Author: Chris Mads

  • Trump’s second term agenda is bonkers, but it could win

    Election fun is in full swing over in the US and that means that incumbent President Donald Trump is marching down the road towards a possible second term. An election and a campaign for the White House mean that Trump needs a manifesto so his supporters can rally round his causes and know what he…

  • Rum Old Fashioned: Change up your drink

    Today is National Rum Day and it seems the perfect time to share this recipe with you. Rum is a favourite in cocktails. The iconic bottle of Bacardi is what many of us think of when we hear mention of rum and most of us have tried a Cuba Libre, or a Pina Colada, a…

  • The Umbrella Academy Season 2 is on Netflix

    I know it was well promoted, but the first season of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix was something of a sleeper hit for me. I love a graphic novel adaptation, but I was surprised by how hooked I was by the trials and tribulations of the hyper-dysfunctional Hargreeves siblings. The first season ended with a…

  • Racism or incompetence? Check your damn photos

    I was introduced to my first real journalism mistake within a few hours of starting my first day as a reporter. I was sat trying to learn my way around the computer system when one of my new colleagues remarked that it was nice to see how quiet the phones were today. This seemed an…

  • Visiting Post-Lockdown London

    “Hot town, summer in the city.” That is what The Lovin’ Spoonful promised in their 1966 hit Summer in the City, and that was what S and I were in search of as we boarded a train from Surrey for a few nights away in the big smoke. A trip to London was our first…

  • An idiot’s guide to wearing a mask

    Remember when masks weren’t a thing? I do. It was before the global pandemic shut down most of the world. But that’s not really our reality now. So, as I write this, masks look like they are set to be a part of our lives for the immediate future. Here in the UK they have…

  • In defence of tequila

    My love affair with tequila began quite a while ago. I was sat in a bar in Mexico with some friends and we decided to order a round of tequilas. We were at the end of a few weeks’ travelling in the region and this was on our ‘cultural to-do list’. The bartender had clearly…

  • PSA: The world doesn’t suck

    This morning, a campaign spearheaded by Manchester United and England footballer Marcus Rashford convinced the Government into a U-turn on free school meal vouchers for English families this summer. And for the first time in a while, my Twitter feed was not a dark pit of negativity and bile which I hated looking at but…

  • You should be shopping with Lost Stock

    Do you want a box of high street fashion clothes delivered from the factory straight to your front door – and to do your bit for a good cause in the process? Now I’ve got your attention, haven’t I? Good, because this is the whole concept behind Lost Stock, a new programme from an Edinburgh-based…

  • Palace Skateboards and the jumper for our time

    Want to do your bit to help the NHS and look good at the same time? Well Palace Skateboards are here to help. The London fashion brand dropped a new collection on Friday, with all profits going to the NHS Charities Together, which is supporting NHS staff and volunteers who are caring for Coronavirus patients.…