Look at these kids here. I was 13 years old. I first got their album on a pirate CD with ‘Arctic Monkeys pre album’ scrawled on it in black marker, and half the songs on it were recorded live in noisy bars. I always get caught up and sad watching videos of bands and shows and old sunny concerts, and I suppose this is what getting older feels like, and I suppose it’ll only accelerate. Continue reading
uk
On The Protests in the UK and the Muslim Ban
Yeah, this one’s about politics and the Muslim ban, not travelling. Whatever.
I’ve tried to write a political article about 5 times in the past 48 hours, and every time I’ve given up and scrapped it. My thoughts are too disjointed and frantic and plain fucking furious to put into any comprehensible order. Instead, I’ve decided to simply write a list, wherein I will answer the myriad complaints I have seen about the Muslim ban protests that took place across my homeland yesterday. You might have thought that people could not find much fault with peaceful protests for the sake of the rights of fellow human beings, protests designed to show support and camaraderie with a people that is being increasingly maligned. However, you would be wrong, for this is 2017. The Second World War is slowly passing out of living memory, and humanity, with eye-rolling predictability, seems to be toying with the idea of destroying each other once again. So let’s get into it. Continue reading
O, Sheffield is Wonderful
You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. Isn’t that just the truest and saddest thing you ever heard?
I’m in Berlin, and it’s so wonderful. But I miss Sheffield. I always took it for granted, just like everyone always takes everything for granted because that’s what humans do. Looking back on the 14 months I spent there now, I’m feel privileged and proud to have lived there. It’s such a special place. Continue reading
UK Slang Lessons
If you’ve read any of my posts, you’ll probably have realised I’m from England. I know we have some odd phrases here in Blighty, so I’m going to try and explain some of the phrases I have previously peppered my writing with. Right, let’s get on with. In at the deep end…
Bugger: to bugger someone would mean sodomy… although bizarrely this is used by Brits all the time, even by little old ladies sipping cups of tea.
Bum: to bugger
Chin: to punch
Knob: a penis
Knob head: an insult used to insinuate that the person to which you are referring does in fact have a penis upon their forehead. Can be used equally in the middle of a furious argument, or as a greeting between friends
Chav: these enterprising young raconteurs:
Charver: a chav
Scally: a charver
Bloody: used in situations when it’s not quite cricket to say ‘fucking’
Not quite cricket: not okay
Getting on my wick: pissing me off
Fit: attractive. Kind of implies sexual desire. Don’t tell tell your parents/boss/the Queen that they look fit.
Just an excuse to have a photo of Emilia Clarke here. Sigh.
Lush: very attractive
A view can be lush. So can a person. A view can’t be fit, though. That’d be weird.
Bollocks: testes
Pissed off: angry
Pissed: drunk
Twatted: drunk
Arseholed: …drunk
Wank: to masturbate, or can be used as an adjective to mean something is crap, or naff.
Naff: crap, almost embarrassingly crap. Especially used when something is very uncool. The Eurovision song contest is naff, for example. Donald Trump’s hair is naff also.
Wankered: not to be confused with wank, to be wankered means – surprise surprise – to be drunk.
I’m (they are) off my (their) tits: I’m drunk (or on drugs)
Fuming: furious
Chum: pal
Nowt (North England only): pronounced to rhyme with ‘about’, it means ‘nothing’. Used only in spoken conversation. Example:
“What are you doing later?”
“Nowt, shall we do something?”
Owt (North England only): anything – the opposite of nowt.
Div: idiot
That concludes today’s lesson, you pack of divs. Now I’m proper bored of spending all day doing nowt and it’s doing my head in, so I’m off to get off my tits. Ta ta, now!
