A while ago, Dawn wrote about the trousers her friend wears for building and plumbing jobs. I recently interviewed a carpenter, who took a novel approach to rescuing his clothing from the damages of his work: good, thick tape. “The work trousers always go at the zip”, he says. At least the trousers can be taped. The…
That stalwart of American Capitalism, the Ford Motor Company has done a lot for social science. Trainee economists learn about Dodge Brothers vs Ford, taking from the judgement either the textbook lesson that companies are run to maximise shareholder profit, or a lesson in sharp practice from Henry Ford’s attempt to squeeze out minority shareholders…
To build this, first unload your lorries and put lots of things into tidy piles… You need these…
The opening scene of Confluence (Akram Khan and Nitin Sawney, Sadlers Wells 2010) is a story about having your passport taken away for checking. The border guards watch you, their eyes contain the power of the state. You watch your passport leave the room, you hope it reappears.
This sign has been on the door of my local chip shop for 9 months now: I suspect it wont be reopening any time soon. Nowaytomakealiving is taking a break too, we’ll be back in August.
You can find all sorts of jobs at Jobcentre Plus, the statutory agency that helps the unemployed back into work: it’s the place to look if you fancy a working as a driver, check-out assistant, nanny or adult model. Yes, that does say adult model. You could also find work as a ‘webcam performer’. “Duties…
In Britain, Chancellor George Osborne has just presented his first budget, announcing 25% cuts to most government departments. Last week, proposed government investment in leisure, social services and manufacturing was removed. A visitor’s centre at Stonehenge, a healthcare centre in Leeds, and financial support for the Forgemasters plant in Sheffield were some of a number…
One of my favourite flickr groups is ‘Taxis of the world from inside’. I like the glimpses of the city in these shots, and the confusion between the outside spaces and the mobile indoors of the car. The car in the city represents a supermodernity (Augé, 2009), a non-place, neither public, nor private, fluid without…
Two signs photographed in a department store that’s about to close. To the left, big, bold letters and colours: the store is closing down and everything must go, “step right up, bargains galore”. Thrill at 20% off a new kettle. Take home a pottery owl, only £42.99 (down from £59.00). It’s an exciting chance, you consumer…
Early in the film of Blake Morrison’s memoir And When Did You Last See Your Father (dir Anand Tucker, 2007), Blake (Colin Firth) accepts an award for his poetry (it might be that the definition of ‘real’ work is that it’s the sort of activity you’d never attend an award ceremony to mark). At the risk…