The Invincible Man
Man Feelings 15 Dec 2023
I was getting my hair cut this week and the barber was making small talk as he negotiated my sideburns. We were talking about children and their chaotic injuries, and I mentioned my son’s space hopper/slide injury (see a previous Man Feelings for the full... keep reading
How well dressed are you?
Man Feelings 08 Dec 2023
Before my son started school, he went to nursery on the campus of the University of Birmingham where my partner works. When collecting him I’d sometimes take the scenic walk through campus which was always filled with irritatingly young-looking students having fun with their carefree... keep reading
Jobs for the boys
Man Feelings 01 Dec 2023
A decade or so ago, I got myself into what I believe the youth call “Twitter beef” when I called out a tech conference happening in London with an all-male speaker lineup. I posted a ranty tweet and a blogpost, then went to bed. I... keep reading
Coming out of my cage and I've been doing NOT FINE
Man Feelings 24 Nov 2023
I’ve been flat this week. Struggling to kick a winter cold, which can always be an energy-sapper, and also going a little stir-crazy. I normally work from home for 3 or 4 days per week, and go to the office for the remainder. My company... keep reading
International Men's Day
Man Feelings 19 Nov 2023
It’s my tenth issue of Man Feelings, and I’m very proud of sustaining this thing for ten weeks in a row. Today is also International Men’s Day—yep, you thought it was just a meme, didn’t you?—which is definitely why this newsletter is a couple of... keep reading
Now and then
Man Feelings 10 Nov 2023
I’m a huge Beatles fan. I blame my dad: our family are from Merseyside where the Beatles are even more ubiquitous than everywhere else, and every car journey was accompanied by a blast through the #1s CD (it was quite a lot later in life... keep reading
The woes of being a travelling man
Man Feelings 06 Nov 2023
This is technically last week’s newsletter because I was on holiday in the sunny climes of Tenerife for all of last week. I toyed with trying to write that week’s edition on my phone and send it out on Friday, but found myself chasing a... keep reading
Boys don't cry... but perhaps men should?
Man Feelings 27 Oct 2023
Welcome to the seventh edition of this newsletter – thanks for taking the time to read it. I should take a moment to call out a great comment on a previous edition—Being a “fixer” of problems—by my close friend Tsering. He’s challenged some of my... keep reading
A tale of two teachers
Man Feelings 20 Oct 2023
When I was a teenager, PE lessons at school were the bane of my existence. Never the most sporty kid, I had to line up with the rest of my nerd friends and submit to the ritual humiliation of being sorted into teams to play... keep reading
There's something in the water this week
Man Feelings 13 Oct 2023
Just after I sent out last week’s newsletter, the “Dads ‘n’ Lads” WhatsApp group I’m in sparked into life. Unrelated to my newsletter, one of my close friends shared a Reddit AskMen post with the group to ask for our thoughts on the male loneliness... keep reading
Being a “hands-on” dad
Man Feelings 06 Oct 2023
Walking to the train station in Manchester city centre this morning, I saw a little boy of about four years old riding a tiny bike towards me, followed by a dad also on a bike. I smiled to see them, and felt a pang of... keep reading
The prerogative to have a little fun
Man Feelings 29 Sep 2023
So last night I went to see Shania Twain. It was my mum’s birthday and she booked the tickets months ago for her partner, my sisters and I to go to a concert together. She reads this newsletter so I’m obliged to say: hello mum!... keep reading
Being a "fixer" of problems
Man Feelings 22 Sep 2023
The difficult second newsletter – thanks to all the new subscribers who are interested in hearing about, well, man feelings. Turns out there are at least a few folks who think this is a good idea, which is equal parts encouraging and daunting. On with... keep reading
This is Man Feelings
Man Feelings 16 Sep 2023
I should begin by crediting my friend Annie for inspiring the creation of this newsletter. A few months ago, I was mouthing off on Twitter—quelle surprise—about the new Caitlin Moran book, What About Men?. I hadn’t actually read the book, but I was enjoying the... keep reading
Things I learned managing people in 2022
blogpost 04 Jan 2023
The past two years of my engineering management career have been both fulfilling and challenging, particularly in the first half of the period as I rebuilt my self-confidence after a difficult previous role, and sought to define what my role actually was in the absence... keep reading