A Kings

  • Britain’s Greatest Export Was Never Tea

    By a guy who wasn’t born British, chose Britain anyway, and fell in love with it enough to worry about what happens next. People often say Britain’s greatest export was the English language. Nonsense. Its greatest export was Britain itself. Not the island. Not the government. Not even the endless supply of television detectives who…

    AKings

  • How I Accidentally Joined the Railway and Dodged a Missile Company

    by someone who wore boat shoes to a railway interview Back in the early 2000s—when Nokia was king and broadband meant waiting three hours to download one photo of a car—I returned to England after a stint abroad. I had a young family, a head full of vague responsibilities, and a sudden awareness that baby…

    AKings

  • DIY: Why My Toolbox Now Includes a First Aid Kit

    People are obsessed with DIY these days. Why? I am not sure but I’ve some idea on why they do it. For some, it’s a fun hobby. For others, it’s therapy, their way of unwinding, and relaxing. But for the rest of us? It’s a fast track to the ER and a drawer full of…

    AKings

  • A Jubilee, a Corr, and a Cold Goodbye

    February 2017, London. Cold, damp, and everything was wrapped in that stubborn, bone-chilling English gray. It was the sort of chill that could freeze tea right in the kettle. So naturally, I thought, “What better time for a nostalgia walk?” There I was, hoofing it down the Mall, past Buckingham Palace, when I realized the…

    AKings

  • When the World Was Young (And Then It Wasn’t)

    I remember yesterday, when the world was younger—when everything smelled faintly of vinyl records and cigarettes, and no one had yet decided that being permanently offended was a lifestyle choice. The 1970s—at least the bits I can recall—were a curious time. Women’s hair were a towering work of architectural ambition, and the men? Well, they…

    AKings