To Hunter Stockton Thompson, born on July 18th 1937. Happy B-day, Doc!   SIR LARRY THE GEAR – THE OFF-LICENSE FIXER An empirical study of the wild variations in meaning of the word “gear”   “Take me down little Susie, take me down I know you think you’re the Queen […]

Before I launch into “A spot of bother”, I think it would be useful to provide the blurb: At fifty-seven, George is settling down to a comfortable retirement, building a shed in his garden, reading historical novels, listening to a bit of light jazz. Then Katie, his unpredictable daughter, announces […]

Big Macs and Whoppers vying to become integrated plot devices in fiction novels? Cans of Coca-Cola and Dr. Pepper defining compelling character arcs in YA/tween fantasy? Hip, young, internet-aware fiction characters using the nutritional and manufacturing advice on corporate web sites to argue their choice of everything from fast food […]

Some say that all you need to become a great writer is a healthy imagination and a way with words. I believe this idea to be both true and false, in equal measures. I don’t dispute that imagination is needed; if writers such as C.S. Lewis, Douglas Adams and J.K. […]

I’ve spent the last three or four days going over topics for my next article and have sadly been uninspired by every variety of mundane idea that has been suggested. I have even taken to social networking to try and find someone with a bright idea on which I can […]

The final year of my degree commences in September, I’m supposed to have at the very least, an understanding of how to make films. Scratch that, how to make good films. However, as I’m sat here going through the preliminary stages of research into my dissertation, I can honestly say […]