Art is being stolen from public spaces. The worst part? Hardly anyone notices October 18, 2024 The theft of art from public spaces may feel like a painfully middle class problem to despair on, but it affects us all, writes Andy Blackmore.
Gen-Z hates stilton – of course they do, they’re not mature enough September 10, 2024 While Gen-Z go loopy for smashed avo on toast, the passage through life will inevitably lead them to stilton, writes Andy Blackmore Around 554 moons ago as I chortled my way through Monty Python’s Life of Brian, I chuckled my little heart out to one line without understanding the meaning. Now, 45 years later I’ve [...]
Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing is hypocrisy in action September 6, 2024 There is nothing like the shrill clatter of the hoves of hypocrisy across the cobbles of capitalism to set one’s teeth on edge. Like the squeal of chalk across the blackboard, it discombobulates in a most uncomfortable way. So just what it is that has me clenching my jaw and wishing the noise would stop [...]
Croydon is a brutalist playground and a photographer’s dream August 15, 2024 I stand killing time on the platform of one of Croydon’s many decrepit railway stations. Like me, it’s seen better days, and again like me, its makeover has been on the cards for years. I do a lot of waiting and thinking here, mostly enforced. Norwood Junction: even the name sounds like a line from [...]
Social media has shown there is a little piece of the devil in us all August 14, 2024 What role does social media play in the rising tide of social unrest and the seemingly ever-growing levels of hatred and division? I used to think that it took a lot to scare me; I’m not talking about the anxiety that often afflicts me, but real fear – the kind I’m experiencing right now. It’s [...]
The meaning behind Banksy’s latest London murals? His brand needed a boost August 13, 2024 Banksy’s London murals have found many searching for a hidden meaning, but a look at the artist’s declining value suggests it’s just needed marketing, writes Andy Blackmore For weeks now, I’ve been trying to solve a partially perplexing riddle: just what do a gorilla, a goat, a rhino, some fish and a whole menagerie of [...]
Grace Jones proves Abraham Lincoln’s famous quote right at Crystal Palace’s South Facing Festival August 8, 2024 According to Abraham Lincoln, you can fool some of the people all of the time. I think he has a point, as right now I’m feeling pretty foolish, and judging by the assembled masses – since at first glance, there are thousands of us – I’m not alone in such foolishness. You see, nothing, and [...]
The Crowdstrike disaster was bound to happen. The cloud is a chokepoint in our interconnected world July 23, 2024 Last week, Crowdstrike caused a global tech meltdown due to a botched software rollout. The incident should be seen as a dry run for the next time someone throws a spanner into our globally interconnected tech ecosystem, writes Andy Blackmore.
Donald Trump assassination images are perfect photojournalism – and that’s the problem July 17, 2024 The pictures of defiant Donald Trump fist-pumping having survived a shooting are so stunning they could have been produced by AI – no wonder they’ve sparked so many conspiracy theories, says Andy Blackmore There are days when I hate my job, and then there are days when I love it. Days when the hairs on [...]
Remembering the battle of Mount Longdon June 12, 2024 Standing solemnly in silent contemplation at the Aldershot Military Cemetery, soaking in the summer sunshine, eternity faces me carved in stone – a reality so far removed from the bravado of war or the romance of its poets that it jolts. Here, as close to that poetic earth referred to as “forever England” as I [...]
