Imagine you’re at a wedding reception, say, sat at a table that consists entirely of single people and couples who’ve only just been introduced to each other. And imagine that the following conversation were to occur: Person 1: [To Person 2] Do you ever watch that Sunday morning discussion show thing on BBC1? Person 2: [...]

Some years back, the rules on becoming a citizen of the United Kingdom were changed. Where previously it was based purely on requirements such as residency and marriage, applicants now also had to pass a computerised multiple choice examination. The examination was supposedly about living in Britain, British culture, and British values, and supposedly ensured [...]

On Sunday, it will be exactly one hundred years since the sinking of the Titanic. Certain, best not mentioned, persons on Twitter aside, it’s an event widely recollected, with many lessons that have gone into history. The main two of these are, of course: 1) Make sure your ship has enough lifeboats to rescue everyone [...]

Eastercon is the British national science-fiction convention. I’ve attending five Eastercons in total. In 2010, I volunteered for the first time as a gopher. Since then I’ve spent something like twenty-five hours gophering, if we’re counting, which I am even if you’re not. I think it’s a cool thing to do, so I thought I’d [...]

There often seems to be a lot of confusion about where precisely in the UK “The North” begins. I’ve just seen a particularly egregious example in which a friend who hails from the Birmingham area (strictly speaking, Coventry, I understand) appeared to be being somewhat scornful of Northerners, apparently blissfully unaware that if he is [...]

A chance remark today led me to remember what might well be the best school lesson I ever had. Certainly, I can’t think of something that not only taught me a particular point both effectively and efficiently, but was also wonderfully fun into the bargain. The teacher in question was Mister Ready (pronounced “Reedy”), who [...]

“Imagine two men, sitting in a car. The car is in London, and they wish to travel to Exeter. They’re starting at the same location, and going to the same place, but they are nonetheless arguing, because one is adamant that the best route to take is M4/M5, while the other is equally insistent that [...]

I’ve tweeted several times of my love of hoarding points on my Costa Coffee loyalty card. I haven’t quite yet got to the point where I’ll be leaving my card in my will, but it’s not far off that. Then just the other day, a thought occurred to me, which was there ought to be [...]

A couple of weeks ago, Sean Penn decided to throw his weight behind the Argentine claim to the Falklands, or at least to state that the UK should enter negotiations over the islands’ (and the Falkland Islanders) fate. He was roundly criticised by many, including me, for not appearing to particularly give a damn about [...]

Well this is a bit of a train-spotting post, but it’s interesting to me because Farringdon is the station I commute to and from. For a couple of years now, a new extension to the station has been under construction, intended to lengthen the Thameslink platforms to take 12 carriage trains. Construction projects sometimes seem [...]