Author Archives: Paul

Happy birthday to Aaron Paul, better known as Jesse Pinkman from Breaking Bad. I’m hardly alone in thinking that Breaking Bad is the greatest TV programme ever made. The acting, the dialogue, the characters and the plotlines have all been rightfully lauded. Yet what’s often overlooked is the music. The creators’ use of semi-obscure gems […]

My dad was born here and when he arrived in London in the 1950s, he really was one of McAlpine’s Fusiliers. I should feel a great affinity for Dublin but I don’t. Not because it’s too Irish but because it isn’t Irish enough. I strolled along Grafton Street this afternoon but among the faceless chainstores, […]

The poet Linda Ellis wrote a little ditty called The Dash which says that the most significant part of any any tombstone is the dash between dates of birth and death. Thousands of people were born in 1923, a similar number will die in 2014 but how many could claim to have spent their dash […]

Neither did mine. Neither did anyone’s. But most people turning 50 now have a bit of a do. My brother-in-law Danny had his last night down in Brighton. I love Brighton. It’s where Londoners have always gone for a bit of fresh air and fun. I love its relaxed, “anything goes” attitude, its grand Regency […]

I met up with my old friend Laurence Barber today. We were supposed to be talking about work and ended up talking about second hand cars. We both love cars but not in a Top Gear, petrol-head way. It’s about the freedom and independence they bring, the means to be in a different place every […]

Out of a possible twelve. In other words, “100%”. To put it another way, “Could not have been better”. Or maybe “Top of the Year”. My daughter’s GCSE results arrived this morning and made me as proud as it’s possible to be. In one so talented, she also has a lovely absence of arrogance. She’d […]

He wasn’t a close friend but I liked him a lot. His wife asked me to come so of course, I did and was delighted to see that God had not been invited. Having endured countless requiems that were quite literally godawful, I found this lovely secular service sad but uplifting. It was a wonderful […]

Ian Maybank and I have an only one stipulation when meeting for lunch. The name of the venue must be a clunking great pun. Hence we’ve enjoyed fish & chips at The Codfather, sweet & sour chicken at Kung Food and today it was pie & mash at The Pie Minister. This track seems appropriate […]

The Premier League is back and this season, unlike almost all previous ones, QPR are in the top flight. I used to live in Shepherds Bush, a ten minute walk from Loftus Road and I went along to most home games. But then came marriage, children and a move north into Arsenal country. Meanwhile QPR, […]

His name’s Don Williamson, 80 today and long retired from being branch manager at NatWest in Kensington. He’s my ex-girlfriend’s dad and a wonderful human being. Don came from an era when a bank manager was a well-known and respected figure, a pillar of the local community and genuinely concerned for his customers’ financial well-being. […]