There was a dilemma I used to face each day on the way home from work. Perhaps it’s a reflection of my incredibly fortunate life so far that this choice was probably the worst thing about my day… One option...
Cycling is my favourite form of procrastination. Pre-Covid, I frequently extended my commute to include a portion of the Thames or a lap of Richmond Park in an effort to put off the work that awaited me at home. Now...
I’m sure you’ve heard the story of the two people in the jungle who run into a lion. The first person gets down on his knees to pray; the second person starts lacing up his boots. The first person asks...
History recounts numerous colossal errors by individuals: Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in winter, the Captain of the Titanic’s hubris and David Beckham’s 2003 haircut. While not of quite the same magnitude as these men, I must add my name to...
US Comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said, “There are many things you can point to as proof that the human is not smart. But my personal favorite would have to be that we needed to invent the helmet. What was happening,...
There was a point in time when I wanted to be a professional cyclist. But not the lycra-clad, hairless-legged, genetically freakish variety… for some reason I had decided that in every way my dream job was being a bike messenger....
One of the best things about my summer job a couple of years ago was the 40-mile cycle back home on a Friday. It was a beautiful way to switch off from the rigours of rather mundane work week and...
Few dates have engraved themselves on my mind to the same extent as the 1st October 2019. In what was to be the most traumatic moment in my time at university up to that point, I had to commute in...
I remember when I was excited to become an adult and live independently. The hope of doing whatever, going wherever and eating however many tubs of ice cream I deemed fit was something I looked forward to greatly. This myth...
When I left home, my parents’ biggest worry wasn’t that I would be unprepared to leave. Nor was it that I’d be irresponsible with my freedom and turn to many of the vices this world has on offer. Despite the...
Jeans. Arguably the most iconic and proliferated piece of clothing ever. For something that was first made to clothe Genoese sailors and American miners, it’s incredible that their rise has brought them via Marlon Brando, James Dean and Levi Strauss...
A lot can happen in 15 seconds. In just a quarter of a minute, the universe expands by 1km, the US national debt grows by $1 million and you could have read this opening paragraph. There are a lot of...
If you Google the most painful things a human can experience, some of the common answers are kidney stones, childbirth and severe burns. Despite having fortunately never experienced these, I can actually confirm, almost objectively, that the most painful experience...
Our half of the lecture theatre tends to be rather full, but as with most seating arrangements, most people have claimed ‘their’ spot. Mine is next to my friend and coursemate, Adam (not his real name). Adam is the very...
Manchester. Famous for its football clubs, industrial heritage and bands. One of the members of a famous Mancunian band described it as the city with “everything except a beach”. While pithy, it is sadly untrue as the proposition “everything” clearly...
What do the Bible, £50,000 and 20 servings of lamb curry have in common? Or perhaps a laptop, 2 tomahawks and a spare change of underwear? Well, these are all things that at some point have been in my rucksack...
Let me tell you about Edgware Road, one of London’s longest roads. You might know about it because at one end you find Marble Arch or perhaps because you’ve visited one of the many Arabic restaurants that can be found...
You know what makes a Monday morning even worse? A commute on which you are crammed onto public transport, presumably with your face in someone’s deodorant-free armpit, with a strong sense of what your fellow commuters had for breakfast, informed...
Almost any repeated exercise makes both physiological and mental changes. Commuting by bike is no exception. I am sure we are all more mindful now than ever of World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance. One of its key tenets is showing...
The Careers Fair: the place where, once a term, many undergraduates pile into a room in search of employment and decent freebies. One knows this day has come because people are more smartly dressed and the final year students have...
There are the skills that everyone says you’ll need when you go to university: independence, time management, perseverance and the like. However, no one mentioned what I have come to realise is one the most valuable skills: leaving for a...
