Is there a third way – on the sitting standing conundrum? I’ve always considered the bar stool to be a decent compromise. Its high enough to converse with standing punters whilst combining the comfort of being seated. Nevertheless there i[…]

R-E-S-P-E-C-T?: Subjects given their first entries in the new [E]ncyclopaedia [Britannica] include lesbianism, the drug ecstasy and hip-hop music. Well, it’s only taken hip-hop a couple of decades, but LESBIANISM? I have a hunch that conserv[…]

Is standing in pubs underrated? Well, not underrated precisely but is it not quite the evil it is made out to be? Yes one goes to the pub to relax after a hard day/week at work/arsing about online, and relaxation is best attempted with one’s bu[…]

POP-EYE 18/3/02
There was a time, about two years ago, when the news was a wee bit slow and silly season had kicked in when the papers suggested that the UK charts were too fast. Singles were barrelling in to number one and bouncing way back out agai[…]

I’ve just returned home after spending six weeks in Egypt. I can’t pretend I developed much of a liking for Egyptian pop – it featured voices flying all over the place at complete random with an annoying nasal tone, and songs that w[…]

FT Birthday Update (And Other News)
1. The response to the birthday thing has gone from good to spectacular – I now have around fifty entries. Thanks!
2. I’m extending the deadline anyway because the entries have been so good and I want e[…]

Dylan And Me: caution, if you’re the kind of reader who thinks autobiographical detail doesn’t belong in pop criticism, you won’t like this. Also up today – Familiarity Breeds Surprise, another personal essay, this time by Bil[…]

A quick point of order re- this whole etiquette thing. Pete – a man so rude as to not remember a young lady’s name (it was Nicky) – did not in fact offer the bar stools to us laydeez but sat down with great speed and smugness. Tut t[…]

I thoroughly disagree with John’s dislike of the pub table grab. Improving ones situation in life is something which we should always strive for. We go to a pub because we like its ambience, because we like the beer, because we like the pub. Th[…]

Further to Pete’s LJR story below, I think he made an initial error. The Pub Table Grab is a manoeuvre that should never be attempted. I can’t think of anything which makes me feel less comfortable in a pub than looking around hawkishly[…]