What should we talk about today?
The world according to Kirkey
Five years ago, I wore a blue rosette on my coat, knocked on doors and asked residents to vote for me. They did, and I was elected a councillor. In fact, I also won two subsequent local elections. A few weeks ago I stood down and have no intention to ever again cast a vote … Read more
The Book of Mormon engages with the terrains of disinformation, religious ideology, and hope; influences that affect everyone, but most just doff their hats in the general direction and conveniently shuffle away. Intertwined with female genital mutilation, dysentery and fucking frogs, the show manages to be both hilarious and powerfully thought-provoking. Sticking a finger up … Read more
Standing solemnly on a cold, dark evening I heard the words of the politicians, and maybe if I’d been asked to make a formal speech I too would have reiterated the importance of reflection, reconciliation and reverence. But I had a nagging and growing doubt about the sincerity of the pledges. Attended by a handful … Read more
We Brits are renowned for our sense of humour; undisputed world champions in the disciplines of sarcasm, satire, and innuendo. We can dish it out with craft and conviction. Taking the piss out of others is second nature to the British ─ so good are we that we just as elegantly turn this superpower inwards … Read more
The main character in this catastrophe is the United Kingdom, and the chief protagonists in its demise into a pariah state at breath-taking velocity are a precocious liar and a man who is absolutely unrivalled in reaping division – with a surname similar to the small structure you park your car in. On reflection, what … Read more
The Imperial War Museum stands proudly in the leafy suburb of Lambeth, South-East London, protected by two magnificent naval guns pointed upward and poised to thwart an imaginary foe. My previous visits to this iconic structure have always left me feeling incredibly proud of our armed services, and in particular how we stood resolute against … Read more
If I am brutally honest, I find most people irritating. For the whole of my adult life I have worked with, lived with, and been around people. I am beginning to believe that a period of solitude on a remote island or being totally lost in a crowded place where English isn’t the native language … Read more
A lifetime ago, aged 19, I joined the police with, if I’m totally honest, a principal yearning to be looked after. As an employer this respected profession gave me everything – job security, a decent wage, prospects, status, companionship, a roof over my head, and identity. My self-worth, for an insecure guy lacking in worldly … Read more
If my own experiences are any gauge, the result of the infamous 2016 referendum and the period that followed have been anything but unifying and currently as a nation our trajectory is on course to create a dis-United Kingdom. As a patriot I detest this direction of travel and am equally sickened by the economic, … Read more
Who hasn’t told a lie? Or if it helps to better set your moral compass ─ a fainter fib or weaker white lie? It is a human trait, be it to protect the feelings of others (does my bum look big in this?) or to simply swerve scrutiny of a scandalous swindle (I didn’t text … Read more