What should we talk about today?
The world according to Kirkey
Seeking literary stimulus whilst lazing in the garden soaking up the scintillating sunshine – a pretty rare British occurrence – I decided to harness the power of social media. Ever so slightly exaggerating my status and always looking for the double entendre I declared, “Laying naked in the garden looking for inspiration for a topic … Read more
As a practising hypochondriac I have never been slow to react to a bodily function giving me distress. Anything from man flu upwards usually necessitates a Google health check, or a conversation with someone in the medical fraternity. In my quest for immortality this proportionate response has given me a high degree of reassurance. However, … Read more
A not so long time ago, in the Milky Way galaxy, I once had some pretty far, far away thoughts. Apologies to all Star Wars aficionados out there for my clumsy corruption of the opening sequence, but in keeping with one of the principal characters, I used to look like Chewbacca: hair fucking everywhere. My … Read more
One of the more bizarre birthday gifts ever bestowed on me arrived by email. I had to read it a couple of times, if only to fully manage my disappointment: an Alpaca walk. I had little appetite to get up close and personal with an animal I knew little about; and I’d read that they … Read more
Humanity is beautiful, bizarre, and barbaric. Since I am human, I am allowed to make such a delightful and damning statement and I intend to comprehensively prove my assertion ─ but let me first frame the formation of this eureka moment. During a recent engaging and often chaotic conversation with a friend, I grasped a … Read more
What has the epic conclusion to the 2022/23 Vanarama National League got to do with the legendary authors Dame Agatha Christie, Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle and Raymond Chandler? Stay with me for the full ninety minutes, plus added time, a wedge of extra time, and penalties, and I’ll reveal all. But first, I’d like to take … Read more
My first contact with the term “mental health” occurred when I was nineteen. As a rookie cop I was bombarded with a welter of legislation – after all I had to know roughly what I was arresting someone for. Part of this legal lexicon was the Mental Health Act that allowed us sensible servants of … Read more
Love and hate are powerful feelings. Arguably, they occupy opposite sides of the coin of emotion; however, I would advocate that the latter term is more emotionally charged than its nemesis. Love can occupy a lengthy continuum from mild to meteoric, whilst hate has a narrower band. I’ve used the word “love” to cover all … Read more
Four-and-a-half years ago the planets eventually aligned for me, and I discovered that I could actually do it. In a nutshell, after decades of being obese ─ with a few years also as a type 2 diabetic ─ I lost three stones in twelve weeks and changed my life forever; in doing so, I reversed … Read more
Cancer sucks and the statistics are shocking; an almost 50-50 chance of being a victim. According to the most recent research reported in the British Journal of Cancer, over half of us under the age of sixty-five will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in our lives. If you manage to dodge this bullet … Read more