Snippets of Krakow April 2003. It’s almost painful to realise that it’s been over sixteen years since my one and only trip to Poland! I was teaching English in Slovakia at the time, so a bunch of friends and I took the train to Krakow from Bratislava. Having checked into our hostel, we subsequently wasted no […]
Read MoreAfter nearly five years as Leighton Literature, the time has finally come to relaunch this little blog of mine in order to better reflect what it is I actually do.
Read MoreToday I published my 500th travel report with my article on Tooting Bec Common in London. This is cause for celebration because a) five hundred is a sexy number and b) I never thought I’d get this far! Now I kinda like the sound of 1000. These articles of mine have evolved over time from simple […]
Read MoreIt’s Leighton Literature’s 4th Birthday! It’s been four years since I launched Leighton Literature and this last twelve months have definitely been my most transformative. It was over the summer that I felt like LL had arrived at a sink or swim moment. After so much hard work and only modest progress, I saw two […]
Read MoreIt’s Leighton Literature’s 3rd Birthday! One of the scariest things about getting older is the ever-increasing rapidity of the passing of time. I mean, how can it possibly be three years since I launched Leighton Literature? I was in Beijing at the time, my second stint. Between now and then I’ve been to South Korea, Singapore and […]
Read MoreIt’s Leighton Literature’s 2nd Birthday!!! It’s been two years since I launched Leighton Literature one smoggy Beijing morning. Back then I was blessed with an abundance of free time, access to an amazing American-style diner and that incomparable enthusiasm one has towards a new and exciting project. My goals were simple: to share my experiences of a life […]
Read MoreIt’s Leighton Literature’s 1st birthday!!! Does it feel more than a little pretentious to wish my own website a happy birthday? Sure, but fuck it you only live once! I can’t quite believe it was a year ago today that I published my first post. Since then I’ve released thirty-two tales in My Short Stories, published […]
Read MoreIn the fall of 1993 Seattle three-piece Nirvana was arguably the biggest rock band in the world. Their debut album Bleach had planted seeds of vehement potential, while everybody and his dog picked up a copy of its all-conquering follow-up Nevermind. Then came the eclectic rarities compilation Incesticide, before recently released third LP In Utero, […]
Read MoreI was deep into my Nirvana phase when a friend of mine suggested another American band I might enjoy, “They totally influenced Kurt Cobain!” he exclaimed with wide eyes. A few days later he personally hand delivered two CDs, a mini LP called Come on Pilgrim (1987) and a thirteen-track debut album by the name […]
Read MoreIt took me a long time to get Bob Dylan. For years I was totally immune to his harmonica-laced charms, happy to tell anyone who would listen that I didn’t see what all the fuss was about. After all, the guy couldn’t even sing and having only been exposed to his protest song era, he […]
Read MoreIt’s easy to forget what an unparalleled tour de force Oasis were when they burst onto the scene in the summer of 1994. Dangerously cool, razor-edge witty and a whole new level of arrogant, they were impossible to ignore, the musical equivalent of Jack Nicholson smashing the door down with his axe in The Shining. […]
Read MoreAnyone familiar with my reviews will be far from surprised to hear that I’m a big Elliott Smith fan. Like Nick Drake before him Elliott was a deeply troubled soul who wore his heart on his sleeve, writing immensely cathartic alt-rock throughout a tragically brief solo career. Time and time again I find myself falling for […]
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