Everyone will hate us like they hate the Sun? Why is that? Well that is what will happen if I make a joke about Frank Bruno going mad. The man was sectioned last night and had been reportedly suffering from depression. And when you think about it if […]

Not Another Fucking Landscape.
I have been working nights in a gas station, namely Petro-Canada, which used to be public, but is now owned 72 per cent privately. They push the Canadian identity thing pretty far, with a red and white colour scheme; s[…]

There is very little to be said about the film Underworld that isn’t said on this ILE thread. A high in concept low in thought rip-off of Blade 2, it consists mainly of Kate Beckinsale proving that she has her fathers gift for comedy. Pity this[…]

The Royal Oak and Simply Indian, Borough
In some ways The Royal Oak is a bit of an oddity. It’s one of only two London pubs tied to Sussex brewery Harvey’s, and as such there is an inescapable association for me with some of the country p[…]

The Thing about working nights is deciding which music to play, its all about keeping awake and keeping your customers interested…Some people do this by trying to play into their desire for cock rock and chart country. I do so by shocking them […]

“Where’s the oldest pub in London?”
A text message from a friend. The query sounds simple enough but the truth is anything but clear unless the pedant’s answer, “London” is enough for you.
Google the phrase and the[…]

Woks. Are they still a big thing? (They are large physically. I still think the basis of the no washing up rule comes from the fact they are too big to fit in basins.) I wondered briefly yesterday since I spent a considerable amount of time seasoning[…]

Nice to see our legislators getting their teeth into something juicy for a change. As is the way with this kind of news, it at first seems remarkably trivial. And yet, one thinks, what is more important to a nations sense of identity that everything[…]

Matt Ingram is dead right about those nasty Putumayo covers – Isabel actually owns Gypsy Caravan and the sleeve has always been a bit distressing. In other ways the label is a bit more innovative – their ‘Playground’ series of[…]

Flaming hell Michael Ignatieff, in an interview in the FT a few weekends ago, made some interesting, informed comments about the Iraq situation and the future of the UN. On the strength of this, I picked up a copy of his new novel, Charlie Johnson […]