The art of getting lost
Man Feelings 04 Oct 2024
Do you remember the time before Google Maps? The geospatial dark ages, we might call them. If you wanted to travel somewhere in the late 1990s, you could put your faith in primitive online navigation sites like Multimap.com, printing out reams of step-by-step directions which... keep reading
Someone reversed into my car and yet I ended up feeling guilty?
Man Feelings 27 Sep 2024
Maybe I experienced a premonition, or maybe I’m just naturally nosy. Either way, I had a feeling that the van was going to hit my car. Seconds after disaster I think I was expecting a delivery when I noticed the large white van manoeuvring outside... keep reading
40 experiences that define and unite modern men
Man Feelings 21 Sep 2024
The Guardian published an article this week called “The rise of Britishcore: 100 experiences that define and unite modern Britons”. I groaned when I saw the title: as my friend Jon observed: “100 things is a terrible number of things to try to write about... keep reading
Did you ever try making your own magazine as a kid? Some of us never grow out of it, it turns out.
Man Feelings 13 Sep 2024
When I was about ten years old, someone got me and my sister a subscription to a comic each. I got the Beano, she got the Dandy. Each week, we’d trot along to the village newsagent to collect our publication and the ubiquitous “free gift”:... keep reading
A year of Man Feelings
Man Feelings 06 Sep 2024
Welcome to issue #52 of Man Feelings – that’s right, it’s been one whole year since I started writing this newsletter, and incredibly, I’ve not missed a single week. I’ve written and sent this thing while on a family holiday to the Canaries, from a... keep reading
What catching crabs taught me about British society
Man Feelings 30 Aug 2024
“It’s called a devil crab”, the old man told us, plunging his hand into the cloudy bucket. He neatly plucked the crab from its plastic lair and raised it to head height. “Red eyes”, he pointed out helpfully, as the tiny crustacean struggled in his... keep reading
How I tried to be a teenage edgelord
Man Feelings 23 Aug 2024
My five-year-old son has recently started doing things to grab people’s attention. I don’t mean showing off with daredevil feats of physical bravery, or wearing dress-up costumes to public places – he’s been doing that since he was a toddler. No, this is a more... keep reading
Help, I've accidentally taken two kids to a music festival
Man Feelings 16 Aug 2024
As you read this email, I’ll be experiencing the first day of Green Man festival in Bannau Brycheiniog (the region formerly known as the Brecon Beacons) with my partner and two kids. We’ve been three times before, but only once with a child – doing... keep reading
Riots and an argument with a white van man
Man Feelings 09 Aug 2024
I acquired a cargo bike recently for transporting my children. I don’t specifically think of them as baggage, to be clear, but it helps with managing expectations. I was riding on this—large, heavy—bike to collect the five-year-old from summer holiday club earlier this week. The... keep reading
Why I deleted 20,000 of my best (and worst) tweets
Man Feelings 02 Aug 2024
I was an early Twitter user, joining the site in March 2008 and using it as a platform to spout my half-baked opinions, weak attempts at humour and efforts at self-promotion. These days I do that stuff via newsletters. Twitter back then still had something... keep reading
A song for a little bird
Man Feelings 26 Jul 2024
Content warning: this post talks about child loss. Last weekend we celebrated the start of the summer holidays by taking the kids to Center Parcs. If you’re somehow unfamiliar, this is basically middle-class Butlins: overpriced forest cabins with swimming pools, chain restaurants and woodland activities... keep reading
School's out for summer
Man Feelings 19 Jul 2024
Yesterday was the last day of school for my five year old son. I dropped him off that morning along with a couple of his favourite toys, which he was excited to get to take with him for his final day in Reception. My excitement... keep reading
The universal bonding power of ... football?!
Man Feelings 12 Jul 2024
I have a complicated relationship with football. It’s the early 90s and I’m in junior school. We’ve just moved halfway across the country from Merseyside to rural Nottinghamshire and I’m something of a novelty with my Scouse-tinged accent and—crucially—lack of interest in football. The most... keep reading
The righteous vengeance of election defeat
Man Feelings 05 Jul 2024
As you read this email, you’ll know the official results of the UK general election 2024. I’m typing this on the day of voting, but let’s be clear: we already know who the winner is going to be. Or, perhaps: we know who the loser... keep reading
Playing the same video game for 16 years straight
Man Feelings 28 Jun 2024
I’m not much of a gamer. When I started university in 2005, I took with me my recently-acquired Nintendo Gamecube, which was four years old at that point. It replaced my, er, Sega Mega Drive, which was released in the late 1980s. I like games,... keep reading