The world according to Kirkey
Eating steak had never had this effect on me before, but this was my first time at 4 Gats – the quintessentially quirky Catalonian restaurant in Barcelona. Opened in 1897, it was renowned as the foremost meeting place of the artistic, eccentric, and supposed outsiders. I felt immediately at ease; no doubt I was sitting … Read more
I awoke this morning dog tired; I had tried counting sheep, but I have to admit I’m no night owl. I wasn’t feeling a hundred percent but thankfully I wasn’t as sick as a parrot. Looking at my reflection in the bathroom mirror – as bald as a coot ─ I nonetheless thought I looked … Read more
I’m often impatient, infuriating, and – apparently – annoyingly inquisitive. In my academic life I have had to become engrossed within huge tomes of social, legal, and scientific data, regularly scanning the tedious text for the golden nugget; the bottom line; the epicentre of the empirical data. This is always a systemic slog with my … Read more
Something magical happened to me in an enchanted forest in Ascot, Berkshire ─ or to be more precise, Lapland UK; but before I tell all, I need to provide a wee contextual introduction … Eons ago, one Christmas Eve aged around ten, I heard odd shuffling noises coming from the landing. Although tucked up in … Read more
Typically, a speedway rider has a choice of two primary modes of headgear: the skid lid and the customary sponsor’s baseball cap. But what if – metaphorically speaking – the choice is far wider; where influence, interest and inspiration provide a greater variety of choice. There was only one way to solve this riddle — … Read more
I’m lucky that I don’t really have a job ─ well not in the traditional sense of nine to five, Monday to Friday, with a boss. That’s not to say that I haven’t had that experience in the past. But pre my sixth decade on this planet it’s not a bad place to be. This … Read more
American writer and Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck concluded, “People don’t take trips… trips take people.” His encapsulation – succinct and sweet – accurately reflects my own personal adventures, although I am the first to acknowledge that I am privileged to have the means and opportunity to explore our amazing planet as frequently as I … Read more
I love eating, although my relationship with food hasn’t always been that healthy. When I finally saw the light and lost a heap of blubber ─ and kept it off ─ I grasped the notion of portion control and took an avid interest in what I actually put in my gob. As part of this … Read more
The depressing scuppering of the once proud United Kingdom is perhaps best viewed from ashore — from another nation state with a large glass of wine and some nibbles. Some academics will no doubt trace the rise and fall of the Brits to an era pre-2016, albeit the bonkers BREXIT referendum imposed upon a sleeping … Read more
As a cop there were some delicious moments when I left the claustrophobic confines of an interview room and punched the air in triumph! Unfortunately these were rare, since the vast majority of these exchanges – made by fictional television adaptations to feel unnaturally compelling and characteristic of good prevailing over bad ─ followed a … Read more