BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN I don’t like Facebook. I don’t like the insidious way it has crept into every aspect of our social lives, I don’t like that it has succeeded in turning invite into a noun and inbox into a verb and I don’t like the way it has democratised stupidity. hun x Yet with all the shabby hypocrisy of an A-list celebrity preaching about … Continue reading Facebook No Mindbender
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN It is now more important than ever, as we endeavour to navigate our way through the turbulent waters of the Post-truth age, that we all ensure we are properly informed. An ability to discern the facts from the much-trumpeted deluge of fake news we face each day has become essential; we must learn to recognise the truth. In order to better understand … Continue reading Hate Speach
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN With each year that passes I grow increasingly aware that very little of what I supposedly learned at school has survived the perilous trek to adulthood. Memories remain, of course; some of them indelibly etched, as in acid, on the metaphorical brass of my consciousness, where they will remain until the day my mind finally deserts me. But too many more are … Continue reading Bonfire Night
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN I suppose it might have escaped your notice, but yesterday the BBC released details of how much it pays its on-air talent*. Once the news began to seep out, one or two people were rather put out. A handful of them turned to social media and began to express their displeasure… Hang on. Let’s do this properly… At eleven in the morning … Continue reading Beelzebeeb
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN On Saturday mornings I like to rise early, pedal to the newsagent and pick up a copy of the Telegraph (I know, I know, The Times knocks it into a cocked hat these days, but I like an hour of relaxation with a broadsheet and the only other option would be the Guardian – hardly conducive to relaxing). Today was no different; … Continue reading Game Of Groans
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN With the holiday season descending and the post-Brexit Pound having found a more realistic level, we may well soon be seeing an influx of foreign tourists to our shores. As ever, they will be most welcome. Seasoned visitors to the UK will be only too aware of our dismal performance when it comes to foreign languages, and will very likely have a … Continue reading A Guide To Post Millennial English
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN Along with millions of people across the UK, I woke up to truly harrowing scenes reminiscent of Pathe Newsreel footage from the Blitz. It was startlingly obvious that the fire had ripped through the building with terrifying speed, and that those poor souls still waving desperately from their windows were in the gravest of danger. Broadcast directly to the nation’s breakfast table, … Continue reading Grenfell
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN I usually, for obvious reasons, carefully edit my articles on Country Squire Magazine. I haven’t with this one and I couldn’t care less. The evening had no business being so beautiful. With a warm May sun still high in the clear blue sky, the walk along the stony hillside path should have been lovely. It wasn’t. Bounding through the clover and dandelions, … Continue reading Untie the Hands of SIS
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN History records that a little before 23:00 Eastern Daylight Time on July 20 1969, Neil Alden Armstrong descended the ladder of the Eagle Lunar Landing Module and took mankind’s first tentative steps on the surface of the Moon. Bit of a conspiracy nut? Okay, try this one: Barcelona, Spain, 26 May 1999. In the dying moments of the Champions League Final, Manchester … Continue reading No Party Has a Right To Exist Forever
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN I realised my mistake straight away. Rather than add to the Saturday morning congestion of a busy, mixed-use street, I had opted to drive onto the wide, empty car park at the side of an NHS surgery. The moment I crossed the threshold, I saw the camera. The terms and conditions were printed on a small wall-mounted sign: vehicle owners must register … Continue reading How I Beat the Car Park Cowboys
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN Following Dennis Skinner’s comments in last week’s Prime Minister’s Questions, Labour’s army of screeching social media supporters is making much of the investigation into Conservative Party spending two years ago ahead of the 2015 General Election. Up to two dozen MPs have reportedly been investigated for allegedly, let’s not try to dress this up, pulling a fast one over matters of election … Continue reading Remembering Labour’s Crooks
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN A few days ago, an item of news caught my attention. A company director from Cheshire had just been jailed. The article very likely passed most people by, but it took me straight back to a warm evening in August 2013… I watched, mesmerised, from a hillside several miles away. Whatever it was, it was obviously catastrophic. A wide base of flames … Continue reading Recycling: Preaching Over Sense
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN That’s it. Later today the Prime Minister will write to the President of the European Council, formally giving notice of the intention of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to leave the European Union. It is, to all intents and purposes, over. I have much sympathy for the vast majority of those who voted to stay – ordinary, decent … Continue reading Sleeves Up
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN A few years ago I researched a Luftwaffe bomber that was brought down over Cheshire. Unpicking the story was fascinating. I had to delve into RAF archives and intelligence records with ‘SECRET’ stamped in the corner; I was lucky enough to find people still able to remember the event. The tale unfolded gradually, a complex but rewarding process of checking and cross-checking … Continue reading The Blitz Spirit and the Media
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN ‘An inquiry into this period in Britain’s shameful history.’ And so Jon Snow began the Channel 4 News lead story on the evening of Monday 27th February. Keme Nzerem’s report on the abuse of children shipped throughout the Commonwealth under the Child Migrant Programme was indeed harrowing. Though uncomfortable to watch, the reporter deserves credit for sensitively handling a difficult subject. But … Continue reading Snow – Flake or Provocateur?
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN This morning was a good one; she remembered who I was. When I tucked my elderly relative safely into her bed last night, as I’ve done every night for the last few years, I did so in the knowledge that she might not remember exactly who I was upon awakening. Alzheimer’s does that. It’s one of the many nasty little tricks this … Continue reading Alzheimer’s Sufferers are Human
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN Yesterday I wrote an article about a scheme being run by a county council somewhere in deepest South West England. It will effectively provide free publicity for the scheme, which has admirable aims, throughout several towns within its catchment area. I duly did some research and churned out exactly 500 words. As a courtesy I sent a draft to the appropriate council … Continue reading Councils’ Anodyne Nonsensical Drivel
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN What we know: On Tuesday afternoon an Airbus A330 operated by Pakistan International Airlines was intercepted by RAF Typhoon fighters over British airspace. Originating in Lahore, the airliner was en route to London Heathrow when it was diverted to Stansted Airport in Essex. It landed without incident at 14:50 and was held away from the airport terminal. Police officers boarded the aircraft … Continue reading Mystery at 30,000 ft
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN Whilst I cannot claim expertise in the multitudinous idiosyncrasies of the English Language (a fact the once optimistic yet, alas, ultimately disenchanted publisher of my lesser-known novel Osprey would undoubtedly attest – if he still took my calls*), whenever the use of a particular word or phrase gains unexpected traction in general usage, it seems I cannot help but notice. Especially so when … Continue reading The Misrepresentation of Ethical
BY MATTHEW CORRIGAN Yesterday, after far too long a wait, the fading embers of a long-forgotten love affair burst explosively back into flames. I’ve owned my Peugeot 205 GTI since the nineties. When, on that cold winter’s night back in 2007, I left it parked on the drive, I never meant for it to stay there. But stay there it did. For a variety of … Continue reading A Fine yet Humble Chariot
