Oh my goodness! That opening ceremony! If you didn’t watch the beginning of the Olympics last night, I encourage you to go on to the iPlayer and watch it all. Even if some of the artistry wasn’t to your taste, as a feat of technical achievement, it was outstanding. There was, apparently, no full rehearsal…

When I was a kid, I liked the idea of being a magician but, to be truthful, I was far too lazy to put in the practice. Therefore, I only had one trick which was any good. You will probably have seen it before – you “force” a choice on someone by asking a question…

It’s amazing how we forget things over time. So many things that have been highly important to us in the past just fade away until one day, we simply can’t remember. What was the name of my pet rabbit? What was the cheat code in Doom? Why on Earth did I like Dawson’s Creek so…

What an amazing summer of sports we’re having so far: the Euros, the Tour De France, the British Grand Prix, the General Election (!) and pretty soon the Olympics will begin. Brilliant. An excellent reminder to us all that physical activity is so very important in staying healthy. It is the sort of thing that…

Oh, isn’t Glastonbury brilliant?! A wonderful festival of energy and live! It’s all over the BBC this weekend and I’m taking the opportunity during my state-imposed exile to lap up so much of it as possible. There are some people who criticise how Glastonbury has changed over the years and it’s hard to deny the…

Once upon a time, in a place very different, a travelling fair would come and visit. It was a wonderful fair with rides and stalls and candy floss. They had hook-a-duck where I could win a goldfish in a bag (is that still allowed?) and I used to spend hours within a womb-like atmosphere of…

Springwatch is such a good programme, isn’t it? In the past, I’ve never bothered to prioritise watching it over all of the other wonderful options that you have on the outside but in here, along with its sibling, program, I make sure I watch it. The natural world is stunning and awe inspiring. On of…

I was speaking to a guy a couple of days ago who is relatively recently arrived, although it turns out he has been in here before, back in the ’80s. It gave me the chance to hear from a primary source the difference between prison 40 years ago and the prison today. It was a…

Today I want to once again write about being wrongfully convicted. Last night, I watched a lot of the reruns of Shetland on ITV3 and at the end, I cried and cried and cried. Please allow me to explain why. This series of six episodes told the story of the murder of Lizzie Cormuir and…

I am fairly confident that my writing today will resonate with many people. I will pose a question: do you remember that teacher at your school who was utterly horrible and treated you, and maybe everyone else, like dirt? If you have been to hospital, do you remember that one nurse who seemed to hate…