Writing
Essays on place, culture and the spaces in between.
In Upper Silesia, I Found the South Yorkshire I Grew Up In
An ice cream in a park in Piekary Śląskie stirs memories of South Yorkshire and a larger question: what makes a place believe something good might still be coming around the corner?
We Are Guests
We are sat on a busy bus in Naxos, heading into the island’s mountainous interior for a day exploring its villages.
Just outside Naxos Town, two local women climb aboard, each carrying a shopping bag from the morning market. The bus is already full, mostly with tourists like me. There isn’t a spare seat between us.
It’s Class, That!
Travelling has a funny way of sharpening your view of home. After months spent moving between countries, I found myself noticing how strangely we talk about class in Britain, often reducing something deeply nuanced into a handful of lazy stereotypes.
Comfortable At Being Uncomfortable
I’m sat silently, with just a coffee for company.
The sun is still rising, yet it is already baking my skin. A shimmer dances across the dark blue sea separating this Greek island from the next. Every so often, a gentle breeze carries the scent of a nearby fig tree. Fresh, sweet and quietly complex.
Sheffield: The Sound Of The Crowd
There was space. Space to rehearse. Space to experiment. Space to fail.
Sheffield’s cultural legacy was not built because somebody designed it. It emerged because enough people had the freedom, time and opportunity to create things on their own terms. Much like its industrial past.
The Accidental Travel Influencer
I had a random thought the other day. Ironically, it involved Karl Pilkington.
In a world of endless “Top 10 things to do in…” lists and “Come with me for a day in…” videos, Karl Pilkington may have accidentally become one of the most useful travel influencers of the modern era. Which is unfortunate, because he’d probably hate being described that way.
Coming Up For Air
I’m face down in the water, floating in rhythm with the waves. There’s a comfortable silence, broken only by the distant hum of a boat engine somewhere further out at sea.
The Moon Under Water - A Perfect Pub
Cold, smooth, creamy liquid pours down my throat rapidly before coming to an abrupt ending with a bitter finish on my tongue. It’s my first pint of Guinness in over four months. I’ve been away travelling, and one of my first ports of call upon returning is the pub.
Never Trust A Hotel Review
As most people probably do, we always ensure we check reviews before we book to stay somewhere. A bit of due diligence before parting with hundreds of pounds is surely a reasonable thing to do?
One Last Push
My legs tighten. One last push. Over another bump in the gravel and the climb finally gives way, opening out into a plateau. A stretch of green rice fields ahead, the sun catching on the flooded plains. Zebra doves make their mechanical whirring sound overhead as a worker in a conical hat walks past.
Strong Women - Sukarara weaving village
After enough time on the road, travel stops being about places and starts becoming about perception. Not what you see, but how it quietly rewires what you thought you knew.
The Third Space
Having a third space is having a place outside of your home or workplace to convene or to relax. It might be purposeful, like a pub or a café. Or it could be something less obvious, like a park or a beach.
Seen From Elsewhere
On a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Cebu, I look down and spot a cluster of small tropical islands off the coast of Borneo. All green jungle, ringed by white sand and clear turquoise water.
Sri Lanka - Beauty & Discomfort
Most people don’t like to be uncomfortable when they travel, but perhaps discomfort is an unavoidable part of seeing the world honestly. Something to learn from, to grow from and to try and affect positively, in your own little way.
Look At The Plates
When travelling, there’s a long list of advice people give about how to find a good place to eat. But I’ve never seen anyone say what I am about to reveal…
Paradise Isn’t Always Quiet
A loud rumble of a vehicle passes close to my right side as I walk along the dusty, dry street, narrowly avoiding uneven slabs of pavement and stepping over open drain covers.
Pettah Go Early
Long before the crowds and chaos, there is a moment of calm. A stillness. An unexpected beauty.
Fruit, Heat, Repeat
It’s hot and humid and we are stood uneasily inside a badly lit shop. Sharp knives are carelessly left on any flat surface that can be found. A large spider crawls up a wooden beam directly behind my wife and settles, part-camouflaged beneath a heap of pineapples.
Setting Sun
Each day, everywhere in the world, the sun will set (extreme solstice points notwithstanding). Sometimes it’s visible, other times it’s hidden behind a thick blanket of overcast sky. On the motorway, outside your home, or at the beach.
Pizza, Oh Dear
I interrupt my usual travel writing (no, this is not a travel blog) with something closer to home. Pizza.