What should we talk about today?
The world according to Kirkey
It started, as these things often do, with a throwaway comment delivered by someone who clearly thought they were being sensible. “Why do you bother with Notts County?” they asked, with that faint smirk people reserve for hobbies – or in my case my calling – they don’t understand. “It’s just 22 men running around, … Read more
Catching up with my old mucker John, he casually dropped a bombshell: apparently we feature in David Davies’ autobiographical romp FA Confidential: Sex, Drugs and Penalties. The Inside Story of English Football. Henry Winter’s review in The Daily Telegraph retells Davies’ version – a late night knock at his Burnham Beeches hotel door during Euro … Read more
Arthur took to the circuit for his first time and quickly became the dirt track star! Winding the throttle fully open, he displayed the grit and determination to make it to the top of speedway and showed all the signs of a future Grand Prix rider in the making. His big moment came when he … Read more
My opinion on the royal family may not receive applause in all British households, but I’ve come to think they’re an outdated, unnecessary institution. The older I get, the more republican I become. They’re a dysfunctional family – elevated to a level of deference that more than irks me. That’s not to say I haven’t … Read more
The last leg of my walk was a greatest hits album of Bracknell absurdity: burglars with bin bags, missing false teeth, Harry Potter film sets, and a showdown with a bloke known as “Half a Thumb.” But tucked between the madness were the moments that mattered — the ones that stitched my life together. One … Read more
When I walked into COSTCO the other day I wasn’t expecting an epiphany. But then the LEGO World Cup edition tipped me over the edge. Firstly, it looked pretty ghastly – square bricks being used to create a rounded object is problematic from the get‑go – and secondly it spoke of an abandonment of what … Read more
If Part One was the warm up lap, this is where the memories start sprinting. Bracknell in the 80s wasn’t just a place — it was a full contact sport. Robberies, dodgy motors, youth clubs, blasting The Specials, and me trying to look competent in a Vauxhall Chevette that handled like a shopping trolley with … Read more
Some towns never really let you go. Bracknell is one of mine. I left it, returned to it, loved in it, worked in it, and lost in it. I went for a stroll around Bracknell then like a budget Forrest Gump I kept on going – well at least for 9 miles. What propelled me … Read more
In my later years I’ve become a seasoned crier – not just at football, but in the full, messy, human sprawl of life. Films, family moments, unexpected kindness, the odd existential wobble… they can all set me off. Sure, I’ve shed a tear or two at matches over the years, but I’m not the sort … Read more
I asked AI, “what was the chief reason for the UK imploding in terms of its economy, standing in the world and happiness of the people?” The bottom line: a catastrophic, unresolved collapse in productivity and investment after 2008. Everything else — stagnant wages, failing public services, declining global influence, and falling happiness — flows … Read more