Personal perspectives

Matthew’s thoughts caught in the moment,
challenging the confines of algorithms,
AI, and presumptive logic.

Starmer, a parrot caged in clichés

To regain some popularity, Starmer must learn the difference between being diplomatic and being vacuous.

‘President Trump wants a just and lasting peace.’ ‘We all seek a just and lasting peace.’  ‘The president has set out a starting plan towards a just and lasting peace.’

This is how the media works – with apologies to Tom Parker Bowles

When I was leading my Happerley project, I had a great relationship with Ben Webster, then Environment Editor at The Times. 

Now’s the time for the Commonwealth to step up

The time has come to dust off the Commonwealth institution and repurpose it as the global champion of democracy. 

Please Sir! feed me truth

Here we go again. It is all in the labelling. 

It is so cynical it’s cheesy. I have worked for various cheese clients. I know full well that cheese is matured to a flavour that launches a brand, commands shelf space, and synchronises with advertising. Then, trust secured, the product quietly slips its quality to yield its profit under the brand’s cover. When sales dip, a new, improved flavour or recipe arises. 

‘Our’. Humph. Now we see self-definition. What an opt-out word. 

Genius thinking is the new gold rush

There are no rules to being a genius; its definition is wholly subjective. But what we do know is that radical original thinking, able to surf against the AI wave, is becoming ever rarer and hence ever more precious. 

Trump – the new Clive of India?

Britain was once good at divide-and-rule. It is how we conquered India and large tracts of Africa. There was plenty of loot in it, too. Indeed, it funded and furnished the construction of many English stately homes of even greater grandeur than Mar-a-Lago’s.

It’s an invasion, stupid!

No wonder Brits feel browbeaten. If our governments are so nervous, apologetic and hesitant in securing our sovereign borders, why should the people feel any better? Sometimes, perhaps just occasionally, populism is nothing more than common sense. 

Thinking the unthinkable is no longer a conspiracy

While I’ve never been one to entertain conspiracy theories, I’ve found myself contemplating the possibility of extraterrestrial visits, the unspoken influence of Israel on the American government, and even their potential involvement in the assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Three deer and a lesson in calm

Three Roe Deer have made camp in our orchard. Every drive past triggers them to statuesque stillness and stare. Their instinct of survival is my joy to eyeball. 

Podcasts – the saviour of conversation?

Throw two people together of contrary political colours and out comes some common sense, washed of vitriolic binary into warm and wearable. The result can be unpredictable, but when the mix is correct, it’s a rare magic. 

It’s not a working class, it’s a survivor class.
And they are profitable.. for some.

I am working on a commercial project to give voice to what was once referred to as ‘the working class’. But where is it?

Communities should not be quarry

Today was the opening meet of the Cotswold Vale Farmers Hunt, next door. A merry social occasion, always hosted by a local family farmer.

Admit it, meditation is prayer. 

Perhaps it is now a generational thing, but ‘meditation’ seemed a bit faddy to me. That is, until I recognised it as a refashioning of prayer.

Leading articles

Sharing a little intelligence to help reshape.