Monthly Archives: August 2012
Shorthand: The drama, the boredom, the insanity
For some strange reason, even in this highly technical age where you can get dictaphones as small as a USB-stick, shorthand – which should be renamed ‘journalistsbain’ – is still an important addition to an unemployed journalists arsenal, and the only one I have not managed to get so far. A hundred words a minute […]
The depressing nature of job applications
Applying for jobs is by no means a past time I enjoy, so to give myself a break I thought I would post an update on my progress. So good news first, this Wednesday I start another stint of work experience at the Llanelli Star, which is good because my portfolio is beginning to look […]
Book Club: Edition Two: A Mouthful of Glass by Henk Van Woerden (Translated by Dan Jacobson)
It is probably better to think of ‘A Mouthful of Glass’ as more of a biography than a novel, and in all fairness the British publisher – Granta – has classed it in non-fiction. In reality, however, it is a clever mix of fact, speculation and fiction, documenting the unusual life of Greek-Mozambican Demitrios Tsafendas […]
Book Club: Edition ONE: The Thousand Autumns of Jacob De Zoet by David Mitchell
So when I’m not frantically applying for jobs, writing or feeling totally frustrated about my current situation in life I have a lot of spare time to read. For the last four years the vast majority my reading has been political philosophy. My love of fiction (or at least pseudo-fiction) has had to make way […]
London 2012: My 15 most memorable moments
So after seven long years of hype and speculation the London 2012 Olympic Games have come and gone. I think it’s fair to say that few people anticipated the way the games have inspired the nation, bringing a sense of pride and self-respect to the United Kingdom which has not been felt for many years, […]
Music: New Zealand talent on the rise!
New Zealand is not really known for having a prospering international music industry, especially when you compare it to the Australian mammoth music industry which has produced international superstars such as Kylie Minogue, Delta Goodrem and Jason Donovan. Ladyhawke is potentially the most successful New Zealand break-through act at least in terms of a British […]
London 2012: Reigniting Pride in Britain?
Before the Opening Ceremony, London 2012 had become one of those events that seems to transcend everything else with the general message that if you can bring an Olympic angle into any story, be it about sport in school or a murder in East London, then more is the better. But London 2012 has surpassed […]
Is Wales’ language policy slowly suffocating the nation?
Wales is the only country on the planet that seems to actively dissuade its population from achieving high standards of English. I’m a fan of strong and controversial statements, but I don’t believe that this one is particularly exaggerated, though I think it might open me up to extreme criticism from certain elements within Welsh […]
Archive: LGBT Opinion Column – Mancunian Matters
During my NCTJ course with News Associates in Manchester I began to write an opinion column on LGBT issues for Mancunian Matters (www.mancunianmatters.co.uk). Here is a list, with links, to all my previously published opinion columns, enjoy: You don’t have to be homophobic to be religious Why are there so few out people in professional […]
At this exact moment in time…
Life for a twenty-something Briton sucks. We are, I believe, one of the most unlucky generations of the modern age. It’s a big statement, but when you think about it not hugely hyperbolic. Just to take my life to date as an example. I was brought up in a small cockle-picking Welsh village near Swansea by […]
Owen Jack Williams 