SCIENCE IS YOUR FRIEND #1: A musician I knew a bit – I’d written a little story on him – invited me to his house, somewhere in Essex on the banks of the Thames. He was throwing a barbecue for family and friends, and it was a nice wa[…]

Fish can seem a bit boring, but then two of my favourite things are swimming and eating. I found myself gazing into a fishtank the other day. I was waiting to go into an interview. The fish were calming but in fact I started thinking about whether or[…]

Well the return of Inspector Frost was dire, despite featuring a demented tango competition dancer dismembering her partners for being not good enough PLUS a scene set in a yard stacked high with thousands of busted fridges which suddenly all fell ov[…]

In case you aren’t watching the Rugby World Cup (and fair enough) I thought you would nonetheless like to know that Ireland’s bald and not-cute hooker (equivalent for US readers: there isn’t one) Keith Wood glories in the nickname T[…]

Ain’t Got No Frogs…
There’s a new road safety ad telling you to wear something bright at night. This isn’t terribly interesting in itself, but the jingle is sung to the tune of one of the greatest really obscure records ever: […]

Even if you’re a sports fan you may never have heard of Mildred Didrikson-Zaharias. Here is why she was the greatest athlete of all time.
She was born in Texas in 1914. At 16 she led her basketball team to three national titles. In the 1932 nat[…]

(Sistrah Becky just suggested TIME AND TIDE must be part of the Brighton Photographic Biennial, but it doesn’t seem to be mentioned anywhere on the website)[…]

On Brighton sea front, just by the burnt-out wreck of the West Pier, there’s a photography exhibition. It’s actually ON the front: each picture, in its frame, is attached to the railings of the esplanade as you look out to sea. It’s[…]