Villages Made Me
1963. Leeds I was born in a house with wooden floors and an open-plan kitchen. It was located in a rural area by Leeds called Little London. I have flickering memories of a white coat with bloodstains, people standing around and a little sink. 1968. Scottish Highlands...
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Boris Johnson Reminds me of Slobodan Milosevic
This week, in the English village of Flore, I was quite shocked by the tabloid headlines about increasing prison sentences and realised that Boris Johnson is similar to Slobodan Milosevic: he is a blatant opportunist. Both of these leaders can be explained by this...
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When Joseph Beuys met Jimmy Boyle
I wrote this article as a supplement to a short piece I published in The Sunday National newspaper, about an important exhibition of art from Barlinne Prison’s Special Unit that’s currently on in Hull. I took the above photo outside the exhibition in Hull. It was...
read moreSkull
He leaned into me, blue eyes wide, face twitching. ‘My elbow’s fucked mate. I can barely open it further than this.’ An arm extended, palm facing up. ‘It’s from plasterin’ mate. Plasterin’ and wankin’. His skin was blotchy and sagging. Bags were grey and oily under...
read moreMy last three years in 7 bullet points…
My friend Dave Barnicle runs a bar in Liverpool. But he’s not your typical bar manager who hires and fires and shouts and chucks people out. In fact, Dave’s bar doesn’t even serve alcohol as it’s one of very few “dry bars” where addicts in recovery can hang out...
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