Suddenly I was thinking about themes and symbols and social commentary, the kind of stuff academics and film critics get all horny about. I felt this was probably not the proper spirit in which to watch Family Guy but once you become used to analysing everything you can't really turn it off.
In Defence of Washing Dishes
When I first started dish-washing at age 21 to fund my studies, I winced at the thought of coming into contact with all that half-chewed food, spilt mayonnaise and ashtray contents (it’s not just cigarette butts people put in there, let me tell you that). Then there were the obvious indignities of having a perpetually... Continue Reading →
Flying: A Love/Hate Story
I was flying home for Christmas. It was icy and windy in Leeds and the plane was getting thrown about so much that at one point we seemed to be approaching the runway side-on
On Buses, Brexit and Bad English
Call me cynical, but I’m convinced that the people who work on trains and buses derive some sick pleasure from making people wait to board. I don’t know how many times I’ve stood on a platform with thirty other commuters, all of us glaring at a man in a reflective vest clutching a clipboard and... Continue Reading →
Fahren, Fahren, Fahren: Meditations on the Autobahn
Did you know that on the autobahn, the German motorway, there’s technically no speed limit? There is an “advisory” speed limit of 130kph (around 80mph), but it seems that many people are happy to ignore it. Our car wobbles slightly as middle-aged men with Audis and a point to prove fizz past us. Makes me... Continue Reading →
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