Perhaps I’m attuned to the genre, or just a sucker for claustrophobic dramas set in the hauntingly bleak English countryside, but Barnaby Roper’s All the Devils Are Heredeserves a lot more than its lowly 5.5 on IMDb. To place the film too accurately is to risk giving away too much, but, suffice it to say, […]
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I didn’t know what to expect going into last night’s film but that’s often the case when I’m following a film season or simply following an actor I like. I don’t need a trailer or precis of the plot once I know they’re in the film. That is uniquely true of Eva Green. It’s always […]
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I was never going to be a Paddington fan. Not the character, you understand. I grew up with the animated TV show narrated by the great Michael Horden, who also narrated my favourite movie (Barry Lyndon) and therefore could do no wrong. I mean, I was never the natural audience for the film version made in 2014. Yet […]
Continue ReadingHello world. Yes, it’s been a while and if you’ve been following me on Twitter, you’ll know why. However, it’s a cold Saturday afternoon but it’s promising to be warmer tomorrow. I also managed to sleep for a solid eight hours (if not longer) last night. That’s been pretty rare lately. I don’t intend to […]
Continue ReadingIt is probably the nature of modern life that, to adapt the words of Orwell, unserious politics “has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting”. In the past fortnight, our politics have […]
Continue ReadingHats off to Prince Harry and Princess Meghan Markle for naming their daughter “Lillibet”. It can be a tough business getting these names right… Take my current predicament as an example. The name of my future son came to me the moment I decided to renounce my Catholic faith. That’s when I decided he should […]
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So, it’s finally here. The news channel that isn’t a news channel began broadcasting non-news this week and, in the process, made headlines. Welcome to the logic-defying reality of GB News, a channel that is sure to be a raging success if only it can maintain the interest of all the people who despise it […]
Continue ReadingI’ve not now slept in three days. Two nights were down to pure stress. I’d start to feel hot and agitated… Last night was something far worse. After a good night — and I mean a *good* night — my Mum’s delirium came back worse. The poor thing has been suffering from the awful laxatives […]
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6.38AM Wide awake. Not slept much, though it’s merely stress that’s stopped me, pumping all that Epinephrine into my system and making me hot an restless. Thus far I’ve only needed to get up once to help my Mum, which, admittedly was difficult. There’s some equipment we probably need to help movement into and out […]
Continue ReadingA brief update from the lull before… well, whatever comes next. My Mum is due home today but the process has been difficult. One day I hope to write about it and I’d do that now but I’ve got so much to do. Both my sister and myself are worried because we don’t know what […]
Continue ReadingI can’t get rid of the stench of the hospital. Sorry for the lack of updates. I’ve been in a pretty bad place regarding my Mum; fighting a system that… Well, you’ll see what I’ve been fighting. My mum was due home yesterday. After they’d finally put her (at my insistence) on antibiotics last week […]
Continue ReadingJust a brief update. Just had a phone call from the hospital. My Mum apparently has something called a “UTI” and they anticipate discharging her in 24-48 hours. Who knew?
Continue ReadingI’ve been silent for a few days because I’ve just not had the energy. After 11 days of fighting, I finally got my Mum the antibiotics that she always takes when she gets into this state of confusion/delirium. Or I hope she’s got them as I was promised. COVID means I’m stuck at home and […]
Continue ReadingChrist. Yes, I know I don’t believe but there’s still something satisfying in the old curses. I had three hours sleep, hitting the pillow about five thirty. I’ve written a piece about last night which should appear today. I’ll hopefully have more to say about it in the coming days. Real life is crowding for […]
Continue ReadingWhy Dunciad.com?
It’s a cool domain name and it was available. Yes, I know. Available. Crazy, isn’t it?
Really?
Yes. It also helps that it’s also my favourite satire written by Alexander Pope, one of the most metrically pure English poets who also knew his way around a crude insult or two. If you’ve not read it, you should give it a try.
So this is satire, right?
Can’t deny it. There will be some. But it’s also an experiment in writing and drawing, giving work away for free in order to see how many people are willing to support a writer doing his thing. It’s the weird stuff that I wouldn’t get published elsewhere in this word of diminishing demands and cookie-cutter tastes.
