mother who got the news to me. Ear eternally to the radio,…
11th December 2019
Volcano
At its most fundamental, a volcano is a crack in the ground. Depending on the…
1st December 2019
Dissecting Mister Fawlty
Works of genius do not happen by accident. Genius must work hard in the creation…
14th October 2019
Marathon Man
The story of the first marathon is one of myth, weaving historical fact and human…
1st October 2019
Jessye In Paris
I am sitting at an Illy Café in the centre of Paris, some metres off…
27th August 2019
Beyond Cancer, To Dancing
My DNA malfunction has been addressed. Through the intervention of medical experts, six robotic incisions,…
12th July 2019
Today I Am Reborn
I am a child of summer, born on the 12th of July. My mother tells…
22nd June 2019
London, In The Heart Of June
I am sitting in a cafe that sits in a Garden Square. It is run…
2nd May 2019
Meaning Of Mystery: The Lost Girls Of Panama
Chapter 1: Changing Habits I have drifted in my leisure-time media consumption, both in form…
30th April 2019
Malta’s Fault-lines Of Love
It is 10am, and I am sitting on the balcony of Crust in St Julian’s…
26th April 2019
Decoding The Candidates’ Logos
The logo. That simple, eloquent and essential visual statement of who you are. What you…
2nd April 2019
Scotland’s Dissent
Have you ever sat in the back seat of a car, certain of the route…
30th March 2019
Her’s & Ours
I am possessive about grammar, like a dog with a bone. And like most dogs…
24th January 2019
The Role Of Camp In Culture
When I was otherwise engaged gestating, Susan Sontag published an essay entitled ‘Notes On Camp’. …
13th January 2019
Life Is Simply Magnificent
We are each of us in search of transcendent experiences. This desire is at the…
6th January 2019
India’s Secret
Stalin has brought me coffee. My kind of coffee. Because Stalin is my kind of…
17th November 2018
Three Dimensions Of Elon
It seems I am surrounded with lessons about dimensions. And it seems I am a slow learner.…
11th November 2018
My Own Private Armistice
Lying in bed on the beautiful morning of the 11th of November 2018, I began…
29th October 2018
Flaws, Jaws And Genius
During the course of 124 minutes, with the help of iTunes, I have returned to…
15th October 2018
Innovation Is Murmuration
I am interested in how groups of people can, in the right context and with…