Tom Lennon • Freelance Writer: comedy and pop culture

Freelance writer specializing in comedy and the geekier end of the pop culture spectrum.

Latest Stuff

JJ Abrams’ Starship Enterprise

A quick break from this bus route blather:I'm a bit of a purist when it comes to tampering with this particular fictional design classic, but at least it looks a damn sight better - and remains truer to the original concept - than some of the franchise's other misguided efforts...

11-11-11: from Kings Heath to Cotteridge

1.25pm: Kick off.1.26pm: Boost bars are unwrapped.We make our way down Vicarage Road onto Fordhouse Lane - from Kings Heath to Stirchley - as Clare writes: "I don't like Stirchley, or the innermost layer of a Boost." By contrast, I'm inordinately fond of Stirchley. Having lived there during the mid-90s, I've always loved the fact that the nearest train station from my old stomping ground was Bournville. When you left the station you would look out upon this idyllic, picturesque vision of England. You'd see nice, polite chaps playing cricket while shoots of ivy climbed up the sides of their [...]

11-11-11: Kings Heath departure lounge

Be warned: the following contains personal minutiae that might be deemed offensive or, possibly, inconsequential.At about 12.45pm (-ish) Clare and I grab a bite to eat at the Wetherspoon's pub in Kings Heath. We swap Brum pub war stories, including my elaborate and unproven theory that the decline in the standard of the clientele at a certain city centre branch of a certain national pub chain was not unrelated to the filling-in of a nearby wino-infested traffic island subway. The food was tasty.Clare decides that we should grab a pair of Boost chocolate bars from a nearby newsagent. At the [...]

11-11-11: The Introduction

I said I'd do it and today I did. I took part in Jon Bounds' mad-but-inspired plan to spend eleven hours of the eleventh day of the eleventh month on Birmingham's number eleven bus. Much to my surprise, my significantly better half Clare decided to tag along, too. She enriched the day significantly by keeping me company, feeding me chocolate and providing a steady stream of comedy-rich comments and generous slices of fried gold observations. She really is much funnier than me and I have every intention to plagiarise her aplenty over the the coming posts. My people-watching partner in [...]

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