Empty shops, empty thinking
Each time I’m sitting at the traffic lights at the bottom of Parliament Street, with the former Rhodes Wood shop standing empty on one side and the still-empty Viper Rooms [...]
We need to talk about memorials
This opinion piece was published in The Stray Ferret on 10 June. I want to discuss the issue of public memorials and their proliferation in our area. By memorials, I’m [...]
Keir Starmer isn’t doomed. He’s just stuck in lawyer-mode.
(The below was written for The Yorkshire Post; perhaps they will print; perhaps they won’t) Merry Christmas, Sir Keir Starmer KC. As a former solicitor, I’m used to instructing [...]
Deja vu: First day at work as a lawyer
Many of you will know that I had an eventful first day at work as a trainee lawyer - in that I was arrested/assaulted by an off-duty police officer who [...]
Viral-y
Posting my thoughts to my favourite platform - TikTok - this last week, I’ve struck a chord, somehow. Circa 100k people have watched my videos: one about my first day [...]
Why I Struggle With “Progressives”
Many of my friends and colleagues would describe themselves as “progressive.” I want to agree with them. I really do. I want to be one, but I can’t and [...]
Still Not Even Paying Peanuts
My usually chilled-ness demeanour (some will not agree that I am ever this) rapidly turned to rage today when I saw a “job” ad from a well-known Quaker-inspired national [...]
A Policeman, a (Former) Lawyer, and a Fire (no fireman)….
This week, one of my kids — along with others I’d taken away — built a fire on a beach. All innocent. All safe. All fun. Their North Face [...]
Lefty Lawyers
Few things irritate me more than the lazy accusation that some legal outcome happened because of “lefty lawyers”—especially when that accusation comes from a politician. For most of my 45 [...]
Dunbar and the Internet
Robin Dunbar—the world-renowned anthropologist—figured out that humans are wired to keep social circles of around 150 people. It’s the upper limit of meaningful connections our brains can handle. Yuval Noah [...]
