Empires die, but their propaganda echoes in eternity — “There once was a dream that was Rome.” Everyone’s favourite swords and sandals epic Gladiator (2000) has a lot to answer for. Not because it’s riddled with factual inaccuracies, those are awesome — even historians (the cool ones at least) will agree. Historical films don’t need to be accurate, they…

The polyjuice potion has worn off. — “There will be a time when we must choose” In the wizarding world of Harry Potter, things are often not as they seem. You think you’re looking at a cat or a beetle, but those are powerful witches. That nasty potions master is in fact a Nice Guy™ deep undercover…

Solving a difficult ethical dilemma on the left —

The rituals and secret-keeping of Britain’s privately educated elites are a cornerstone of Conservative Party unity. — — — — First published in The Leveller (which sadly no longer exists), I’m celebrating the fifth anniversary of “Pig Gate” by republishing my viral article here. Enjoy. — — — — Whether or not it’s true, the Internet has decided for the time being that British Prime Minister…

An extremely unserious exercise in watching Star Wars as if every character was queer. Ever since Poe and Finn gazed at each other in that special way in The Force Awakens (2015), their latent homosexuality has been gleefully asserted on the internet by the side of the Star Wars fandom…

In loving memory of the last British hero — “tHe WiLL oF tHe PeOpLe” It’s April, 2016. Nobody has been forced (yet) to utter the words “President Trump” but it’s only a matter of time, and Brexit looms large — only a few weeks to go now until the referendum. The corpse of an old friend is about to be thrown into the waves…