Most people in Britain woke up to the news. It happened in the dead of night, after all. I lived it as it happened. I was working a night shift at a Texaco petrol station in Ringwood, Hampshire. Night shifts were by and large very quiet affairs. Once the locals had been thrown out of … Continue reading Midnight News
Banning or cancelling stuff is absolutely all the rage at the moment. Or at least trying to cancel stuff. It’s the trendy thing. It must be remembered that most cancellation-type noise is made by empty vessels who live on the extremes and achieve nothing. But still, trying to ban stuff is the latest fad and … Continue reading Banned
One of the earliest news stories that I have a memory of was the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. I was six years old. It was through that prism that I learned of the Cold War, and both conflicts ran in the background on the television for a decade. The Afghan mujahideen were to be admired. … Continue reading Afghanistan
I’d rather like to travel. Abroad, to be specific. But there’s a problem. A whole bunch of problems, in fact. Should I list them? It’s hard to know where to start. Which is exactly why many people have just given up on the idea of foreign jaunts for this year. I haven’t, but it’s wearing … Continue reading A World of Problems
Yesterday, a ‘new’ train ran on my line. It was a one off service to London, stopping at only three stations before Waterloo. Bournemouth, Southampton and Basingstoke. It sat at each station for fifteen minutes or so to allow staff, new and old, gathered on the platforms a few moments to chat and reflect. The … Continue reading Railway Fame, Part Two
Mrs P and I watched Roadrunner, the Anthony Bourdain documentary last night. It’s very well put together. It has the feel of a video obituary, but one in which the subject has had a posthumous, participatory role in the making of it. There’s been some excellent use of audio AI to imitate Bourdain’s voice, to … Continue reading Roadrunner
This photograph needs some explaining. The little lady in pink wanted to be famous. She wanted to be a television star, if only for a few seconds. The three people behind her are a camera team for Michael Portillo’s Great Railway Journeys. Alas, the camera is pointed in entirely the wrong direction as far as … Continue reading Railway Fame, Part One
garydenness.wordpress.com 