17 h. ago Adrian Chiles 'terrorised' by 'appalling things' he has searched how to kill

The Radio 5 Live broadcaster said pigeons were ‘appalling things’ and confessed that the birds ‘terrorised’ him - and have done for his whole life - he hates when they coo

Events

3 d. ago I’ll never play golf like Rory McIlroy. But maybe he can teach me how to live with my mistakes | Adrian Chiles

I need to stop dwelling on everything I get wrong, from sending my ball into the drink to squeezing the wrong bottomWhether you’re into sport or not, there’s wisdom to be mined from it. Once you’ve picked your way through the platitudes, banalities and cliche there’s gold in there.Rory McIlroy’s famous victory at the US Masters earlier this month yielded, for me anyway, a particularly good example. McIlroy’s psychologist, Bob Rotella, has been credited with helping his man develop golf’s key mental skill: putting your bad shots behind you and barely giving them a second thought. Continue reading...

Society

4 d. ago I loathe pigeons. You wouldn’t believe what they do to my downpipe | Adrian Chiles

These noisy, filthy, feral creatures make my life a misery. Is there really no way to get rid of them?Pigeons. Appalling things. I looked them up on the bird charity RSPB’s website and snorted when I came across the Where to See section. The answer is, just so you know, everywhere. Perhaps not so much outside towns and cities but in urban areas you’re never far from the sight and sound of the bloody things. If, unaccountably, you’re not familiar with this species, do feel free to get in touch and come round to my place and observe them at your leisure.Truly they are the soundtrack of my life. For years they’ve been getting into a drainage channel on the roof. Morning, noon and night they scratch and coo and jump about. The racket is infernal. I lie in bed reflecting on the filth in that gulley just above my head. I know it’s filthy, because when there’s heavy rain their revolting detritus washes down and blocks the downpipe. I have to pull their unspeakable waste out of the pipe bef...

Politics

1 week ago In a world full of wedgies, are you a wedger like Trump, or a wedgee like me? | Adrian Chiles

There are two sorts of people – those who pull others’ underwear, and those who have their underwear pulled. And we’d never have known it without the Lib Dems’ Ed DaveySir Ed Davey has made more than one significant contribution to the tone of political discourse over the past year. Obviously, there’s all the surfing, rollercoasting, bungee jumping and so on. There’s also his use of the word “wedgie” in relation to trade tariffs. That’s some trick to pull off. Respect. Here’s what he said earlier this month: “Despite backing the US in every major conflict this century – and offering to water down our tax on US tech billionaires – we’ve been rewarded with the same tariffs as Iran. It’s like we’re meant to be grateful Trump gave our friends a black eye and left us with just a wedgie.”This was quoted on The World at One on BBC Radio 4, which involved the presenter Sarah Montague using the word wedgie, too. Something else I never thought I’d hear. Even over where I work on BBC Radio 5 L...

Politics

2 w. ago Go off grid? Where would I get my meds, compression socks and corn removers? | Adrian Chiles

Am I just too fussy or too old? Either way I’m not cut out for a life in the wildernessI don’t really want to run away from everything. But I’m disappointed to realise I’m no longer able to do so anyway. We all have the instinct for fight or flight. Fleeing civilisation to try your luck in the wild is the most extreme expression of the second option. Somewhere, deep down, we’re hardwired with the false security of this last resort. Or perhaps it’s just me. Either way, I’ve reached the sad conclusion that, in my case, it’s not possible.I started thinking through how I’d do it. Right, I’m off, I decided, hypothetically. Hmm, what to take with me? Well, there’s my eyesight to consider. Just take my specs, or some contact lenses, too? I’ve only three weeks’ worth. How do myopic soldiers manage behind enemy lines? There must be a way. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Where have all the headphones gone on public transport? The noise is eating into my soul | Adrian Chiles

Just one antisocial fellow traveller can ruin a journey. Is it a giant two-fingered gesture to the rest of the world?Some time in the early years of the last decade, a friend and I travelled by train from London to Barcelona, where we would be covering a football match for work. We had a very nice day, playing Scrabble and drinking train wine as we sped south. The only problem was that a kid near us, not 10 years old, was watching a cartoon or playing a game on an iPad without the benefit of headphones. The sound wasn’t so much loud as persistent. Slowly but surely it drilled its way into our skulls and started to eat into our souls. I shot the family a couple of glances but got a look back which managed to communicate two things. Firstly that they were sorry. Secondly that if they took the iPad off the kid, we’d all be sorry. So, on he went. And an otherwise perfectly pleasurable journey started to drag.Then I had an idea. I got my headphones out of my bag, caught the mother’s eye,...

Politics

3 w. ago Yes, I have just done a naked forward roll. But there was a good reason | Adrian Chiles

There I was, lying in bed and worrying I’d lost a basic life skill. Can you blame me for putting it to the test?When I was in the first year at middle school, in Miss Hale’s class, my parents returned from a parents’ evening looking disappointed. My nine-year-old self picked up on this. It wasn’t my schoolwork: that was OK. It was that the teacher had revealed that in PE I was the only one in the class who couldn’t do a forward roll.This was true. It wasn’t that I was physically incapable – I was in the school football team and, without wishing to boast, probably the ninth-quickest runner. I just had this mental block. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The idea of the world momentarily going upside down was too much for me. The prospect of such disorientation was unbearable. If only Miss Hale had taken me to one side and said: “Look, you’re overthinking this – and, believe you me, if you let it, overthinking will blight your life.” But she didn’t, because teachers didn’t talk like t...

Events

3 w. ago What do young people really think about us oldies? I asked a few | Adrian Chiles

Why is the moral panic only ever about younger generations? It’s time we heard what confuses or worries them about usEvery generation looks at the next generation, and the one after that, with bafflement and concern. There’s probably a name for this phenomenon. That’s not to say we (the olds) aren’t right to be more worried than ever about what they (the young) are up to. There’s a lot for us to be worried about and confused about in equal measure. The TV drama Adolescence got at this. Even having had its emojis and red pills – and emojis of red pills – patiently explained to me, I remain concerned and confused. Mainly confused. It’s all decidedly mysterious – and not in a good, exciting way.This intergenerational bewilderment seems only to work in one direction: down, rather than up. We flail around trying to make sense of what’s going on with the young. If you are young, this is relevant to you, too, because you will soon be feeling like this about those coming up behind you. What...

Events