John Sturgis

1 week ago | dailymail.co.uk | John Sturgis

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside, as the old song goes. But better yet, with a cold beer in hand at a British pub. I’ve long been a fan of the UK’s unique pub culture and, wherever I go in the country, I always make sure I check out the local locals. I’m particularly fond of pubs by the sea - on beaches or clifftops, next to harbours or marinas, on estuaries or wharves, where you can combine those two very British recreations of hoping the weather holds and supping a pint.

3 weeks ago | msn.com | John Sturgis

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3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | John Sturgis

Our cat went missing the other day. We didn’t realise it immediately, but it turned out that none of us had seen Caspar since Thursday early evening – and now it was Friday night. He is a fluffy white cat with heterochromia or “David Bowie” eyes: one blue, one amber. In the 20 months we’ve had him I don’t think he’s strayed more than 100 yards from our door. But now he was nowhere to be seen. I walked, then cycled up and down our street, looking and calling for him.

3 weeks ago | telegraph.co.uk | John Sturgis |Pete Wedderburn |Christopher Howse |Rosa Silverman

Unpleasant behaviourHe caterwauled all the way home. On arrival, the first sign of recognition came when he met our dogs. He started preening around them. Preening around us would take a little longer. He had been gone exactly a week, had visibly lost weight, and his coat was stained with motor oil, presumably from slinking under cars. Pictures of him home safely were shared with the many people who had helped us - with champagne emojis. An hour after I had learnt he was safe, my phone rang.

3 weeks ago | spectator.co.uk | John Sturgis

It is the evening of Monday 23 September 1985. A band called the June Brides are playing a free gig in the bar of Manchester Polytechnic’s Students Union, the Mandela Building (of course) on Oxford Road. I find myself among the audience of freshers’ week first-year undergraduates. I am 18, a small-town boy who’s been living in a big city for just 48 hours. The place is half empty, the audience awkward.