HOLMSEY: The cold truth behind your £4 cone
Isle of Wight ObserverPhew, what a scorcher. When the sun is beating down, who doesn’t crave an ice cream? Last weekend was the…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: It’s a stiff, bereft of life. It rests in peace!
People rarely accept defeat with grace these days. The Reform Party’s opponents keep calling them far‑right racists. Last Thursday, voters…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: The good old days – when dads did very little!
The cost of ferries, airline cancellations, and EU border delays are all good reasons to stay home this summer. I’d…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: And the result is…
It’s possible this column will be of no interest whatsoever to at least half of you, because it’s about local…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: A welfare system that punishes work
I used to be resentful of those who chose not to work. That resentment largely diminished when I asked myself…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Whoever you vote for badgers lose and the taxman wins
Spring has sprung, the clocks have gone forward, and – praise be! – the Easter holidays are now upon us.…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Two weeks away and everything’s gone bang…
I’ve been missing in action for over a fortnight. I hope you enjoyed Michael, my stunt double. My oh my,…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: A realist’s guide to optimism
“Cheer up, Holmesy, try and keep a sense of perspective,” writes Yarmouth-based Matthew John Pomeroy Leeming. I love feedback and…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: If this is grown‑up government, fetch the crayons
Sir Keir Starmer has come out fighting, and apparently the great enemy of our age is… Reform. Insults seem to…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Another week, another omnishambles!
It’s no secret: everyone running a business is spooked. In 2020, hiring 21-year-old cost employers £17,035. Today, that same person…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Trump, Starmer, and the art of getting it wrong!
The Orange One loves winding up Europeans – and the Canadian PM, obviously. His threats against Canada and Greenland are…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Prostate and planning updates
“I’m pleased to tell you, it’s not cancer.” The consultant sounded chirpy, almost as if he’d cured me. Breaking bad…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Whatever happened to the Saturday job?
I don’t remember anyone complaining that President Obama invaded Pakistan to grab Osama Bin Laden. Once captured, Bin Laden was…
Read MoreHOLMSEY: Sometimes we don’t realise how lucky we are!
We shared some of our grown-up kids with their partners’ families this Christmas. Those giant get-togethers of years gone by…
Read MoreMICKEY’S MUSINGS: Death, grief and why can’t we be more private?
“Die, my dear? “Why that’s the last thing I’ll do! I intend to live forever, or die trying.” I smile…
Read MoreMICKEY’S MUSINGS: The nation’s farmers fight back
My late father had a line he adapted from Groucho Marx: “I’ve had a perfectly wonderful evening, but this wasn’t…
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