What should we talk about today?
The world according to Kirkey
We’ve built a culture where generosity waits for a spectacle, as if suffering must be performed before compassion can be released. Are you a sucker for the spectacle? There’s a particular British ritual that plays out with the reliability of rain on a bank holiday weekend. Someone linked to your social structure who inevitably engages … Read more
Luck is the unreliable strike partner we never asked for but can’t drop. From philosophers to psychologists, everyone’s been trying to explain why some people seem to ride its wave while others get flattened by it. There’s a moment every football fan recognises. You’re in the away end, rain slicing sideways, the pitch looking like … Read more
An exploration of sunk costs, stubborn loyalty, and the psychology of sticking with things long after they’ve stopped serving us. There’s a moment – usually around episode three – when I know. I instinctively grasp that the Netflix series I’ve committed my evening to is going nowhere. The plot is staggering around like a Notts … Read more
I was a late entrant into the cyber world of social media. Like a reluctant guest at a party who ends up hogging the karaoke machine, once I was in, I was hooked. I became a cheerleader, pom poms aloft, shouting into the digital void. But let’s be clear: my online persona – save one … Read more
I still fill up when Notts County emerge from the players’ tunnel. That moment, the roar of the crowd, the ritual of anticipation — it should be shared with the man who was always beside me. My best friend. My dad. But he isn’t there anymore. The void he left never truly goes away. In … Read more
Being accused of forgetfulness, especially as I am forced by dint of nature to accept the onset of adulthood, can be worrying. And as much as I may rebel by simply categorising the data I don’t recall as trivia, the associated accusations of either being uninterested, “you don’t listen,” or idiotic “I’ve told you that … Read more
There’s something irresistibly paradoxical about Poole Pirates. In a sport built on speed, chaos, and heroism, they’ve mastered the art of stillness – of sustained success that feels almost certain. Year after year, while other clubs flail in the dust of reinvention, Poole simply win. Not necessarily always with swagger, but with the quiet efficiency … Read more
I’ve reached the season of life where 60th birthdays are no longer rare, and work reunions carry the silent weight of those who will never attend again. The next twenty years—if I’m fortunate—are my golden age. If I can sidestep the big C and keep my mind sharp, I know time will still gently erode … Read more
I never imagined that a complimentary cup of tea at John Lewis and a free cinema ticket from Sky would spark such a profound shift in perspective. Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale wasn’t my choice. On the surface, it embodied everything I recoil from—entrenched privilege, inherited power, and the polished veneer of inequality. And yet, … Read more
Storytelling has been a feature of my life. I wrote this piece in 1991 (typed by my late wife Theresa in the typing pool at Bracknell Police Station) but only recently rediscovered it whilst clearing out the attic. A true account – embellished for comedic value – that recounts a period of my life lost … Read more