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July 14, 2026

THE IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY TO EVERY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD

The Man Who Visited Every Country Without Ever Flying
Most people dream of travelling the world.

Torbjørn "Thor" Pedersen actually did something that makes his achievement remarkable, not just that he visited every country on Earth. It's that he became the first person to reach every recognised country without ever stepping onto an aeroplane.

His extraordinary expedition, called Once Upon a Saga, was built around three simple rules:

• Spend at least 24 hours in every country.

• Never board an...

July 13, 2026

STEVE DIOR BAND ROCKED THE STEWART ARMS IN NOTTING HILL

The Search Is Over: The Steve Dior Band Delivers at a Packed Stewart Arms
Sometimes everything clicks.

Saturday night at The Stewart Arms in Notting Hill was a proper roadblock. Friends, music obsessives and faces from back in the day all crammed into the room for something genuinely special.

Because we kicked off early, nobody had to play the miserable game of choosing between raw live music and the nerve-shredding England v Norway World Cup quarter-final. The room was buzzing long before a...

July 11, 2026

OSSIE CLARK CELIA BIRTWELL FASHION EXHIBITION BERMONDSEY OCT 2026/ APRIL 2027 DON'T MISS THIS

Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell Return to Centre Stage
If you fancy a proper dose of Swinging London this autumn, get yourself down to Bermondsey.

The Fashion and Textile Museum is staging what promises to be one of the biggest fashion exhibitions of the year, celebrating the extraordinary partnership of Ossie Clark and Celia Birtwell. Running from 2 October 2026 until 27 April 2027, it's a rare chance to see the work of two people who helped redefine British fashion.

Now, anyone who knows...

July 10, 2026

MY CRIMINAL RECORD NIGHTMARE IN JAMAICA

The Long Road Back from Half Way Tree
Paperwork has a strange way of reducing a life to a handful of typed lines.

Court dates.

Convictions.

Sentence lengths.

CRO numbers.

The Home Office record doesn't lie, but it doesn't tell the whole story either.

When I look at my official record, I don't just see seventeen convictions and thirty-one recorded offences. I see the ghost of a man I used to be.

For twenty-seven years, I drifted in and out of trouble, running from the police, standing before judges,...

July 9, 2026

BOOK COVERS BY GRAPHIC DESIGNERS- ALAN BLIZZARD & PETE CUNLIFFE

The Stories Behind the Sleeves: Designing My Book Covers
A book cover isn't just there to look good on a shelf or a digital screen.

It's the first impression.

The poster for the story inside.

A great cover should set the mood, hint at what's coming, and make you want to know more before you've even turned the first page.

Looking back at my books, each cover reflects a different world, a different story, and a different chapter of my life.

Nightmare in Jamaica: From First to Second Edition

The...

July 6, 2026

BAYEUX TAPESTRY COPY

Eleven Years, One Needle: The Woman Recreating the Bayeux Tapestry by Hand
The room smells faintly of damp linen, beeswax and dog hair.

Outside, the Cambridgeshire drizzle turns the fens into a blur of slate grey. Inside a modest terrace in Wisbech, the world has been reduced to thread, linen and extraordinary patience.

There is a particular kind of madness that begins with staring at a completely blank canvas and thinking:

"I can dedicate the next eleven years of my life to this."

That's exactly...

July 5, 2026

TOMMY AND THE MUSIC

The Sound of the Streets: Three Decades of Tommy Kennedy IV
Tommy Kennedy IV didn't just witness London's live music scene evolve over the past three decades—he helped shape it.

From global arena tours to sweat-soaked basement venues in West London, his career has been built around one simple belief: great music deserves a stage. Whether he was running the door, mixing sound, promoting gigs, or managing bands, Kennedy became a familiar figure behind some of the capital's most authentic live...

July 5, 2026

VIAGRA AND FOOTBALL

Why Footballers Use Viagra at High Altitude: The Surprising Science Behind England vs Mexico
With England taking on Mexico tonight, here's one of football's strangest – and most misunderstood – sports science secrets.

Imagine checking your kit bag before one of the biggest international matches of your career.

Boots.
Shin pads.
Tape.
Energy gels.
A blister pack of Viagra.

It sounds like the punchline to a dressing-room prank.

It's actually backed by science.

Believe it or not, Viagra has become a...

July 4, 2026

INDIAN VEG CHAPEL MARKET ANGEL ISLINGTON

Walking into Indian Veg on Islington's Chapel Market feels like stepping back into the early days of the internet. Every inch of the walls is covered in colourful clip-art posters, bold slogans and hand-made manifestos celebrating vegetarianism. One sign claims vegetarian food will improve your love life, another argues meat is responsible for war. It's wonderfully chaotic, completely unapologetic and unlike anywhere else in London.

Indian Veg first opened in 1985 under Mohammed Safa and,...

July 3, 2026

CHELSEA AT THE LEXINGTON TONIGHT HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAT SARGENT 50th ANNIVERSARY TOUR

Tonight’s the night, and it’s a massive one. We’re heading down to The Lexington in Islington to celebrate my mate Mat Sargent’s birthday, and there’s only one proper way to mark the occasion—watching him front the legendary Chelsea on their 50th Anniversary tour.

It’s going to be an emotional, powerhouse of a gig. As most of you know, Gene October had to step back recently after some serious surgery, but he gave the lads his full blessing to keep the engine running and the legacy alive. That...

July 3, 2026

JULIAN ASSANGE THE SIX BILLION DOLLAR MAN

Who Is Julian Assange? The WikiLeaks Founder
Julian Assange is one of the most polarising figures of the 21st century. To some, he is a heroic whistleblower and a champion of free speech. To others, he is a reckless actor who compromised international security.

As the founder of WikiLeaks, Assange fundamentally changed how the public interacts with classified government data.

Early Life and the Rise of a Hacker
Born in Townsville, Australia, in 1971, Assange...

June 29, 2026

HANGOVER SQUARE & 20,000 STREETS UNDER THE SKY BY PATRICK HAMILTON

Mapping the Smoke and Heartache of Patrick Hamilton's London: A Review of Hangover Square and Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky
There is a particular kind of cold that crawls into your bones when you spend your last quid on a drink you do not even want, just to sit somewhere warm. Long before I began studying creative writing, I found that exact grey, shivering feeling alive on the pages of Patrick Hamilton.

He is the undisputed laureate of the smoky interwar pub, the master of the cheap...

June 28, 2026

STEVE DIOR BARRY JONES AND LONDON COWBOYS

The photo above is a slice of history !

Nancy Spungen, Sid Vicious, Jerry Nolan, Steve Dior, Arthur Kane, and Mick Jones backstage at Max's Kansas City in New York City, September 1978. Photograph by Eileen Polk.

THE SADDLE, THE STREET AND THE SWAGGER: THE UNTOLD SAGA OF THE LONDON COWBOYS

If you like your rock ’n’ roll mainlined straight from the gutter—all grease, grit, and switchblade attitude—then you already know the gospel according to the New York...

June 28, 2026

ROBERT ELMS IS A LONDONER EVERY SUNDAY ON THE RADIO LONDON BBC LISTEN TO THE LISTED LONDONER SEGMENT

The Magic of the Robert Elms Listed Londoner: Mapping the City’s Soul

If you want to understand the true, sprawling DNA of England's capital, you don’t look at the postcards of Big Ben or the glossy brochures for luxury flats in Mayfair. Instead, you tune into the Robert Elms show on BBC Radio London and wait for his legendary interview segment: The Listed Londoner.

For decades, Robert Elms has sat behind his microphone, serving as one of the most trusted voices in London local radio. His...

June 23, 2026

SONGS FOR THE WICKED STEVE DIOR THE EVER EVOLVING MUSCIAN

Searching for Steve Dior
The music industry loves a neat, packaged history.

But the real story of British rock and roll has always lived in the margins — in the artists who don't simply play the music, but embody its grit, danger and soul.

For me, that's where you'll find Steve Dior.

I've managed Steve for many years, and he never ceases to amaze me with his creativity. Every conversation leads somewhere unexpected. Every song uncovers another layer. And every time I think I've heard his best...

June 22, 2026

WILL THE KING OF THE NORTH, ANDY BURNHAM, BE THE NEXT PRIME MINISTER AND GROWING UP IN CULCHETH, WARRINGTON

How Andy Burnham's Roots Shaped the King of the North

Andy Burnham is widely recognised today as the high-profile Mayor of Greater Manchester, a political heavyweight who frequently challenges Westminster on behalf of the North of England.

But to truly understand his political drive and authentic northern identity, you have to look beyond Manchester.

His story begins further west, rooted in an upbringing that bridges the historic city of Liverpool and the Cheshire suburb of Culcheth in...

June 20, 2026

KARL BUSHBY WALKING AROUND THE WORLD FOR AN INCREDIBLE 28 YEARS

Who is Karl Bushby? The Inspiring Story of the Man Walking Around the World

If you want to talk about absolute, unadulterated grit, you have to talk about Karl Bushby.
Most people on a bad day dream of walking away from it all. In 1998, this bloke actually did it—and he hasn’t stopped walking since.
Karl Bushby is a former British Army paratrooper from Hull who is currently on the cusp of completing the Goliath Expedition

This 28-year, 36,000-mile odyssey aims to make him the first human in...

June 19, 2026

SEARCHING FOR STEVE DIOR STEWART ARMS SATURDAY 11th JULY 2026 FREE ENTRY

Steve Dior Returns to London – Live at The Stewart Arms, Notting Hill | Saturday 11th July
Rock 'n' Roll is alive and kicking as legendary guitarist and vocalist Steve Dior returns to London for an unforgettable night of music at The Stewart Arms in Notting Hill on Saturday 11th July.

Fans of classic punk rock, glam rock and heartfelt songwriting are in for a treat as Steve Dior takes to the stage alongside an outstanding lineup featuring Gary Bundy on bass...

June 17, 2026

HOW FIVE HUNDRED QUID COST ME EVERYTHING

How Five Hundred Quid Cost Me Everything
The student betting scam that can put you in jail
The rain is doing its usual depressing October routine over West London.

A relentless grey drizzle.

It matches the exact state of my bank account.

I'm sitting on the edge of my bed, staring at the screen of my phone.

It's glaring back at me with the brutal, unvarnished truth of my student existence:

4.12

Rent is due in five days.

The maintenance loan has completely vanished...

June 16, 2026

FINDING DIEGO COGALATO THE DUBLIN FOOTPRINT OF OSSIE CLARK'S KILLER

Finding Diego Cogolato: The Dublin Footprint of Ossie Clark’s Killer

The late-summer sun of August 1996 was brutal, but inside that cramped council flat on the top floor of a block in Holland Park, the heat felt different. It was a pressure cooker of bad choices, cheap drugs, and faded glamour.
Ossie Clark sat there surrounded by the ruins of a life that had once set the fashion world on fire. In the 1960s and 70s, he was king of the King's Road. Mick Jagger, Marianne Faithfull, Twiggy—they...