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Showing posts from December, 2014

Time to take satire seriously

James Franco and Seth Rogen (Image: Variety.com) I am a big fan of 'Have I got News for You'. I enjoy watching 'Mock the Week', reading 'Private Eye' and there are plenty of stand ups and comedians I like - Harry Enfield, Michael McIntyre and Shappi Khorsandi to name a few. What these television shows, publications and personalities mentioned have in common is that they use satire to address their points of view. One dictionary definition of 'satire' is "the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule or the like, in exposing, denouncing or deriding vice, folly, etc." One can argue it is a simple poke fun at people who can take it, and if they couldn't, then that is their prerogative. Satire is intended to be harmless fun. In Britain we do it often enough to celebrities and politicians and have done it for decades without offending too many people. So it makes you wonder why the term in question has been brought to disrepute this past we

My London, my concrete jungle - one year on

London, view from Trafalgar Square (Image: Geolocation) The 7th December we embraced very recently marked a personal milestone as it was exactly a year since I moved to London. I say it's a personal achievement because if you told me this time two years ago that I would move to the capital, I'd have laughed at your face. Here I was two years ago looking for a job after University literally anywhere. By that point, I attended interviews in Rochdale, Chelmsford and Oxford. I was willing to move anywhere that wanted me. But it was originally Taunton that lured me to the world of employment. But living in a town with 80,000 people quickly turned to moving to a jungle with 10 million people walking at 'London pace', which in my terms translates to five paces faster than any other place I have ever been to in the country. It is hard to believe that it has been a year since I packed my bags to the big city. 2014 has certainly been an interesting year exploring Londo

Message to Cameron and Miliband - ditch the class system

David Cameron and Ed Miliband (Image: The Guardian) For those interested in Chinese zodiacs, the next calendar year is the Year of the Sheep (the zodiac sign I happen to fall into). And while I anticipate plenty of unexpected changes, expansion, personal development and fresh starts, I'm sure 2015 will offer that for many people in Britain after the crazy political year we have had. This year in particular has seen mainstream politics shaken up and the rise of the smaller parties. Pressures from right at the top of the political food chain has reached fever pitch and are noticeably desperate to get enough votes in six months' time so they can keep their heads above water. You can tell they are desperate. Anything the press report has been considered a 'crisis' which provokes the Prime Minister to panic and make radical changes that he seems not to have thought through. This past week or so for example, it has been discovered that net migration increased meani