Jackscott

LATEST ARTICLES ( 1059 )

• End of a Vera

  

  I am bereft. After 14 series over 13 years, we’ve just watched the final two episodes of Vera, featuring the dishevelled and irascible detective from the... Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Wherever I May Roam

  

  The last time I received a sexual health sales pitch from Britain’s favourite high street pharmacy, it was about erectile dysfunction. Bloody cheek, I thought.... Read more

  Posted on 04 January 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Top of the Pansy Pops 2024

  

  The 2024 top of the crop had a distinctly thespian theme – gays and the arts. Could it be any more of a cliché? Or maybe it just reflects a need for a... Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Pruning the Pansies

  

  You know you’re getting long in the tooth when Santa brings you a shiny new pair of secateurs for Christmas. It simply confirms my suspicion that old fairies... Read more

  Posted on 28 December 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Buddy, Can You Spare a Dime?

  

  Homelessness is a complex issue, and there are so many reasons why someone might find themselves without anywhere to live. But we live in a rich country and I... Read more

  Posted on 21 December 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Pantos and Parties

  

  Storm Darragh barrelling across angry skies couldn’t keep us from our annual panto and party pre-Christmas pilgrimage to The Smoke. Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Flight, Fight Or Fancy

  

  A couple of likely lads in football kit were sitting at the bar. They kept looking across. We couldn't think why at first. Usually this means one of two things ... Read more

  Posted on 07 December 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Getting the Abbey Habit

  

  We interrupted our recent theatrical pilgrimage to old London Town to have a gander around Westminster Abbey. Regular viewers will know I’m a sucker for an old... Read more

  Posted on 30 November 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Beer is All Around

  

  Boisterous but good-humoured, it turns out the hairy merry men had parachuted in from the North Sea gas rigs. And the hard-drinking riggers were hell-bent on... Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Cruising Down by the River

  

  I stumbled upon a strange fella lurking among the trees who gave me the old ‘come hither’. So I came hither. Okay, that’s not true. I’m a little long in the... Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• It’s Showtime!

  

  For our two-day birthday bonanza in old London Town, we hit the theatrical jackpot with a double bill of top-drawer shows. First up – The Curious Case of... Read more

  Posted on 09 November 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Devil Wears Prada

  

  Picture it. October, London, Liam’s birthday and the much-anticipated new Elton John stage musical, The Devil Wears Prada, based on the acclaimed 2006 film. Read more

  Posted on 02 November 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• A Family Affair

  

  This week has been a double bill of showbiz fun featuring our local innkeeper’s talented family. First to mince across the boards was the master of the house... Read more

  Posted on 26 October 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Canterbury Tales

  

  A family wedding took us to rural Kent, the so-called Garden of England, with its rolling downs, dripping orchards and bountiful fields. We padded out the... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Clickbait

  

  We live in a digital world of information overload with stuff coming at us from every which way, all day, every day. If you’re plugged in and switched on, it’s... Read more

  Posted on 12 October 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Pigs in the Proverbial

  It’s now been five years since we moved out to the sticks. One day we were enjoying city centre living like pigs in the proverbial, the next we were in the... Read more

  Posted on 05 October 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Everyone’s a Critic

  

  We’re big fans of Sir Ian McKellen, star of stage, screen and gay bars – or ‘Sirena’ as he’s affectionately known by the brethren. Sirena is at his devilish bes... Read more

  Posted on 28 September 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Waking the Dead

  

  Recently, our sleep has been rudely disturbed by bloodcurdling screeching coming from outside our bedroom window. It’s really spooky, and loud enough to wake th... Read more

  Posted on 21 September 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Ties That Bind

  

  My oldest friend died in January 2020. He’d just finished his shift as a drama teacher at a North London school and was about to drive home. He had a cardiac... Read more

  Posted on 14 September 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Early Yuletide Logs

  

  Anticipating weather on the turn, we took advantage of cheap summer supplies for the log burner. We’re now fully-stocked for the shorter days to come and the... Read more

  Posted on 07 September 2024 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION