When the going gets tough, the tough get picnicking

Protests certainly are hardcore these days. Last night I was obliged to do without any dressing on my helping of salad. Thankfully the music of the string quartet soothed my shattered nerves. As you can probably guess, I was attending Dinner At Domestic Departures, a peaceful protest against the building of a third runway at Heathrow airport. The event was organised by Climate Rush, who take inspiration (sartorial and otherwise) from the suffragettes.

Review: the Winter Warmer at the Jericho Tavern

Publication date
December 2008

“The answers to our global woes won’t be found with shiny logos on a special aisle at Tesco’s...” Is that the ghost of Purchase-Free Future we’re hearing? Almost: it’s performance poet Danny Chivers with Don’t Buy It, part of a set that ridicules the human tendency to accumulate heaps of junk. His witty rhymes and repertoire of voices brighten up the chilly and still-sparse crowd. We’re even joining in with chants by the end of his set.

Bang out of order

Anyone paying attention to the teasers on the front page of this site might be bemused to see that a 2002 piece is apparently my “latest feature”.

I’m currently in the process of typing up some of my older articles, mainly the work I did for the Big Issue Cymru in the early 00s, and uploading each one when I’ve typed it. At the moment, everything is appearing in the order in which it’s uploaded rather than the order in which it was actually written.

Upcoming event: meeting of the Oxford & District NUJ branch tonight

We’ll be munching on mince pies tonight at the NUJ branch meeting. The meeting, at Oxford Town Hall, will be held at the new earlier time of 6:30pm and there will be sandwiches (as well as mince pies) to make things easier for people coming straight from work.

There’s a lot to discuss tonight, not least the worsening situation at Newsquest. The company, part of American group Gannett, is using the current economic climate as an excuse to impose pay freezes and job cuts, despite the fact that profits are still very high.

Bra lies

It’s a shocking statistic, but one that everybody knows: 70% of women are wearing the wrong size bra. Or is it eight out of ten women? Maybe it’s 90%. Either way, every article about bra fitting has to begin with the statement that most women don’t know their real bra size, before going on to explain how you find out your real size.

A sporting chance

Publication date
August 2002

“Everyone’s kicked a football at some point in their lives,” Nicky Malson says. “It’s something everyone can relate to.” It’s also something a lot of people take for granted, just like a trip to the swimming pool in summer or a jog in the park or a kickabout with friends.

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