walking
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This is the Sound of the Suburbs
Home improvements / In our dream home / Home improvements / We’re never moving. – Straight Life, Black Box Recorder There is something about suburbia I’ve always been running from. It has therefore been instructive to spend Christmas in a semi-detached house on the edge of Luton. [1] I took a Boxing Day walk, on… Read more
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From Round Hill to the Desolation of Hollingbury Asda
I was supposed to be seeing The Divine Comedy this past evening [1]. They are one of my favourite bands, but I couldn’t quite face it. The assorted gigs, shows and accompanying human interactions of the past week, joyous as they were, left me feeling like I needed to spend an evening somewhere other than… Read more
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Walking from Lewes to Rottingdean
On a windy, sunny Sunday afternoon, I got my butt out of my usual, sometimes self-defeating patterns of weekend behaviour and took myself up into the Downs. I’m very lucky to have the South Downs National Park on my doorstep, and I have been rationing bits of it out to myself slowly. My brain forever… Read more
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Walking from London Road Brighton to Hassocks
A bright and cold January Friday with no work left to do, and a flat as frigid as a Carry On matron. There was only one thing to do: walk across the ridge of the Downs, and feel the reassuring crunch of snow beneath my feet. I live just off Ditchling Road, which as the… Read more
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Brighton Folk Choir at Oldland Windmill; walking back via Ditchling and the South Downs
Our second Bank Holiday gig in a row: this time at a 300 year old windmill, near Hassocks, a village that arrived 150 years later with the railway. The mill is in full working order, as I discovered when I saw flour from it for sale in the local Budgens nee the station. From here… Read more
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Furious man in local newspaper
I’ve finally achieved my lifelong goal of looking angry in the local newspaper. Unfortunately I didn’t get to pose either with my armed folded or pointing at the thing that annoyed me, but perhaps that’s something to achieve before I’m fifty. I’m pretty happy with how I have been quoted, though it’s perhaps a shame… Read more
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Cycling in Paris is much better than cycling in London
In 2020, Cyclist magazine wrote of London and Paris mayors both seeking re-election; and both talking a good game on their plans to revolutionise active travel in their respective capitals. Even then, it wasn’t a fair comparison. Paris’ socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo had already instigated a revolution. The ‘Plan Velo’ approach aims for a cycle… Read more
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Spooky Infrastructure Month
I’ve decided to do some short videos of the paucity of walking and cycling infrastructure in this place we insist on calling England. Some of the cycle lanes I share will definitely be haunted. This is a project that will largely live on instagram but to remind myself that this is something I’m doing, here… Read more
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North Downs Way and the Pilgrims Way, Farnham to Guildford
Frazzled after a gig, I took myself off for a walk. Many years ago, I attempted to walk the full North Downs way with a now ex-friend. But for reasons I no longer recall, we started at Guildford, rather than the actual start point of Farnham. And so, a decade later, but still feeling early… Read more
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Cycling in Kingston
Desperately trying to memorise words, I took a walk around Kingston Upon Thames yesterday, repeating things to myself and attracting curious glances from passers-by. Was I mad, or had hands-free mobile technology reached the invisibility stage? The council has made assorted efforts to encourage more people to walk and cycle around town; if you’re on… Read more
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