Coastalblog

Stop all the clocks and what have you, for there are no more Nigels. Nigels are extinct. Yes, it's that time of year again, when The Office for National Statistics  releases the list  of baby names from the previous year, and there was apparently not a single* Nigel born. 64 boys called Cai, 189 Kylos, not a Nigel to be seen anywhere. There were no fewer than 747 iterations of the name Kaden / Kaiden / Caydon / Cadan, etc, but of Nigels there was nary a hint.  Now, the name Nigel is, I grant you, one of the less-storied monickers, having been dragged through the muck recently by the odious Farage. And it's an interesting question as to how the old frog-mouthed racist might have put off a few havering over their baby names. But to men of my generation, A Nigel could at least point to the charm of Havers, the sporting prowess of Mansell, and while chess grandmaster Short perhaps played up to the Nigel stereotype a little too closely, Nigels of an indie-rock bent could at le...

It is a truth universally acknowledged that starting pieces with the phrase "it is a truth universally acknowledged.." is tired, hackneyed and bad writing. It's also fairly widely acknowledged that one of the most overused, and misused words in the tiring, tear-inducing forever war that dominates online political is "Orwellian." Generally by someone who a) is unaware of the the low-wattage of their personal intelligence and b) has never actually read any Orwell. Something something vaccines? Orwellian. Something something right to protest? Orwellian. Disagree with something the state has done? Orwellian Outraged that the state hasn't done something you wish it to do? Orwellian. I'm not much of a one for both-sidesing arguments, generally being of the opinion that there is a right side to most issues, but both sides sling the O word about with gay abandon, and generally entirely wrongly. Well, I have read a bit of Orwell (and I am entirely in concurrence ...