What should we talk about today?
The world according to Kirkey
One Christmas Eve, aged around ten, I heard some odd shuffling noises coming from the landing. Tucked up in bed I decided to investigate, but I had to be cunning since my parents had given me a clear directive, “If you don’t go to sleep Father Christmas won’t come!” Lifting myself gingerly onto the chest … Read more
The really important moments in my life are usually accompanied by tears or, at the very least, a glazing of my eyeballs. These trigger events don’t necessarily have to be dramatic, seismic, or signal loss and tragedy. My bouts of significant self-reflection are often partnered with the most ordinary events, like a trip to the … Read more
On the face of it moving a sofa from A to B was never going to be an historic event, an ‘ah-ha’ moment, or a pivotal turning point in my life. Yet as this seemingly mundane event unfolded in a somewhat adult style rendition of an Enid Blyton classic, I was reminded of some of … Read more
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
