The world according to Kirkey
Confusion can be irritating, infuriating, and isolating. On the flipside, celebrating uncertainty – whilst acknowledging that a lack of answers can be temporarily debilitating – can often lead to exciting discovery and personal growth. Not wishing to sound too much like a motivational speaker, I nonetheless confess that not knowing what I don’t know is … Read more
My first time: Belle Vue Aces 48 v Kings Lynn Stars 42 (Premiership) ─ Monday 16th May 2022. I do like to mix things up in my life, frequently by design, but very often unintentionally. Red wine in the fridge and wearing white socks with shorts – faux pas are pretty consistent for yours truly. … Read more
What is it like to be British? Quintessentially we can be boring, stoic, and reserved, especially whilst drinking tea. Yet we undergo a magnificent metamorphosis when we attend our most popular sport: football. Other countries call it soccer, but its correct name is football – period. Here we become dramatic, vociferous, and unreserved. We can … 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
Sitting across the way, the iconic, the historic, and the very essence of time washed over me like a tsunami of temptation and awe. I had first visited as a kid – a very British tradition. A rite of passage. After all, our country isn’t called Great for no reason at all, or so I … Read more
Our first time: Oxford Cheetahs v Scunthorpe Scorpions (Championship) – Wednesday 13th April 2022. I can still remember my first meeting – The Midland Riders’ Championship Qualifying Round, 8th May 1975 at Cowley, home of the then Oxford Rebels. The smell, pulsing crowd, scintillating speed and all action entertainment. Not forgetting the follicly challenged chap, … Read more
Smugly tucking into my steak, I looked across the table at my dinner guest and uttered a stunningly stupid question, “What made you an addict?” My friend sublimely staved off any urge to punch me in the face and simply responded, “You first. What made you an addict?” My enforced silence no doubt accompanied a … Read more
Having ordered my pot of tea I waited for the optimum moment to maximise my purchasing power. The pouring of the milk, followed by the inevitable smile was my cue, “And a pot of boiling water please!” Years of experience synthesised in a second to seduce the situation to my advantage – I could squeeze … 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
