Which book? Choose carefully…

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…

The art of seeing…

Observational comedy is only successful with a high degree of accuracy and some cunning. To observe something that resonates – but crucially is something that people haven’t already realised for themselves. This is why good observations are often described as acute or even oblique. I call them nuggets because they are valuable and not easy…

Free-Bee Gee-Bees

“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…

We’re all gonna die, but…

It happens every year and it starts around May/June time and every year it puts a dent in my mood. It begins with an email from my accountants requesting my year-end financial records: my income, outgoings, invoices, receipts, bank statements and anything else that exposes my lack of organisational skills… This is an Email that…

Dead Air…

We are familiar with adrenalin junkies. We see them online doing very stupid things. Feats that normal people marvel and laugh at in equal measure. People leaping between buildings or base jumping or diving off cliffs… And as compelling as these feats are, I always fret because having survived, they are likely to seek out…

Happy coming last…

Professions (jobs) come with fairly defined hierarchies. The best paid (rock stars, entrepreneurs…) The most esteemed (surgeons, judges…) The most worthy (teachers, carers…) The most admired (sports stars, actors…) The bravest (soldiers, deep sea divers…) And the most difficult? (bomb-disposal expert, stand-up comedian…) No doubt, you can add your own profession/job to the above and…