I’ve always been a bit wary of books described as ‘The International Bestseller’. I’m not sure why. Perhaps it’s the…
We’ll Always Have Casablanca
What you need to remember about ‘Casablanca’ the next time you watch it, is that it was filmed in 1941,…
Billy Mackenzie and The Glamour Chase
I first heard Billy Mackenzie and The Associates when I was about 15. By the time I had left school,…
The Long Goodbye
I wiped my brow and threw the book aside. The temptation to smoke a cigarette was overwhelming and I desperately…
4000 Weeks
Having recently found myself with a lot more time on my hands, the opportunity to read more seemed to be…
Jimmy Breslin and the Good Guys
The world needs another Jimmy Breslin. A newspaper man who doesn’t care what those in power think of him, doesn’t…
Mountains of the Mind
On the day my working life ended forevermore, I was given a copy of Robert MacFarlane’s ‘Mountains of the MInd’…
Reading Dickens
I once took a class in Early Dickens, taught by Dr Paul Schlicke. It was only years later that I…
The Evenings
It’s often hard to find time to read when you’re working full-time. So many times, I’ve sat down with a…
Extra Time
Writing about the football on a regular basis must be a nightmare. Like most sports, the game itself is ninety…
Sitting Quietly in the Corner With a Book 