7 Reasons

Author: 7 Reasons

  • 7 Reasons That A Drawn First Test Was The Best Result For The Ashes

    7 Reasons That A Drawn First Test Was The Best Result For The Ashes

    The urn that contains The Ashes (Cricket,ECB,Australia,England,Test Match)

    1.  England.  For England, a draw in the Brisbane test is certainly a good start to proceedings.  We’ve already made certain that there will be no repeat of the 5-0 whitewash in 2006/7 (that I can’t remember) and we’ll be all the more confident as a result of that and, with the monkey off our back, we’ll be able to play more freely; without protests from animal rights activists angered by our wearing of the back-monkey.

    2.  Australia.  For Australia, despite being the home team, and despite the stunning manner in which they won their last home series, a draw isn’t a bad start either.  Now that many of their cricketing greats have retired, to devote more time to highlighting their hair and creosoting themselves – leaving Australia with players in their team that even Australians have to google – it was always going to be a tough series.  A loss would, quite simply, have been devastating for them.  At least with a draw the Australian public will retain some hope and confidence and will continue backing their team; whoever they are.

    3.  Andrew Strauss.  A draw’s a good result for Straussy personally.  It means we’re still in the hunt for The Ashes and, while this test can be seen as a positive in terms of his captaincy, will give him much needed time to work on his abysmal batting form.  Strauss was England’s lowest scorer in both innings at Brisbane scoring 0 and 110 runs respectively, which is 192 runs fewer than his opening partner.  A poor show indeed.

    4.  Ricky Ponting.  A draw, for Ricky Ponting, is no bad result.  He’s already received a lot of criticism from his countrymen and a draw is unlikely to add to that.  Despite him being the most dislikeable man in the history of Australia, I almost felt sorry for him earlier today (? Yesterday?  I just don’t know any more) while he was being booed by both of his own crowd.  And I would have done.  If I were mental.  Or he wasn’t Ricky Ponting.

    5.  @theashes.  Yes, the Twitter user with the best name on Twitter will also benefit from the draw.  The feckless American who decided to give herself the name @theashes without checking Google or Wikipedia first and now has over 5000 new followers and more Twitter mentions than…er…the actual test match got (remember the cricket anyone?) now has a few days (I still haven’t worked out how many, I have no idea what day it is and am also surprised to note that it’s now light outside) to choose which team she wants to support as the two teams are still level.  Then, when a Twitter-mob quickly forms to campaign to send @theashes to The Ashes, she can choose sides without accusations of glory-seeking, before payment is required for a plane ticket and the Twitter-mob dissipates even more quickly than it was formed.

    6.  Spectacle.  The draw leaves the rest of the contest evenly balanced and, as history has shown us, the best, the absolute best Ashes series are the closest fought ones.  Was the 2006/7 Ashes series actually exciting?  I asked someone who actually remembered the series and he said “No.”… “Mate”.  But the 2005 series and the 2009 series were both epic, close-fought affairs in which both teams gave their all and that everyone remembers fondly.  In fact, most right-thinking cricket-fans don’t mind their team losing in a close and exciting contest at all.*

    7.  International Relations.  Because of the draw we can continue to talk to Australians and they can continue to talk to us with pride and dignity intact all round.  We can pretend that Finn and Swann didn’t get knocked around the park a worrying amount in Australia’s second innings and that South Africa is just west of the Isle of Wight, and Australians can pretend that there were people in the stands on Monday and that they were just very small.  And quiet.

    *Did I mention I haven’t slept since…Tuesday?

  • Russian Roulette Sunday: Help Us Help You

    Russian Roulette Sunday: Help Us Help You

    If you are a proper England cricket supporter, you will have no doubt found yourself assisting your country in their times of need. If they need a wicket, there is nothing quite like disappearing from the room for five minutes to make a cup of tea or visit the bathroom or just sit on the stairs. Whenever England take a wicket, it is very rare that the bowler should be congratulated. One of us should. The one who had the gumption to leave the room and go a make a sock drawer. And we have a similar approach to batting. In England’s hour of need, when they really could do without losing another wicket before lunch, it is down to us to make sure they don’t. This is generally accomplished by remaining motionless on the sofa. Or standing on one leg. Or thumping your thigh to the rhythm of Cilla Black’s Anyone Who Had A Heart. If the stumps are demolished, you can be sure it’s because some twat, somewhere made him/herself more comfortable between overs.

    Here at 7 Reasons, despite what you may think, we are not infallible. Sometimes, this really is a tough job. Much tougher than working out upon which strip Mitchell Johnson is next going to pitch the ball. This week was a turgid one. In fact, it was as tough a week as we have ever experience. For the majority of it we were completely devoid of inspiration. Hence the fact that on Tuesday Marc wrote about writers block, on Wednesday we had a guest post and on Friday we both advised you not to ride a crocodile. It was only when I was attempting to get England that vital breakthrough on Friday morning by walking around the coffee table backwards, that I realised 7 Reasons could do with some assistance from our supporters. So this post is aimed at all four of you. But don’t think we’re being selfish. This is not a question of you giving up your time just to make 7 Reasons better, you actually get a choice. With that in mind, we have devised six positions we would like you to adopt depending on what you want out of 7 Reasons. All we ask is that you perform one of these positions at around about 8.45am each day. That’s generally the time Marc and I realise there is no way we are going to meet the 9am deadline. We are sure, with your help, we’ll never be devoid of inspiration again. Thank you.

    7 Reasons Yoga Positions

  • Guest Post: 7 Reasons I am Better Than You

    Guest Post: 7 Reasons I am Better Than You

    Hi there, it’s Saturday, so here’s a guest post.  Curling up on the 7 Reasons sofa today is Horatio Pyewackett Caractacus Fearns who – when he wakes up – wants to explain why he’s better than you.  And us, probably.

    My cat in the garden. He's better than your cat.

    1.  Fur.  Ever tried to wear fur?  No, of course you haven’t you timorous numpty, you timid wretch, you cowardy, cowardy custard.  Because you’re fearful.  You’re afraid of PETA.  You think that if you don a fur coat you’ll be attacked by a mob of militant lefties who object to your sartorial decisions.  But I’m not scared, PETA aren’t going to object to me wearing fur, because I’m better than you; wearing fur is my birthright, and I wear it as if to the manor born, without fear of reproachment.  Because I’m awesome! Because I’m a cat!

    2.  Benevolence.  I’m kind to my minions.  Very kind.  And I’m uber-agile, in fact, I can bend over backwards and lick my own bottom.  But you can’t.  You have to scrape bits from trees and roll them up into a ball in order to clean your own fetid arses.  This is because you’re pathetic and incapable of washing yourself properly.  But I’m not, I’m wondrous and supple and can cleanse my own ring with my tongue.  Which, let’s face it, saves you a job, so I’m benevolent too.

    3.  Competition.  So who’s the most awesome human that there is?  That’s right, Superman.  He can leap twenty times his own height; he can hear things that are going on miles away and he can’t be snuck up on while he’s sleeping.  Well, me too.  Superman, however, can be defeated by kryptonite.  But I can’t, I can do all of those things with no fear of kryptonite or of looking like a dweeb at the fortress of solitude.  Because I’m magnificent, and because I’m still rocking my fur coat while Superman’s attired in a thin, shiny number with his pants outside outside his lycra leggings.  He looks like the world’s worst-dressed cyclist ever, and I just look amazing.  Look at ME!

    4.  Night.  You blundering dunderheads can’t even see in the dark.  Want to know how many times I’ve fallen over a human when the lights are off?  None.  When oversized, underbalanced simpletons like you wander around without burning electricity, however, you’re endlessly falling over me (especially the tall one with the ginger beard).   Because I’m abso-fucking-beauteously wonderful, and because I like to hang around in the hallway.  To mock you.  Because I can.

    5.  Temperature.  You mewling, simpering feckless nonentities can’t even regulate your own body temperatures, but I can; I’m the master of my own temperature.   The nearest you feeble people come to accomplishing that is the human inhabitants of the North-East of England:  Geordies.  But they lack my sonorous voice and natural grace.  Also, despite their bravura, many of them die of hypothermia on their way home in the winter.  But I haven’t.  Ever.  It would be a waste of one of my nine lives (eight better than you) if I were to do so, and I’m not prepared to do it.

    6.  Size Is Important.  Just look at the size of yourself, you lumbering bioped.  Look at the amount of space that your unwieldy, bloated, overstuffed body takes up.  Where human designers prattle on about space efficiency as some sort of ideal, I live it.  I am space efficiency.  Because I take up less space than you.  I can curl up into a tiny-weeny ball.  Can you?  No.  Not at all.  But I can.  I’m fantastic.

    7.  Nature. I’m just naturally better than you.  I am.  When you poo, does anyone scurry around to scoop it up?  No, of course not.  You have to dispose of it yourself.  But when I shit, one of my underlings comes and disposes of it for me.  Every time.  Because I’m a cat, and they’re not.  In fact, everything revolves around me, abso-fucking-lutely-everything.  Dinner is served at the regular hour at which I require it.  Tradesmen come to repair the home in which I dwell and the humans who live here to serve me pay for it themselves.  And, when they’re not feeding me or opening doors for me, they even let me use them as chairs.  Would they do that for you?  No, of course not.  But they do it for me, because I’m better than you.

  • 7 Reasons You Should Not Ride A Crocodile

    7 Reasons You Should Not Ride A Crocodile

    Sometimes at 7 Reasons we’re bloody helpful.  Today is one of those days.  We know that crocodiles seem cool and it looks like it would be fun to ride one, but before you go out and try it for yourself, we want to warn you that it isn’t a good idea.  Here are seven reasons why.

    A black and white photo of a girl riding a crocodile (or an alligator)

    1.  Posture. Crocodiles carry themselves very close to terra-firma. So much so that their bellies occasionally scrape the floor. People usually like to dangle their legs; but on a crocodile-back one would have to forego such a luxury. Only those who attend regular Yoga classes are going to last more than five minutes with their knees above their ears. Who would have thought doing the Downward-Facing Dog every Tuesday at 9am could prove so beneficial?

    2.  Danger.  Riding a crocodile is dangerous as they’re amphibious.  You’re not just at risk of getting your trousers wet.  Crocodiles can hold their breath for up to two hours underwater, which is great for them, but you would drown in little over a minute which would be unfortunate for you, and inconvenient for the crocodile who could conceivably have to drag your waterlogged corpse around for weeks before it came loose.  And the other crocodiles would probably poke fun.

    3.  Comfort. This may surprise the humble crocodile-boot attired 7 Reasons reader, but a crocodile was not built for comfort. With bony, plate-like scales and raised keels running down its powerful tail, you’d find more comfort racing along the Great Wall of China in a pantomime-horse costume with Anne Widdecombe playing your backside.  And more fun, if you’re into that sort of thing.

    4.  Hunting. Don’t be thinking that your mount is going to stop trying to find food just because you’re on its back. If your croc sees a buffalo, you’d better hope you have your whistle with you, otherwise there is no way you are going to be able to referee the imminent battle for lunch.  Not even Pierluigi Collina could keep a hungry crocodile from attempting to feast on a water buffalo.  Even with a pair of fifth officials flanking the buffalo line.

    5.  Time Keeping. Crocodiles are renowned for their laissez-faire approach to time-keeping. Hence the famous expression, ‘See You Later Alligator, In A While Crocodile’. How long is a while? Ten minutes? Ten hours? Ten years? If I’m riding a crocodile, I want to know how long it is going to take until we reach our destination. If it’s ten years, I should probably bring spare pants.

    6.  Motion Sickness.  Crocodiles are believed to have been around for over 200 million years, which is almost as long as Coronation Street.  It stands to reason therefore that, if you want to know about riding a crocodile, you should consult someone that’s been knocking around for a long time.  So we did, and Sir Elton John said, “Well, Crocodile rocking is something shocking”.  So there you have it.  If you want to avoid motion sickness, stick to riding more stable beasts.  Sir Elton says so.

    7.  Accessories.  Finding the right accessory for crocodile riding is more tricky than you’d imagine.  Most people would probably think, “what goes with crocodile? I know, crocodile”, and then purchase something like a Hermes Birkin bag in the much sought-after saltwater-crocodile skin. But wait.  That would be foolish, madam.  Either the lovingly finished hide of the saltwater crocodile in an immaculately dyed colour will cause your crocodile to be jealous, or it will cause it to be nervous.  And who knows where that could lead?  It may see your handbag as some sort of rival and pounce or it may see it as a hideous portent of the future and you may experience an unexpected and unpleasant trip to the crocodile bathroom.  Either way, accessorizing your crocodile is a potential minefield.

    *We apologise for mentioning the Downward Facing Dog and Anne Widdecombe in the same post.  And, indeed, on the same internet.  We’re off for therapy now, see you tomorrow.

  • 7 Reasons to Love Snovember

    7 Reasons to Love Snovember

    It’s Snovember!  Here are seven reasons to love it.

    A road covered in snow in Snovember

    1.  The Title.  As a portmanteau word combining both weather and a month, Snovember works better than almost any other.  In snow terms, its closest rivals are Snarch, Snuly and Snebruary, and although other weather events/months exist; Sune, Haily and Thunduary don’t even come close to Snovember for catchy, popular appeal and ease of pronunciation.

    2.  Effect.  The snow buries things, which is excellent.  Today it’s burying ongoing news stories such as the Irish financial crisis, higher rail ticket prices and other depressing news that we now have no chance whatsoever of hearing from the other side of the world, leaving us only with a vague sense that Ian Bell was very good and that there’s snow outside.  Look!  Snow!  See the snow!  Touch the snow!  Smell the snow!  Think only of the snow!  It’s THE SNOW!!!

    3.  Thanksgiving.  That’s right, it’s Thanksgiving day in the U.S. but now you won’t have to read about that here, because we’re far too excited by the snow to write about it.  We don’t even know what they’re giving thanks for: Turkeys?  Football?  Macy’s?  We don’t know, and we don’t care.  Because it’s Snovember; we can see actual snow and because of that we won’t be hearing about turkeys on the evening news or anything else related to pilgrims or thankfulness that we don’t understand.

    4.  Safety. Councils in the UK tend to stockpile their grit in time for December and could potentially get caught out by the early snowfall but fortunately, as the wintry weather has come in Snovember, we have plenty of ashes* left over from bonfire night to spread on it.  If the snow occurred in other months, we’d have had to cover it in tinsel, chocolate eggs or pumpkins; and falling over a pumpkin on your way to work is not the best start to the day.**

    5.  Indolence.  The early snowfall gives everyone the excuse to do what they’ve really wanted to do since October and give up all outdoor exercise until the Spring.  No rational person wants to go out running, cycling or canoeing during the cold half of the year and the snow is our opportunity to stop doing those things and concentrate on what we really want to spend the winter doing; which is eating our own bodyweight in Twiglets and drinking ourselves into a mulled-wine and sloe-gin induced stupor.  We may all become hideously fat as a result, but the extra weight will just make us more stable in the snow and better protected when we fall over.  Which will help offset the effect of the glühwein.  And the winter Pimm’s.

    6.  Shopping.  It’s Snovember!  And rather than the snow reminding people that it’s Christmas soon and they need to go and do their shopping, it will prevent them from going out and buying Yule-related things.  This means that we won’t have to devote as much time to arranging Christmas as usual and, even though we’ll now have less time to organise it, it will turn out exactly the same as every other year.  And somehow, somewhere, it might just enter our thick skulls that we don’t need to devote a quarter of the year to organising bloody Christmas and it will happen anyway, regardless.

    7.  Preparedness.  The trial run in Snovember will prepare us for winter proper.  We’ll be able to get the annual bout of complaining that; our cars won’t work in un-driveable conditions, that the local council haven’t magicked the snow away, and that the entirely predictable snow in Sweden doesn’t cause chaos, out of the way and then get on with our lives as usual.  Or we’ll just use it as an excuse to get in some extra complaining.  Either way, we’re all benefiting from Snovember.  In fact, we’re off to play in the snow right now.  We’ve never even heard of cricket.  It’s Snovember everybody!  Look!  Snow!

    *We can’t emphasise enough how lower-case that entire word is.

    **We’re not entirely certain about that, it might be bloomin’ marvellous, but we rather suspect that it may be a little undignified.  Not to mention painful.

  • Special Guest Post: 7 Reasons I’m Backing Us To Win The Ashes

    Special Guest Post: 7 Reasons I’m Backing Us To Win The Ashes

    Hello!  It’s Wednesday, and regular 7 Reasons (.org) readers might be surprised to find a guest post here.  But today is special.  Because today is the day that The Ashes begins, and I can’t begin to tell you how excited the 7 Reasons team are by this.  Well, I could begin, but I’d never be able to stop myself and we’d all miss the cricket while I babbled on and on.  So, joining us on the 7 Reasons sofa today is Sir Straussy who has taken time out from his busy cricketing and tweeting schedule to explain why he’s backing us to win The Ashes.  And by us, I sincerely hope he isn’t referring to the 7 Reasons team; that would be a disaster.

    Disclaimer: The views expressed by the England Captain are entirely his own and do not represent those of 7 Reasons (.org)*

    Ricky Ponting And Andrew Strauss Ashes 2010

    1.  It’s In The Toss. This is nothing new, but Ricky Ponting and I are tossers. We have to be. It’s in the contract. To be a captain you must be a tosser. And I am very proud to be both. So is Ricky. The difference between us is that, while I’m a good tosser, he’s a useless tosser. The stats don’t lie. Using the motto ‘tails never fails’ I have won 59% of tosses as England captain, Ricky has won a mere 49% in his role as an Australian tosser. And with the toss being so crucial these days, that 10% will give us the edge. But, I hear you ask, what happens if tails fails? Is that it? Shall we give up? Forget about this Test? No, certainly not. Again, let’s examine the stats, in the 41% of matches in which tails never fails has gone tits down, I have led England to victories 64% of the time. And as for Punter? Well, under his tossership, Australia have won just 30% of the Tests in which he has lost the toss. So, just remember, if my tossing goes wonky, don’t worry, I still produce results.

    2.  Younger, Fitter, Stronger. Assuming we go into the first Test with the team I want and Australia go into the first Test with the team I want, the average age of the England team is going to be twenty years lower than that of our counterparts. And even if Australia don’t go with Dame Edna Everage and Bill Lawry, our boys will still be younger on average. If the probable teams that have been bandied about in the papers for the last few days are to be believed, we’ll step onto the field with the average age of 28 years and six months. Australia will wheel themselves onto the field averaging 31 years. That age difference means we’re much fitter. Just take a look at our bodies. No one can tell me Dougy Bollinger is fitter than pin-up sensation Stuart Broad. Or Simon Katich is fitter than Brighton favourite Jimmy Anderson. Or podge-face Punter is fitter than the hairy-armed version of myself.

    3.  The Hair Apparent. According to the internet, the American writer, actor and comedian Larry David once said, ‘Anyone can be confident with a full head of hair, but a confident bald man – there’s your diamond in the rough’. He was talking about Matt Prior. The one player in world cricket whose surname inexplicably can’t be used with an O or Y to form a nickname.

    4.  Names. And talking of nicknames, should you wish to use ours on the Scrabble board we will score you an average of 9.5 points per player. That’s a staggering 0.9 points more than the Aussies. When you also throw into the equation that this includes the nickname-less Prior, it almost defies belief. How is this going to help us win the Ashes though? Well, it’s not directly, it was more an observation I made playing online scrabble with Lady Straussy. But it did get me thinking. Us English and South African-English just whack a Y on the end of a surname and be done with it. We then get on with the cricket. The Aussies though, well judging by some of the nicknames for their players, I imagine they spend a great deal of time in the middle trying to think of something wondrous. That must be why Haddin is called BJ, Bollinger is called Eagle, North is called Snorks and the 27 year-old new boy, Xavier Doherty, is called X. You need to concentrate on the game in this game, not faff around thinking of schoolboy nicknames. In some ways this is why I hope Usman Khawaja plays. Though I suspect he’s called Koala.

    5.  The KP Factor. With his Movember challenge nearly at an end – a contest Monty has dominated from an early stage – and his blindfold cricket ‘viral’ video for Brylcreem out of the way, KP now has the chance to concentrate on what he loves. And, talking about love, the other day the lads saw that the fat lad Warney had said KP needed loving again. So that’s exactly what we have given him. Lots of it. Aussie, watch out.

    6.  Midge. That’s the nickname of Mitchell Johnson, presumably because like a midge he has no sense of co-ordination. Anyway, he has vowed to make me crumble. Which is lovely. I’m looking forward to it at tea. But Midge has also vowed to make me suffer under a bouncer barrage. This goes back to the 2006/7 Ashes where I fully admit I got out hooking twice. Midge wants to exploit this perceived weakness. Given that I was caught behind four times in the same series, one could be forgiven to think I am far more susceptible to the one that pitches in the corridor of uncertainty and moves a fraction away off the seam. Mind you, Midge’s corridor of uncertainty is only slightly smaller than Steve Harmison’s, so perhaps that’s what he means anyway.

    7.  We Are England! To paraphrase Hugh Grant, ‘We may be an England cricket team, but we are a South African one too. A country of Allan Lamb, Basil D’Oliveira, Tony Greig, Robin Smith, Robin Smith’s brother. Nasser Hussain’s index finger. Nasser Hussain’s middle finger come to that. And a friend who bullies us is a Commonwealth country that wants to become a Republic. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward, I will be prepared to whip out my guns more often. And the whole of Australia should be prepared for that.’ Actually, it sounds much better like this.

    *Unless he makes fun of Ricky Ponting or the French.

  • 7 Reasons That Writer’s Block is Frustrating

    7 Reasons That Writer’s Block is Frustrating

    Whether you’re a blogger, a journalist, a novelist, a playwright or a poet, writer’s block can be both debilitating and frustrating.  Here are seven reasons why.

    a screen shot of Microsoft Word
    Yes, It's Microsoft Word 1897!

    1.  Because You Call Yourself A Writer.  I sometimes call myself a writer.  Mostly because that’s what I do.  I write.  Every day.  I didn’t start doing it regularly until my thirties, but I’ve studied literature my whole life, from pre-school to university.  And I feel comfortable when I refer to myself as a writer; because I do it all the time and, I like to imagine, quite well.  I don’t make my living from writing: I’ve never even been paid for writing; in fact – owing to the vagaries of the publishing system – I’ve been offered more money not to write than I have to write.  Yes, actual soft cash (made of paper, so better than hard cash), and I turned it down.  Because I’m an idiot.  And I would have had to have called myself a not-writer.  A professional not-writer.  And that’s not who I am.  But you can only call yourself a writer if you actually write something.

    2.  Because It’s Hard To Explain.  It’s hard to explain not being able to write to non-writers, because – to them – it’s a natural state.  How would you explain the absence of writing to someone that isn’t a practitioner of the art?  I’ll have a stab at it:  Imagine that you’re reading a blank page.  But that page is important.  In fact, the words on that page are fundamental to your very life, soul, being, self-image and existence.  But you can’t see them.  And you need them.  They’re vital.  Oh, and you’re naked.  Well that’s pretty much what it’s like.  But much worse.  Because your foot hurts and it’s cold where you are.

    3.  Because You Can Think Of Things To Write, They’re Just Not Appropriate.  I could, right at this moment, fashion a discourse highlighting the influence of John Mayall on the British blues movement or analyse Romania’s under-reported role in the holocaust.    But I’m not writing a piece on the development of British music, or on World War II, I’m writing for a humour site.  Which is a shame as there’s very little else in my head except for: “There’s nothing in your head you silly man”, “My foot hurts” and “Oooh, I quite fancy a sandwich”; yet  eating the sandwich won’t help you because…well…it’s eating a sandwich, which is different to writing (it’s more Marmitey and less like Tolstoy) and your audience probably won’t appreciate a piece entitled 7 Reasons I Stopped Staring Blankly at a Screen and had a Sandwich Instead as it would be at least six reasons light and it would probably make them hungry.  Well, half of them, the other half probably don’t like Marmite.

    4.  Because You Have A Deadline.  Yes, there’s always a deadline that you need to hit.  And, when I was staring at my blank screen it was imminent.  After all, I have other things to do in addition to writing.  I’m a man, I need simple things; that sandwich, sleep, words to magically appear on my screen (or in my head, I’m not lazy, I’ll happily type them out), but mostly sleep.  Because I’ve been busy all day and I’m tired.  But I need to write these words, so with bloodshot eyes I continue to stare at the screen, because inspiration will strike if I stare at it for long enough, surely?

    5.  Because Of Modern Technology. And I’m staring at the blank screen on a computer.  That’s right, a computer.  A machine connected to the world that contains many, many distractions.  So when you find yourself failing to write words on a screen, you’ll soon find yourself watching people falling off bicycles on Youtube.  And shortly, you’ll find yourself on Twitter.  Not tweeting about WWII or John Mayall, but about other topical and funny stuff.  And you’re actually being funny on Twitter.  In the written word!  But not in any way that inspires your next day’s piece, and that doesn’t help matters; in fact, it’s bloody frustrating, as the irony of the situation won’t escape you.  You will briefly toy with the idea of tweeting tomorrow’s piece, and disregard it.  Eventually.  But not before you’ve wasted much precious writing time considering it, while sucking on a pencil:  A pencil without any lead in it.

    6.  Because Of Self-Doubt.  Why do I write?  If you ever found yourself asking that, you would never, ever do it.  Because writing defies all logical sense.  Why, in the name of all that is holy, in the name of all that is unholy, or in the name of all that isn’t there (I think I’ve covered everyone) would anyone choose to spend their time spewing-forth words from their brains to their fingers to their screens.  “I could be doing other things at the moment,” you’ll find yourself thinking.  “I could be doing other things that normal people do like watching other people sitting in a “jungle” or watching other people dancing badly or watching other people that can’t sing, sing or”…and suddenly writing makes sense again.

    7.  Because You’ll Get There In The End.  And eventually, you’ll think of something to write about.  Because that’s what you do, you’re a writer.  Even if you do end up writing about not-writing, even if you end up raw-eyed and sweaty, even if you end up writing with the rapier-like-insight and élan of an addled baboon, there’ll be something.  Because however much you think you have nothing to say, however hard you think it is, there will always be something.  And that’s when you know that you should write.  And that you should have a shower.

  • 7 Reasons The UK Owes Ireland

    7 Reasons The UK Owes Ireland

    If you are British, you may be asking why our Government is helping to bail out Ireland. Well wonder no longer. It is quite simple. Ireland has given so much to the UK. So much. We owe them.

    7 Reasons The UK Owes Ireland

    1.  Music. ‘Some people say I look like me dad. What?! Are you serious?’ As I am sure you are all aware, they are the very first lines of the B*Witched classic, C’est le vie. And it’s only by listening to those words that you can really appreciate just how good The Spice Girls actually were. And that has to be a worth rewarding, doesn’t it?

    2.  Alcohol. From Guinness to Baileys to Bulmers/Magners and back to Guinness again. The Irish know how to drink. Sadly, many Briton’s don’t, which is why…

    3.  Hurling – a pursuit played out on the fields of Ireland – has become particularly popular on the streets of the UK. Just after closing time. And that in turn is why the British paracetamol industry remains so strong. Thanks Ireland.

    4.  James Bond. It is not often said that Pierce Brosnan did for Britain’s finest secret agent what Nasser Hussain did for the England Cricket team, but it’s true. Both picked up a beleaguered enterprise and through sheer bloody mindedness and the help of their respective peers in the form of Dame Judi Dench and Duncan Fletcher, turned it into something quite beautiful. Or at least passable. Better than it was anyway. And for that we should be eternally thankful. No one wants to watch Licence To Kill followed by the 1989 Ashes highlights.**

    5.  Sir Terry Wogan. Not only did he provide a superior earful for the more sophisticated radio listener than say Christopher Moyles, he also made the debacle that is The Eurovision Song Contest relatively enjoyable. Mainly because he talked over both presenters and songs alike. While slowly getting sloshed on whiskey. And getting away with it. He also introduced me to Gina G. And when you are twelve you like that kind of thing.

    6.  Leprechauns. Oddly, and rather ridiculously in my opinion, the people of the UK seem to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day more than St. George’s Day, St. Andrew’s Day and St. David’s Day combined. But at least on 17th March Trafalgar Square is full of honorary Leprechauns instead of bloody pigeons.

    7.  Home Comforts. Wherever I have been in the world, I always find an Irish pub. Not on purpose, it’s just there. Being all Irish at me. And it’s a nice feeling. Not because it adds to the ambiance of the street, but because I know I’ve found somewhere to watch the rugby. And for that I have always been eternally thankful.

    *e

    **If ever you wanted an example of a reason where I start writing without an idea of where it is heading, this is it.

  • Russian Roulette Sunday: The Stats Don’t Lie

    Russian Roulette Sunday: The Stats Don’t Lie

    Ever wanted to know who writes what and when here at 7 Reasons? No, neither did I. But I didn’t want to go to school either and I did that. So here are the stats behind 7 Reasons. And they are all accurate, except where I have made them up.

    Russian Roulette Sunday: The Stats Don't Lie

  • Guest Post: 7 Reasons Why Flying With A Strange Man Is Annoying

    Guest Post: 7 Reasons Why Flying With A Strange Man Is Annoying

    A few weeks ago – much to the consternation of Italy – I went to Rome. Accompanying me on the epic trip was my girlfriend. While I have covered why Rome and I disagreed in great depth here, I did not speak about our flight home. A flight which split my girlfriend and I up. Though only for two and a half hours. For the duration, I sat next to a woman who seemed interested in children’s illustration. While my girlfriend sat next to a strange man. And an annoying man. That’s one person, not two. This is Claire Quinn’s story.

    7 Reasons Why Flying With A Strange Man Is Annoying
    Google Images' Most Popular Annoying Passenger

    1.  Newspaper. Folding, unfolding, folding, unfolding, folding, unfolding. Rustling, crumpling, rustling, crumpling, rustling, crumpling. All the time. I don’t even think he could read.

    2.  View. It would have been lovely to see the sunset over Europe, instead I saw the back of a man’s head. And a newspaper.

    3.  G&T. This was a kind of torture. I wanted a G&T, he had a G&T. I couldn’t have a G&T as someone had to drive us home when we got back to Heathrow. (When I say ‘us’ I don’t mean the annoying man, I mean the strange man. Jon.) But the annoying man didn’t seem to care about any of this, so he sat there drinking his G&T. Slowly. That is not the way to drink a G&T.

    4.  Lemon. Apart from being a lemon, he had a lemon. It was in his G&T, then it was in his mouth. And he was chewing it and chewing it and chewing it and chewing it. And then he rustled his newspaper.

    5.  Coat. The annoying man was wearing the thickest coat that I have ever seen. It was so thick he probably should have had a seat of it’s own. But it wasn’t so much the coat that annoyed me as the fact that he was wearing his coat. Who wears a coat on a plane? What did he have to hide? Thinking about in now though, I am glad I never found out.

    6.  Fidgeting. As if the rustling and the crumpling and the folding and unfolding and the chewing and the chewing wasn’t enough, he was also a fidgeter. His legs were jigging up and down as if he was on of those wind-up toys. Shame he wasn’t. I’d have put him in reverse and destroyed the mechanism.

    7.  Earplugs. The most annoying thing – yes, all the above were relatively minor – is that he wouldn’t have realised just how annoying he was because he was wearing earplugs. So he didn’t hear any of the crumpling and rustling and folding and unfolding and chewing and jigging. None of it. He just enjoyed the silence. Or maybe he knew how annoying and loud he was which is why he wore earplugs? So he didn’t have to listen to it. That just makes him even more annoying.