Who watches the Watches? February 19, 2025 As a newly minted Picture Editor and thus part of the management team of a then-popular left-wing national newspaper, I sat in on a discussion about why the poor ate so badly. Having only recently landed the job and as keen as mustard – and oh so naive – my feet were still planted firmly [...]
Leica SL3 review: Love blossomed with this mirrorless beauty December 10, 2024 Leica SL3 review: Utterly peerless ★★★★★ It feels like the plot from one of the romcoms I get teased by my other half for watching. You bond over whiskies at an exotic location – well, if you can call Geleneagles exotic – they even lose your luggage for comedic effect. You fall in love. But [...]
Why the new Fujifilm camera is a five-star must-have November 7, 2024 Reviewing the new Fujifilm camera: the best of both worlds As I traipse across London Bridge, burdened like a packhorse, I recall a time before digital equipment weighed me down. And once again I find myself wishing: if only digital cameras could be more like their film forefathers. But the new Fujifilm camera, the X100VI, [...]
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 [...]
