James Tawton

Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You My Lad – M.R. James

> In the 1800s there were an awful lot of accomplished men, who achieved over and above their fellow man. M.R. James was one such man. Linguist, Medievalist, biblical scholar and palaeographer (no, I don’t know either). Where James is best remembered now however is as a prolific short-story writer and, more specifically, ghost storyContinue reading “Oh, Whistle, and I’ll Come to You My Lad – M.R. James”

Money

>Like nearly everyone else I have some, want more and need less. I am smart enough to know that it delivers little in terms of genuine happiness, but I also reconcile this with the knowledge that I know exactly what I would do if I came into some money. Of course, I would use itContinue reading “Money”

Unforgiven – Clint Eastwood

>The great thing about Clint Eastwood is that he’s great. Aside from some admittedly embarrassing films in the 70s and 80s when that odd woman Sandra Locke had her claws into him, he’s been pure gold. It says something about a man when people refer to other people as being a bit like you. ‘He’sContinue reading “Unforgiven – Clint Eastwood”

Four Kings – George Kimball

>Kimball was the lead boxing correspondent for the Boston Herald throughout, what he proposes was, the last great period of middleweight, and arguably any weight, of boxing. It’s hard to disagree with the assertion. The four ‘Kings’ in question are Sugar Ray Leonard, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Thomas ‘Hit Man’ Hearns and Roberto Duran. These fourContinue reading “Four Kings – George Kimball”

Travelling

No, I don’t mean travelling as in ‘I’m going travelling in my gap year’, which is so abhorrent a conceit as to make my bile rise into my nasal cavity. I simply mean travelling in its literal sense of moving from one place to another. It’s one of the ironies of successful modern living that,Continue reading “Travelling”

Advertising

Where taste and odiousness collide are advertising and advertising executives found. In the mix of today’s headiest media output (a greater output by a vast multiple than any other time) advertising has become ubiquitous with popular culture and we’re powerless to stop it. The advent of the corporation, following the rise of business in theContinue reading “Advertising”

Cricket: Local

I should perhaps be more specific here. ‘Local’ cricket in this post does not mean village cricket, it means County cricket. Village cricket could honestly take up a couple of posts on its own, but it would be nothing to do with cricket, it would be entirely about the associated politics and background scandal. CountyContinue reading “Cricket: Local”

Comics as Literature

In modern culture the blurring of lines between genres, or indeed the format they’re distributed in, is not only prevalent, it’s increasing. The advent of the graphic novel elevated comics away from the ‘Zap’ ‘Pow’ world of underpants worn on the outside, and childish visions of superpowers solving the world’s problems with a wave ofContinue reading “Comics as Literature”