Places
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A quiz hosting career in three parts
I’m on my way back from hosting a quiz in Worthing, a supposedly every-other-week gig which has rapidly turned into an almost-every-week commitment. [1] I don’t mind, though. It’s actually quite hard to be a part time quiz host. You need to be there most weeks to build up a rapport with the regular teams,… Read more
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A wander up Chanctonbury Ring
“Chanctonbury is a place where time slows” [1] The last time I made it up to Chanctonbury, the world was different. It was 2019, and I was walking the South Downs Way. I was lost, but not in a geographic sense, as it’s hard to lose one’s bearings when walking a giant ridge of chalk… Read more
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“Come follow me…” Hurstpierpoint Wassail 2025
A quick write-up of Saturday’s wassail in Hurstpierpoint, which was without a kernel of a doubt one of the most enjoyable wassails I’ve done. And I’ve done a lot of wassails. This one was organised by our choir leader and nearby-Hassock resident Jo Burke. It was very kind of her to schedule it for a… Read more
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I interviewed Rachel Stamp’s David Ryder Prangley for Indie Brighton
This year I’m trying to do a lot more features and interviews alongside my weekly listings. The plan eventually is to set up a proper website to compliment the newsletter, which means I think I have to think a bit more about how comprehensive I want my guide to be, and how to stick to… Read more
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“I realised, this isn’t me – it’s Leslie”: an interview with Simon Topping
For this week’s “interviewing someone doing something cool in Brighton” [2] section of the Indie Brighton Listings, I interviewed Simon Topping, who runs Extra Topping Comedy. I’ve known Simon a while now, and am a massive fan of both his character comedy and his ability to curate an ever-interesting lineup. I caught up with him in… Read more
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‘Inequality in our society still exists’: a dazed wander around Gunwharf Quay, Portsmouth
I get so bored when I’m ill. All of us internet users fall down terrible rabbit holes from time to time, and yesterday evening I found myself looking at terrible restaurants in rural Pakistan via google customer photographs. What’s the opposite of a roadside eaterie near the Kashmiri border? Land Securities Properties Ltd would like… Read more
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Cycling London to Berlin, Day #2: Tooting to Harwich International
“Once you’re tired of London, you’re tired of life,” as my Dad once told me, quoting Samuel “L” Johnson out of Blackadder. He didn’t tell me this was a quote, of course. I found this out much later. And I didn’t know the full quote until now: “When a man is tired of London, he… Read more
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Cycling London to Berlin, Day One: London St Pancras to Tooting via Westminster, Vauxhall and New Malden
Day #1: St Pancras to New Malden via old haunts, then New Malden to Tooting. 23 miles in total. Legs: fine. Butt: pretty much fine. I’m cycling to Berlin to raise money for the RNLI, in memory of my Dad, Adrian, who died this summer. Dad loved the sea, and never quite made it to… Read more
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