celticman's blog

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05qkzt2/louis-theroux-transgender-kids Louis Theroux used to write books. He’s moved into the far more lucrative market of documenting those in our society that don’t quite fit in. He writes the scripts for these programmes. Has his own crew. Puts it together like a jigsaw. A novel approach. I get the feeling Louis doesn’t quite fit in either. An alien presence among those we hold at arm’s length and treat...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05px4sk/strangeways-britains-toughest-prison-riot Rex Bloomstein visits HMP Wharton in Nottinghamshire, the largest sex offender prison in Europe. 841 men range in age from 21 to 91 (93 was the oldest inmate). They have committed a variety of offences from rape to downloading child porn. The average cost for each prisoner is £27 000 per annum. What is unusual about HMP Wharton is the mix of social classes...

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/coalition/on-demand/57947-001 Timing is everything in politics. Growth in the economy. A few weeks from another Tory triumph, or another patchy coalition? Scriptwriter James Graham looks backwards to what happened five-years ago, when the Conservatives formed a coalition government with the Liberals. For me it’s a case of who do I hate the most. In Ten Days that Shook the World , American socialist and...

This is not a modern collection of thirteen and a bit Kurt Vonnegut short stories as the publication date suggests. In a letter to a Mr Miller dated 1951 Kurt Vonnegut addresses, anthropology, the Indian Ghost Dance of 1894 (which interested me) and among other things, whether writing can be learned at a school of writing. He concludes: ‘This letter is sententious crap, shot full of self pity…I quit GE, if I’m not a writer then I’m nothing. This...

I must admit it was a disappointing day for school kids. They were getting so excited about the thought of going blind, looking at something they shouldn’t have been looking at. When it all kicked off they were lined up with heads tilted like spanners tightening wee specs on expectant pudgy faces. What the fuck’s that? was the collective sigh. All I can see is fucking clouds. Where’s the best place to see the eclipse Sir? Someone said the Faroe...

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "A House Divided." http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b05n2922/life-after-suicide Angela Samarta’s husband Mark committed suicide. Childhood sweethearts, fifth and sixth formers at the same school, she had a child at eighteen and another boy ten years later at twenty-eight. They had a temporary separation which became permanent. She wonders if she ever knew Mark. Here she comes to terms with it...

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "Roaring Laughter." Patrick and Henry Cockburn (2011 ) Henry’s Demons. Living with Schizophrenia. A Father and Son’s Story. David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas , cousin to Patrick and uncle to Henry writes a blur on the cover: ‘A truly remarkable book, and a brave one’. That’s clichéd. Clichés are quite common in mental illness. If you shot everyone that mouthed a cliché you’d have quite a few...

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "We Can Be Taught!." William Keegan (2014 ) Mr Osborne’s Economic Experiment. Austerity 1945-51 and 2010 – The first question when purchasing a book about economics is it worth the money? Let’s look at the evidence. The book costs £10 or thereabouts. This includes delivery. Not bad. But it is very short—or concise—depending on your definition. Large borders on the page. Empty spaces. Empty pages to...

In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "In Loving Memory." My brother phoned me today. He works in Fife, Longannet Power station, been there about twenty years. Longannet is one of the few coal-fired power stations that is still on grid. It was opened in 1972 and has a capacity of 2400 MW. Most of the other coal-fired power stations in Scotland are closed. That’s not a bad thing. With global warming mankind is on life support and we...

I was vaguely aware of Jackie Kay and had read an extract of this book a few years ago. Heard her speak about her novel Trumpet and knew she was a poet. Poets make the best prose writers. What stuck in my memory was her parents. Two white working class people that adopt two kids that happen to be black or coloured, or whatever term you’re comfortable with, because this is not about race, or about class, although both her adoptive parents are...