The Un-Unemployed

This is a piece I wrote for the Employment issue of the fantastic Pea Soup magazine. If you don't already, follow Pea Soup on Twitter and Like them on Facebook. 


THE Un-Unemployed

In a city that’s full of people moaning about their jobs, and others miserable because of a lack of one, spare a moment’s thought for those stuck in the middle who aren’t quite sure. The hermaphrodites of the employment world. Yep, we’re talking about you, freelancers...

But do they have double the burden or the best of both worlds? Pea Soup spends a week with a selection of London’s most prolific in a bid to separate the fact from the fiction.

We meet our first freelancer at 9 o’ clock on a Monday morning, promptly knocking on his door and secretly hoping to find him still in his pyjamas. After all, don’t freelancers always wear pyjamas? Well, apparently not. Freelance journalist Adam is awake, dressed and ready to head off to his place of work: the local Costa. On arrival he buys a coffee and heads instinctively to the far corner of the room, his reasoning becoming clear when we spot a plug for his laptop. It all seems very calm and civilised until it transpires that today the coffee shop’s wifi is as dodgy as its coffee, and his webmail account won’t load because it keeps timing out. It’s not so much the waste of precious work time which makes this a true freelance disaster, but the waste of a whole one hundred and ninety five precious pennies on a cup of watery liquid filth. This may sound like a bit of a first world problem, but as Adam puts it, “Living without Gmail is pretty much like living in the third world”. Well, quite.

The People's Olympics

This is a piece I wrote for the 2012 issue of the fantastic Pea Soup magazine. If you don't already, follow Pea Soup on Twitter and Like them on Facebook. 


THE PEASOUP PEOPLE'S OLYMPICS

Yep, it’s the Olympics this year. You know that. The media has only been going on about it for, like, seven years. But what does it actually mean to us as Londoners? Considering most of us aren’t actually able to compete in the games, and that it’s only relatively few of us who have even managed to get tickets to see anything, perhaps the answer is: not a lot, really.

With that in mind, we’ve put together our own set of more relevant games, which we can all participate in together this year. This is the Peasoup Peaple’s Olympics, designed around the influx of visitors both the Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will bring, as well as some of our favourite everyday London habits.

Perhaps if any of you put in a good performance in one of the below games and are able to send us YouTube evidence, then we’ll dig out a medal or two. And if you have any more Games suggestions, why not let us know on Facebook or Twitter.

On your marks. Get set. Go!

Breaking News: There Is A Plan

This isn't real news, just so you know. What it is is a witty and insightful piece that comments on the state of our society, politics and economy in 2012. Well, it amused me  a bit, anyway. This was originally written for the brilliant Pea Soup magazine's New Year issue. Follow Pea Soup on Twitter and Like them on Facebook for more such stuff...


BREAKING NEWS: THERE IS A PLAN

2012 is upon us, folks. And just in case it is, indeed the last year before our planet goes kaput, we’d better make it a good one.

For those of you worried about the burden of more budget cuts and financial austerity, a repeat of last year’s riot-filled summer of discontent, and the ongoing scandal that is our corrupt banking system: worry no more.

In an exclusive story (not learned from listening in on imaginary governmental voicemails) we can exclusively reveal that contrary to popular belief, our fine leaders do actually have a plan.

Occupy LSX: The Stone In The Stockpot

This is a piece I wrote for the fantastic Pea Soup magazine, a publication which prides itself on first-hand journalism and comes an antidote to sensationalist, headline grabbing news stories. Each month the team address a new issue effecting London. If you don't already, follow Pea Soup on Twitter and Like them on Facebook. 


OCCUPY LSX: THE STONE IN THE STOCKPOT

Given the number of column inches they’ve taken up of late, you’d think that we’d already know all about the Occupy London Stock Exchange protestors. Actually, we know very little.

The fact that much of the media is more preoccupied with the ones who aren’t there, than the ones who are doesn’t help. And obviously headlines about drug use, HIV and defecation are more attention grabbing than stories exploring the real reasons behind the camp.

Having acknowledged all this, and played the familiar ‘sensationalist media’ and ‘political bias’ cards, it’s time to turn our attentions back to the protestors. They have achieved worldwide publicity on a scale that would make PRs and promoters dribble into their pants, but what have they actually done with it.

Ambiguous buzzwords such as ‘corporate greed’ aside, I reckon that few people could succinctly describe exactly what the protestors are fighting for. Could you? If not, why not? As much as there are excuses which could be brandished, the responsibility – in my opinion – has to fall with the Occupy camp. To use an appropriately capitalist metaphor, it doesn’t matter how many people see a television advert if it doesn’t explain what the product is. It’s a bad advert. In the same way, if nobody knows what the protest is really about, it must be categorised as a poor effort.

With a full portion of cynicism, a wide open mind and some social lubrication in the form of a couple of bottles of wine (I left the loaves and fishes behind), I head to St. Paul’s. I want to find out the true reason for the protest, but more importantly I want to find out why I don’t already know the answer.

Food Waste: Don't Throw That Away!

This is a piece I wrote for Pea Soup magazine, addressing the important issue of food waste in a slightly light-hearted way. Each month the Pea Soup team address a new issue effecting London. If you don't already, follow Pea Soup on Twitter and Like them on Facebook. 


Don't Throw That Away!

In a society that’s so used to eating rubbish, it’s an ironic travesty that so much good food ends up in the bin. With that in mind, here are a few thrifty tips and recipes to help you throw less away. You may even save a few pounds as you save the planet, too...

SAVE STALE BREAD
It doesn’t matter if it’s a £10 artisan loaf, a cob you’ve baked yourself or a bag of sliced white, bread always goes stale. Perhaps it’s Mother Nature’s way of saving energy through toaster usage by doing the job for us? Whatever the reason, there’s certainly no need to throw stale bread away. Slice it into squares and fry in a pan with about a tablespoon of olive oil for crunchy croutons, or find a recipe for bread & butter pudding, bread pudding or toast pudding. If pudding isn’t your thing, why not pretend we’re at war again and that real coffee’s a luxury too far. The solution? Crust Coffee. Seriously.