What is a meme anyway? Anyone? I am hazy even though I happen to star in a viral meme which ranked No.1 worldwide on Reddit. I am also hazy on Reddit. I’m told it’s a powerful website, which can make people’s careers… Hmmm. After three decades of doing stand-up comedy, 9 books and…
Last week’s blog focussed on my advancing years, and I continue in this varicose vein here now. You might recall that I swerved the paddle tennis match last week in New York – but it transpired that the Bero investor chap in question was not to be denied his time across the net from me….
Along with tobacco, alcohol probably qualifies as the most controversial product which can be legally consumed. It is often said, if alcohol was invented today, it would be banned and explains why it is permissible only with restrictions by age, amounts and activities like driving a car, operating machinery… But for all these restrictions and…
There is a good reason why this blog is appearing on this site and this is about to become clear. That said, I should probably temper my excitement, but dare-I-say-it, I might have stumbled inadvertently upon a breakthrough in my world of book non-sales. A Phoenix might have been clutched from the flames in more…
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…
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…
As part of his A level art, Paddy has chosen photography – a smart move given his mum’s profession and her proclivity for helping others and especially her young. Like most students and probably almost all boys, Paddy likes to leave things to the very last second to complete and submit any tasks required of…
“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…
The ‘art’ of putting oneself down. Taking the mickey out of oneself for comic effect. It is comic seam I have mined over the years, to an extent on stage but particularly so in my writing. Eclipsed as a storyline lends itself easily to this technique and genre. Writing a book about a dad being outshone…