The awesomeness of awe: riding with Hagrid.

I was once small. A little person, and consequently everything and the majority of people – save my younger sister – were bigger than me. When I started to develop reasoning – perhaps around the age of five – I concluded that being small had many distinct disadvantages. For instance, I had to go to … Read more

Living in spite of death.

There is something compelling about graveyards and the narrative they provide for the living. Once people gathered around these memorials, no doubt expressing the undertaking of eternal remembrance; but that isn’t a reality, since we all wither – just like these stones. Filling the space between being born and ending up in a similar place … Read more

The curious case of censorship, sewage, and Sunderland, MP.

To paraphrase Lady Bracknell, to lose one WhatsApp message may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two – or, in the Prime Minister’s case, significantly more – looks to be beyond carelessness. Sunak’s WhatsApp mishap points to a bigger question: could this tendency to mishandle communication technology be contagious? Are those that orbit the … Read more

Bionic man: the bouncebackability of Lewis Kerr.

At its heart, speedway is a risky business. Injuries are, unfortunately, par for the course, although the steely resolve of the riders who entertain us often produces an almost unnatural pain threshold. Getting up and dusting themselves down after the most horrific of crashes is commonplace, as are the many occasions when riders knowingly drop … Read more

Secrets: a risk worth accepting?

Photo by Ben White on Unsplash

The question, “can you keep a secret?” caresses intrigue like no other statement can ever hope to do. At its heart there is a burning invitation to indulge in wonder, speculation, or conviction – and occasionally all three simultaneously – with the storyline, more often than not, wrapped in an air of delicious mystery. Personally, … Read more

Flirting: seduction by stealth?

Have you ever met someone by chance, looked across a crowded room, or passed somebody in the street, unexpectedly experiencing an excited tingle? I know I have and on occasions this colloquial collision of contact has led to convivial conversations, friendships, and on rarer occasions, sex. I was keen to map this latter route to … Read more