mostly david ephgrave

Will “I’m white, middle-class and male” do it? That type of joke is appropriate this week, what with it being the 100 th anniversary of (some) women being given the right to vote; how can an event like that still potentially be within living memory? Yet, while we may be a century on from that momentous occasion, there’s clearly still along way to go, what with all the terrible stories of men abusing positions of power - or simply being paid far more than their female contemporaries - that have been in the recent press; equality’s still an aim that's yet to be met. It’s not just sexism that’s the problem, but racism and class inequality (the first two parts of my triple punchline). They all crop up in comedy too: I read an article the other day about how the exorbitant cost of taking a show up to the Edinburgh Fringe means the scene inevitably becomes stagnated with acts from the affluent, cossetted middle-classes; after all they’re the onl...

There’s a house near where I live that has a full size flagpole in their garden flying a St George’s Cross, which spells worry for me. It’s the size of the mast in relation to the land-space that concerns me: the garden’s by no means big and yet the flag’s in keeping with a castle battlement. While I’d hate to cast aspersions - which is clearly a sign I’m about to - I’d say it was less a display of patriotism and more an act of defence . There’s a defiance to it that borders on confrontational: when your staunch nationalistic statement literally overshadows everything around it, it’s probably time to rein things in. Part of the problem is the English flag has become synonymous with racism and ignorance; that’s not to say it should be, but it has. I’m all for reclaiming it, but it’s very hard to when it’s often those who shout loudest about it who’ll want someone to go back where they came from in the next breath. That’s not to say everyone...