The success of this blog will depend on its tone. It is a subject I am most often asked about and one which does feature in my writing but only by implication. Pride is something we should be mindful of. It is one of the seven deadly sins and with good reason. Up there with…
To say the least, my timing is poor. In the week I am launching a brand-new podcast – Takes on Life (available now) (just saying) and publishing a new book (same title) (available tomorrow) – my latest potential bestseller – that these two seismic events in my long and tired career should coincide with me…
Gigs in suits are always welcome – proper earners I like to call them. These are the gigs that have afforded me enough time to write my 9 books and counting. Each book being a bullet in the barrel and a potential shot at the jackpot. Note the use of the word ‘potential’, but I…
The internet and mobile devices have created complete global interconnectedness and social media has made all our voices equally loud and valid. That this is a great step forward is open to debate but certainly it is a perfect field for division as exemplified by a single word almost no one had heard of only…
Heading to the Cancer Research charity shop with my black bags, I have mixed emotions because any feelings of altruism I might have are overshadowed by the thrill of decluttering our home. Outside McDonalds are tens and tens of scooters all parked up. Leathered riders, in-between jobs are smoking and jabbering to one another in…
This is a brave edition of this long running blog. Foolhardy even but needs must. I have set a high bar for this weekly epistle. My readers expect many things including candour. They demand quality, some pathos, wisdom but above all else, they want to smile and occasionally laugh. And to create this alchemy, if…
The word to use might be blithe or glib. Or more likely, foolhardy given that so few of us know anything about what we are agreeing to when we accept cookies. It is drummed into us as kids never to accept sweets (candy) from strangers and yet we happily accept cookies offered to us by…
To Crete with some friends recently and in an airport book shop – I am feeling stressed, hopeful and a little overwhelmed… keen to make a good choice. Authors I’ve heard of – reassuring because I’ve heard of them, right? Against newbies who are likely to be winners because debut books habe their heart and…
“How the f*** did this movie get made?” This is a question we have all raged at the screen – big and small. It happened to me most recently watching Snakehead, the latest glitzy must-see from Netflix and heavily leaning on its two stars for our patronage. But alas, their best efforts are in complete…
In London recently to visit my past. The milestones, places and venues which feature prominently in my unusual story called Eclipsed. I began in North London at the Hen and Chickens theatre – a 60 seater where I did my very first one-man show – quaking in my boots with nerves which I assured myself…
