What should we talk about today?
The world according to Kirkey
My first recollection of the term ‘bully’ was from the pages of The Dandy, my must-read childhood comic. “Bully Beef and Chips,” created by Jimmy Hughes, first appeared in 1967 and reflected the story of two boys in seemingly constant conflict – the aggressor, a pudding basin haired brute called Bully Beef, and the victim, … Read more
According to Albert Einstein, “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” And who am I to argue with such a luminary? Little did I know that this piece of guidance would begin to prove itself on a scrap of paper. Nor, come to think of it, did I ever imagine that as a direct consequence … Read more
I recently linked my in-car audio system to Spotify. How rock n’ roll am I? I often create my own montage of hits whilst thumping the steering wheel and singing aloud, or just humming when I don’t know the words. I’ll even fess up to getting a few lyrics totally wrong, although to be fair … Read more
Minding my own business should, on the face of it, be a pretty good way of avoiding the chaos of others. If only life was as simple as that. Suffice to say that recently this posture did not prevent me from being immediately sucked into a vortex of havoc, even though it wasn’t of my … Read more
I hadn’t seen Aunty Joyce for what seemed like an eternity. We had never been that close. I only ever saw her at the big-ticket family events – births, weddings, and funerals. I became aware that her health was failing when my mum updated me on a series of phone calls with Uncle Ronnie, informing … Read more
What seems a lifetime ago, aged sixteen, I was at college trying to figure out life, the universe, and what lay ahead. Cocooned with my college chums, often in the refectory smoking Gauloises cigarettes supplied by the rich Persian students, I realised that most of us didn’t have a clue what we wanted to become, … Read more
Who hasn’t watched the classic Farrelly brothers comedy ‘Dumb and Dumber’ without wishing they had worn incontinence pants? Observing the idiocy of others at close quarters whilst sitting comfortably in isolated judgment provides our egos with the propellant necessary to literally laugh out loud! Yet is stupidity, arguably a compelling human trait if based on … Read more
COVID-19 has forced many of us to reconstruct our leisure time. West End shows have been replaced by a slow shop in Waitrose whilst the car boot experience has been substituted by a meander around Aldi. The centre aisle of the budget supermarket is a cornucopia of chattels from mini flamethrowers to violin cases and … Read more
As the closing arguments are being made in the Derek Chauvin murder trial in the courthouse in downtown Minneapolis, I would counter the title of this reflection with a bellowing rendition of the 1983 Elton John classic, “I’m still standing.” Yet does my simple categorisation of good and bad really stand up to scientific scrutiny? … Read more
