Ruth’s story, coercive control, Fab Swinging, BBC, Radio Wales. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0ns3q5d Broadcaster Cartin Nye suggests over one million people in Britain have tried Swinging. That’s around 1—60 of the population. I think that’s bollocks. While my sympathy here was for Ruth, I don’t quite get what for example choking, beating and hair pulling have to do with sex but I do accept they did happen to her. Rough sex is as foreign...

Reminder: Only 1 Month Left To Go!

Filed by Fletcher Moody — Literary Correspondent For most of my career I have been refused. Ignored, deceived, shut out, looked through. I had come to think of it as the natural condition of my profession — that the writer and the correspondent stand on opposite sides of a glass, and the glass does not open. Then, at a literary reception in London in the mid-1960s, Patricia Highsmith agreed to talk to me, and I learned that there are worse...

Prime Minister, Andy Burnham cut ties with Israel and its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after accusing their leader of War Crimes. Citing a recent UN repot that declares Israel continues to commit genocide. He read from the report which claims they "deliberately carried out acts inflicting death and severe bodily and mental harm on hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children", and that the killings continued even after last October's...

After Brazil beat Scotland 3—0, without even trying very hard, John McGinn said in the post-match interview, ‘We gave everything.’ Steve Clarke said something similar. ‘We gave them the goals.’ Iconic Scottish commentator, Archie McPherson summed it up by saying this was the pishest Scotland team he’d ever seen—and he’s over 90. When it gets to a stramash, I tend to agree with Archie. It was nice being in the World Cup. There was none of the...

You know when you pop into LIDL for one of their scrumptiously delicious seeded sourdough loaves, and you think to yourself ‘Do NOT buy crap you don’t need’, and you answer yourself (hopefully still inside your head), ‘Certainly not Stanley!’ Then you come home with your scrumptiously delicious seeded sourdough loaf, and a folding fire pit. What IS that? It is the lure of the middle aisle. It is the siren, nay, the Lorelei’s call of our times...

Englandshire, and Europe, are suffering under severe heat, forked lightning and flash floods. Most distressingly, folk are drowning in open water the length and breadth of the Continent, underestimating their strength or the effects of cold water on too hot heads. A day to open the windows and keep the blinds closed. Once upon a time, I’d have packed a picnic, and skipped off to the beach with a book. Even though it’s a good 15 degrees cooler up...

A not very good Scotland team play a not very good Brazil team in the hope of qualification for the next round of the World Cup. The first time I remember this happening was the World Cup in 1974. We’d beaten Zaire 2—0 and we drew 0—0 with Brazil. Billy Bremmer had a great chance to snatch it late at the back post. We went home undefeated and with a certain glow. Scotland have already been defeated. Morroco won on merit. Quite simply, they were...

One of the many bonuses of being 65 is a £1 reduction on cinema tickets. It ain’t all liver spots and boycotts. Celebrated this windfall by going to see Steven Spielberg’s film ‘Disclosure Day’ - sans caramel Freddo, but coped marvellously with two cherry brandy choccies instead. (Most likely medicinal for the heart). Don’t read much about movies prior to seeing them anymore. Either fancy them or don’t, so go and see them or don’t. The pile on...

On waking up and jumping back into Life, capital ‘L’ life, not just inhaling and exhaling and worrying about THE OMEGA, I notice that my equipment could do with a refresh. This is not a euphemism. I have an iPhone7. The current model is 17. The only issue this actually causes is that apps like 'Vinted' (compulsory for selling stuff when you reach ‘Swedish-death-cleaning’ age) won’t work on iPhone7’s operating system. Who cares. I'm keeping my...