Cops, Capers & Custard

27/08/2025

Sticks and stones: but how harmful are nicknames?

Amongst the lies we tell ourselves, the childhood rhyme of “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me,” figures fairly highly in the deception stakes. In adulthood this proverb is usually reinforced by the misplaced mantra, “It never did me any harm.” Granted, not al...

08/08/2025

Coming soon on www.kirkeytalk.com …

Sticks and stones: but how harmful are nicknames?

27/07/2025

Coming soon on www.kirkeytalk.com ...

The death of my funeral.

Death is part of the cycle of life, but do final farewells have to follow the traditional format of sorrow, sobriety, and orthodoxy? Can there ever be a place to party and celebrate the life of the dearly departed?

14/05/2025

I hate to break it you, but your Union Jack shorts and Reform UK rosette won’t protect you when you are vulnerable, scared, and alone.

During the last four weeks I’ve been sucked into the terrifying vortex of end-of-life care for a loved one. Initially having a cursory knowledge of the adult care system, I have had to learn at bre…

30/04/2025

https://kirkeytalk.com/a-bolt-from-a-blue/

Police officers who deploy lethal force understand that their actions will be subject to the highest level of scrutiny. In my experience, decisions of this nature are never taken lightly. Where per…

28/04/2025

What sort of world would we inhabit if we elected incredible people like Sergio Aguiar and David Stancombe - fathers of murdered daughters Alice and Elsie.

Their courage, resilience and love is totally beyond my comprehension.

13/04/2025

I think I’m a serial worrier; I base this assumption on the simple fact that I have often found myself worrying about having nothing to worry about. Riddle me that one if you can! I think I handle this state of mind, nestled within my consciousness ever since I can remember when, fairly well. Granted it’s annoying, but like the reality that I don’t like getting into cold water, I’ve grown to accept it as being part of my personality....

I think I’m a serial worrier; I base this assumption on the simple fact that I have often found myself worrying about having nothing to worry about. Riddle me that one if you can! I think I handle …

04/04/2025

Is an escape from the Madding Crowd essential? Along with billions of unwilling and unwitting participants, I presently live in a universe where the President of the United States, arguably the leader of “the free world” – whatever that flimsy statement ever meant – openly blames a sovereign nation state for being invaded by a foreign power. To suggest that the people of Ukraine are in any way culpable for the decision to invade of the brutal dictator Vladimir Putin, who regularly…...

Is an escape from the Madding Crowd essential? Along with billions of unwilling and unwitting participants, I presently live in a universe where the President of the United States, arguably the lea…

01/04/2025

Having been a cop in a former life, I was schooled in the pursuit of the truth. There was a clean, uncompromising attraction to this quest, and I became skilled in building a prosecution case based on the ethical collection of facts. The truth is spectacular since it efficiently removes the need to lie – an arduous task if you choose dishonesty; like a house of cards, it can crumble rapidly once subject to a little questioning....

Having been a cop in a former life, I was schooled in the pursuit of the truth. There was a clean, uncompromising attraction to this quest, and I became skilled in building a prosecution case based…

29/03/2025

As a longstanding Notts County season ticket holder, going AWOL for a home fixture is supreme sacrilege. The crunch match against Tranmere Rovers (Saturday, 22nd February 2025) ultimately fell to the magnetism of Marrakech, the fourth biggest city of Morocco, and the now customary short break (4-nights) to somewhere new and scintillating to celebrate my birthday. As I have advanced in age, …...

As a longstanding Notts County season ticket holder, going AWOL for a home fixture is supreme sacrilege. The crunch match against Tranmere Rovers (Saturday, 22nd February 2025) ultimately fell to t…

18/03/2025

My mind is usually in a state of chaos with thoughts – both abstract and defined – fighting for supremacy. At one end of the continuum, daydreaming can be therapeutic and provides the space for creativity and imagination to enthrall and entertain. At the extreme, I can indulge in over thinking. Wherever the cognitive dial pivots, the outcome is pretty consistent: exhaustion!...

My mind is usually in a state of chaos with thoughts – both abstract and defined – fighting for supremacy. At one end of the continuum, daydreaming can be therapeutic and provides the space for cre…

18/03/2025

My friend died the other day. A few years had passed when I unexpectedly bumped into them in a supermarket some months back. Social media had allowed us to occasionally touch base remotely, but the level of communication between us was, at best, sparse. Only in their 50s, death had claimed them far too soon. We had once been intimately close; deep conversations taking place about the meaning of life in the wee small hours of the morning whilst parked up on a roundabout looking for cars to pull....

My friend died the other day. A few years had passed when I unexpectedly bumped into them in a supermarket some months back. Social media had allowed us to occasionally touch base remotely, but the…