I never never want to go home, because I haven’t Gok Wan…

Clever old spammers. No sooner is Gok Wan in Dublin to peddle his range of retro frames at Specsavers than the cookies get to work trying to find appropriate blog posts to spam. Congrats to the cookies, then, for finding several posts on IHGN which, for some obscure reason, seem to suggest that I’m a […]

2002 – A Hella Good year for music?

This week, BBC 6 music is a decade old, a fine landmark for a station which almost didn’t make it this far. Thanks to the efforts of listeners and well-wishers, it was saved from the chop, and thank heavens. The station’s birthday celebrations have kicked off in earnest this week and, as these things tend […]

A shed of one’s own

In a damp, misty corner of the garden, in the shade of a dangerously overgrown, gnarled tree, sits an unimposing, unkempt little shack. For many years, it has been unloved and, frankly, unlovable. Filled to bursting with torn boxes, rusting tools and mouldy furniture, all concealed behind a warped door, it looks forlorn, abandoned and […]

Sepulchral Notices (or The Mystery of Edwyn Pugh)

Clement Wiffen sat at his desk, his trembling hands obscuring his face. ‘Which one was Edwyn Pugh?’ he groaned. ‘Are there any photographs?’ ‘Maybe family ones, sir,’ said Mr Darkin. ‘But we can hardly ask…’ ‘Damn it, why can’t funerals be more like weddings?’ Wiffen snapped, removing his hands and staring down at the page. […]