I like Deathly by Aimee Mann. For starters, it’s a great song, but I like it even more because this track is the inspiration for Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia – one of my favourite films (but if course THE favourite is The Empire Strikes Back). By the way, Anderson also did Boogie Nights which contains…

Thanks to some personal problems, a dose of bad luck and a fair lack of talent, I didn’t get to work in a London agency when I graduated. After a spell as a gymn instructor, my first proper job was media sales at the Independent. And I hated it. There was one saving grace, and…

A while back, Helen posted on Coffee Shop dreams. It’s a lovely post about giving up what you’re doing now for ‘a simpler life like running a coffee shop’. Firstly, I need to publicly thank her for inspiring me on a brief about, well, coffee shops. Secondly, I’d like to share my own coffee shop…

A voice from the afterlife made me think about the drawbacks of youth very recently. Which brings me to another hero to go with Rutherford and Matt Biondi. It’s Andre Agassi, but not necessarily for reasons you may expect. I played team tennis as a teenager – nothing special, just good enough to enjoy playing.…

Someone mentioned that I’ve some fight left in me, I responded flippantly but he’s got a point. I do go through life with a sort of quiet stoicism. That’s being Northern I guess, but some of it is down to a past life as competitive swimmer. (this is me, the one on the right, and…

A couple of years ago Mum and Dad realised a long held dream and retired to St Ives, Cornwall. While it’s not always easy having them 400 miles way, I couldn’t be happier for them. I do miss them but everyday they wake up in a dream. It’s lovely for them. Having a free holiday…

This is Matt Biondi. One the all time swimming legends. His record speaks for itself – 11 Olympic medals – 8 golds, 2 silver and 1 bronze. The most ever won by an athlete. He was only the second person to win 7 medals at one games too (1988). His seven golds at the 1986…

This is Ernest Rutherford, the father of nuclear physics. I like him because I’m a bit of science geek. I also admire the way he shows logic as nothing without ideas. At its best, cience can be beautiful. It can surprise you, throw things up at you that you might not expect. You have to…

When I was at school, I was quite good at art. But I don’t paint now, since a teacher put me off and that was that. Sad but true. When I did draw and paint, I was never happy. It was never quite good enough, I could never get it quite right and most of…