We have reached the apex of this unnecessary blog series! This is my final unsolicited diary entry about my recent work trip to Cameroon. If you want to read about my six-hour car journey from Bamenda to Yaounde, as well as my time at the airport, then the stick around and click after the jump. [...]
Category Archives: Work
Cameroon 2013: Day 6
Hey diary-readers! I can tell you’re all agog to see the (almost) final part of this unsolicited Cameroon diary. Settle down – it’s here. I’ll just saunter on this road of saying not much for a couple more lines while you get ready to either take off or read on. Today’s entry covers an amazing [...]
Cameroon 2013: Days 1 & 2
I’m in Cameroon for work. Yes, Cameroon, in West Africa. For a week. Let me just twerk real quick… Anyway. Internet is spotty at best, so why not give you a quick, unsolicited semi-diary of our time here so far? I know. You’re welcome. Ramblings below the jump.
Tales of Urban Wifi
Almost a year ago, Jay Smooth posted this oddly poignant short story on his Tumblr. Last week, I went to Rotterdam on a work trip. I was in the city for literally 24 hours, and took a couple of tram rides while there. This is a small selection of the various wifi network names I [...]
For the times when “piss off” doesn’t work
Many years ago, while in a job that I hated, one of my bosses ‘offered’ to spunk on my legs, among other delights. There was no preamble. We had barely spoken more than 50 words to one another in the ten or so months I’d worked there; there was precious little overlap in our duties [...]
File it under ‘B’… For ‘BAMF’
As I write this, I feel as light as a feather. Because this year, I finished filing my tax return over the course of three days. It’s a record for me. Sure, I still had time for an emotional cry, a couple of yelps of frustration at HMRC’s seemingly deliberate opacity when it comes to [...]
Freelancer’s Prayer for 2013
In the name of the Printing Press, the Commissioning Editor and The Glorious Sub, Please, let someone get pregnant this year. Let someone take a lengthy sabbatical. Let someone decide to retrain as a teacher or hairdresser because it’s what they’ve always wanted to do. Let someone take some time away to finish That Book. [...]
Getting Back Into Crush Mode
I live in a small and perfectly formed flat in east London. Yes, I know: a writer who lives in Hackney. In my defence, I do not own a cat (or a sausage dog), I have never left the house with a ‘hipster topknot’, I cannot ride a bike nor do I own one, and [...]
Also posted in Career, Essays, London
Tagged Crushes, Essay, London, Office Life, Writing
4 Responses
In My Bag
At the risk of sounding like a media wanker, I often get emails from young and/or aspiring journalists asking me for general advice on getting into journalism. Because they have sought my wise words, I get to rant about how things have changed since I was a young ‘un (I still am, I guess, but [...]
PLUG! Broadcasting House, 14 August
I recorded a (very) short piece about the London riots – specifically Hackney – over the weekend. It’s available to listen on the iPlayer until the very precise time of 10:02 on Sunday, 21 August. My ego thanks you.
Hey, Remember What Rachel Said To Ross?
You’ve all no doubt noted my increasingly erratic schedule when it comes to posting on Yoruba Girl Dancing. Remember when I used to post three or four times a week? Yeah, me neither. I can only apologise and ask that you forgive me. Things have become quite hectic work-wise (as my various work plugs will [...]
Also posted in Blog, Career, Uncategorized
Tagged Blogging, We Were on a BREAK!, Writing
8 Responses
Um, plug?
Morning, all. Last Sunday I was invited into the hallowed halls of Radio 4, to do the newspaper review on Broadcasting House. I was so excited, a little wee may’ve come out. Ahem. I had a lovely time, the other guests – former head of the Arts Council, Sir Christopher Frayling and hynotist and author [...]
PLUG!
Another thing I wrote for The Guardian, about Men’s Health‘s new feminist blogger here, for your ease and my ego. You love it. (Right?)
Also posted in America, Blog, Society
Tagged Journalism, Plug, The Guardian, Writing
Leave a comment
All’s Fair In Love and Internships
Last night, I caught Who Gets The Best Jobs? on BBC2. The epg on my cheapo Freeview box gave the following synopsis: “Richard Bilton investigates how class continues to restrict access to professions and well-paid careers to a small exclusive pool of the well-connected in modern Britain.” I couldn’t not watch this.
Also posted in Career, Education, London, Magazines, Review, Society, Television
Tagged Getting started, Journalism, London, School, Telly, The Opposite of Joy
3 Responses
The Electrician Always Buzzes Twice
Perception is a powerful thing. What we see, and what we think when we look are inextricably linked in the dark and murky recesses of our brains. I was thinking of this last Thursday afternoon, after the fire alarm in my building went off.
Also posted in Home, Humour, London
Tagged London, Sigh, Stereotypes, The Wire, Ugh, Writing
6 Responses
