Last weekend I had the absolute honour of cheering on my mate as she ran the grueling 26.2 miles of the Brighton Marathon. Having already watched this beautiful woman (and two other gorgeous friends) run a 5k for Cancer Research early last year, I was some way aware of the ebullient emotions these kinds of events can arouse. But nothing could have prepared me for how moved and utterly humbled I would be cheering on the side-lines of the 2015 Brighton Marathon.
Maritime Greenwich is awash with a fascinating history and rustic charm that makes it feel a world away, despite being just across the river from the business district of Canary Wharf and few miles from the City. From cocktails to international cuisine and the Cutty Sark, here’s why I love Greenwich, and why you should too.
Prakashi Tomar. Screen sot from Hindustan Times video.
Caught in the ferocious grip of the ‘what the fuck am I doing with my life’ beast, I was beginning to feel overcome with despair and depression, unable to go on, unable to control my increasing need for melodrama and hyperbole, basically feeling, for want of a better (more dramatic) word, like a piece of shite.
It would seem that no matter what my circumstance or situation, good or bad, employed or jobless, deadbeat or superstar, this rather gross state of mind – felt particularly acutely in the early twenties – could come and bite me in the arse at any time, and on this occasion the little rascal had sunk his teeth in good. Continue reading
Whether it’s a rustic medieval town, colourful beach resort or vibrant city there is an undeniable energy to Italy, and its people are at the core. Quiet afternoons in sleepy towns can explode into vivacious nights as the tanned locals take to the streets, cafes and bars to revel each other’s company, and busy cities swell with the cacophony and chaos of gesticulating inhabitants conversing at decibel levels usually reserved for car horns.
Italians embody la dolce vita, placing family, food, coffee and culture – all the good stuff – at the forefront of their lives. I reckon we could all learn a thing or two from our European pals, so with that in mind here’s a few reasons why we should all be more Italian. Continue reading
RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show
Last weekend I went to the Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Suzuki Dinghy Show.
Why, you ask?
Well, I’m not entirely sure.
As a kid we used to spend many a summer holiday on the Norfolk Broads mucking around on our friends’ boats (is the most middle-class sentence I’ve ever written). And back in the life crisis mental breakdown of 2013, I decided to reignite my love for the water (is the second most middle-class sentence I’ve ever written) and do a RYA sailing course.
But this is 2015 and I’ve got the need for speed. Continue reading
Last week the world was left reeling after two gunmen entered the premises of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and opened fire in an act of terror, killing 11. But hold on, no time to retweet the latest story we’ve got another tragedy on our hands that needs your attention. Over in Nigeria ‘too many bodies to count’ lie dead and discarded as a result of an Islamic extremist attack, and only days later two child suicide bombers launched an attack on an open-air market in Potiskum killing and injuring even more innocent bystanders.
Two horrific and unjustified acts of terror in their own right. But what amazed me, beyond the utterly harrowing nature of these atrocities, were peoples’ reactions, or rather, transitions from one event to the next. Continue reading
Image by David Davies / CC BY-SA 2.0
There is always one. One chump who turns up just before mid-night, pissed as a fart, barely able to stand up, who begins commandeering the iPod with his/her own poorly edited electro-reggae-fusion-megga-mix, insists that everyone do shots from Jim’s belly button and then subsequently pukes in a location only to be disturbingly discovered several weeks later. Usually under the guise of ‘party animal’ this tosser successfully manages to ruin what was shaping up to, probably, be one of your best New Year’s parties yet.
Unfortunately it is an inevitability when you combine booze and holiday cheer with a heady dose of that NYE party pressure, that something is going to snap. So, in an attempt to save us all the embarrassment, and cleaning fees, here are some good rules to abide by to avoid starting 2015 sending out hundreds of apology texts (that is, if you haven’t lost/broken your phone in the course of the night). Continue reading
South Korea really is a spellbinding country. A cultural melting pot, it offers travellers the chance to experience all the colour and chaos of contemporary cities as well as discover an epic history dating back to the 1st century and beyond.
An old Korea proverb reads, ‘Even if you have to crawl on your knees, get yourself to Seoul’ and I would argue the same for the rest of South Korea. At once it is a country on the forefront of major technological advancements and yet oozes a historical mysticism: here you’ll find everything from teahouses and temples to skyscrapers and sweeping mountains, Buddhism, bars and the infamous K-Pop. Needless to say I couldn’t wait to see for myself all that South Korea had to offer (and I only really scratched the surface) … Continue reading
If Facebook was my significant other I would have dumped him long ago. For just like a boyfriend in an unhappy relationship, Facebook seems to be having more fun with everyone else, it is a massive waste of my time and just generally makes me feel shit. Continue reading
Berlin is, by all accounts, a modern metropolis but it has also found itself at the heart of some incredible moments in history; from the nightlife to the monuments, the museums and the food this is a city you shouldn’t do by halves, and when things like club entry and museum admission are unavoidable here are a few sights and activities that’ll require little more than pocket change.
Generation Fishcake 
