Article first appeared in Amateur Photographer 8 April 2017 WITH A COUPLE OF HOURS between meetings one afternoon last summer, I walked the perimeter of BMW’s Oxford plant. My hope was to take a photograph that somehow conveyed the idea of a contemporary car factory. This piece was originally published […]
This article first appeared in Amateur Photographer in December 2017 WHEN MY BROTHER DIED unexpectedly at the age of 40, my family was distraught. Like others struck by grief, we flapped around searching for ways to celebrate a life cut short. A faded newspaper cutting celebrating his non-stop bicycle ride […]
In Hollywood blockbusters (and countries run by despots) attacks on the free press see journalists dragged to prison, presses smashed and tv stations forcibly shut. In Britain’s liberal democracy, undermining our ability to investigate, and to express freely what we find, takes different forms. And three pieces of legislation before […]
A tribute to Pete Burns, and many others Late ‘70s Leeds was monochrome, hacked apart by urban motorways, choked with disused factories and fringed with bleak system-built housing. It was a metropolis of lost purpose – at least in my recollection. Nevertheless, every Saturday, my bus ground into the centre, […]
Much of the time, Trades Union Congress’ annual get-together is reminiscent of a revivalist meeting – true believers gathered in the certainty of salvation. Nearly every motion is endorsed by unanimous acclaim, the General Council’s opinion on each proposition is received with earnest appreciation, and every speaker is generously applauded. […]
“To know better your enemies is to better chances of your eventual victory”, wrote Sun Tzu in the Art Of War. So an eyeball-to-eyeball encounter with one of the European Union’s competition tzars provided provided a rare chance to understand the frustrations placed in the way of unions working on […]
“Taking a picture is to take away, not to put in, otherwise it is mediocrity”, the gruff Oliviero Toscani barked at a contestant on Sky Arts Master of Photography last week. It is a gnomic gem he has dished it out, with slight variations, to many of the hopefuls competing […]
Reaching the riverbank in Grantchester, my instinct was to first test the water’s temperature. The grassy bank is nearly two feet above the lapping surface so I inched forward from a sitting position before fully committing. It wasn’t to be. As my toes touched the stream, I slid involuntarily […]
VIEW FROM THE TOP “It would be an enormous privilege for you to be a member of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) Congress Presidium” Jim Boumelha (then IFJ president) whispered in my ear. “Basically it means that you are completely in charge of congress, you could really make a […]
I stopped listening to David Bowie a year ago. My love for his music was undimmed but I had come to the conclusion that old tunes were crowding out the new – at least on my playlists. I decided that, for a while at least, I would embrace the contemporary. […]