andyluke

The Beagles Have Landed (British Comicbook Awards)

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 17:55:36 GMT

My proposal for a refurbishment of the awards is now up at Alltern8. If you're interested in the scene, this is probably the most batshit insane thing you'll read this week. Which is saying something.

Ohsobusy new material.

Wed, 09 Dec 2009 13:30:49 GMT

Comics Faire at Alltern8.com includes my reviews of handmade comics in handmade environments

Santa - The White Paper now has a blogspot! (probably not suitable for all ages)

back soon

Hi.

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:05:57 GMT

Settled in my own place in Belfast which is very lovely. I was planning to write about it, but the depressions fucking things up ths wk. Bare facts though: I'm safe, well, otherwise happy, on the dole and working to 'work'. Off with Patrick Brown to comics, zines, record fair in Dublin this week and spending time with the excellent John Robbins. So that should be good.

Meantime, take your pick or don't from these reprinted writings of mine,

November - 6 Tours Tonia: A sampler (250 words) - Please vote if you like it so I can has money (No registration required)

5th November - Co-Writers Wanted for The Santa Commission Report (250 words)

5th November - Just Vote Green Sense. (250 words)

17 October - Cannabis abuse (100 words)

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 02:45:26 GMT

Another social day after a good start emailing 5 recruitment agencies. Slumped a bit by being cheeky out of line with R. He seems to have brushed it off, I should be more careful. Mostly social today: improving my reading, visiting R.'s brother and his kitten.
M. has agreed to let me stay at his on Friday night when R.s girlfriend stays. I picked up the kitten's clothmouse and tied its tail to a loose shoelace. We made a pully out of it over the door handle as he clasped, slunk it along the floor for the pounce. Dangled it above the head and kitty boxed for it. R. gave me the cat to hold and I was getting comfortable when it soft bit my hand and I dropped it and knocked some things over. This is all good training for staying at D.'s place from Saturday looking after his two cats.

Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:53:32 GMT

I've been feeling compelled lately to diary middle class homelessness online. They'll all be short I hope, under cuts like this one:

I'm lapsing into spending days without jobsearching. I feel comfortable in the company of R. - nice to have a sharing housemate let alone a potential band member should we. I don't want to get invested in that until I find a job and a place of my own. I was to move to Bangor today to stay at D's place - instead thats been put back a couple of days again. The starting and stopping from throwing my all into a jobsearch. I'm aware I've been very fortunate with this, my second stint of homelessness. The mind of the homeless includes the ever presence of lost-ness which doesnt help my motivation. D. needs someone to look after his cats while hes on holiday for a few weeks. The security of that should push things along.

Andrew Smith in New Expenses Abuse

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 07:10:32 GMT

Friends Locked, but reposted publically on www.andrewluke.co.uk
Sorry for taking up yr early morning stream with the non-entertaining. I'm pushed.

Number of months gone by I wrote about an incident involving the HMRC. Some horrible actions akin to their role as the stars of Torchwood Season 1, unlike the current lot who return overpaid taxes. The full piece of investigative journalism is here. If you don't know the story, heres a quick summary:

Coachload of pensioners on a community away day get stopped by British customs at Calais. They're asked to leave the bus and declare all goods. Five of them are hoisted aside for interviews while the others wait the extra hour and a half. Three old folk have their 3kg of tobacco confiscated, despite their being no law prohibiting that amount but for 'suspicion of criminal involvement'. The Customs office reeks of foul play, and I take detailed notes and interview and distribute.

I write to my local MP who is Andrew Smith. His office gives me a call a week later. They've read the reports I've sent them apparently and are quite annoyed particularly about their perceived racial discrimination. I answer their questions and allow their facts to be verified and I'm told the MP will be raising this matter in the Commons. I get a letter in the following days signed by Smith confirming he is going to do this.

April ends, May passes. I run a search on the Hansard Reports but theres no mention of it. June passes. July opens with a letter from Andrew Smith. Hes gotten his understudy Stephen Timms MP to contribute a page and a half of, well bullshit, to create the illusion the issue has gone away.

"I hope that you find this reply useful, and that it explains why coaches are regularly searched. I know this isn't recompense for the bad treatment you experienced and I would be more than happy to look into this more specifically, however that would require giving more personal details, and I'm not sure if this is something that would be acceptable to you." - Andrew Smith, July 1st

Stephen Timms opens up his bit, addressing both myself and Smith in some sort of literature seizure face. Stephen Timms, according to his website, "has strategic oversight of taxation as a whole, including overall responsibility for the Finance Bill, HM Revenue and Customs, and European and international tax issues." He references a letter on 16 April between Smith and Phil Woolas MP, before going on to offer a page on the mission statement of Customs and guide levels. Information I knew and cited in my original article. He goes on to remark,

"HMRC's intelligence and experience at the points of entry of Dover, Coquelles and other ferry ports continues to indicate that individuals and criminal gangs intent on smuggling tobacco into the UK are using coaches. We know for example that gang organisers pay passengers to pose as legitimate cross channel shoppers and purchase excise goods, which will later be sold for commercial gain. Other individuals utilise coaches to avoid the risk of having their own vehicles seized. This is a multi-million pund fraud, which HMRC are determined to tackle robustly. Accordingly their efforts are focussed on those who appear at risk and this does not include making selections based on ethnic origin, sexuality, religious belief, age or any such factor"

- Stephen Timms, 29 June 2009

So, there you have it. Stephen Timms responds to a sustained and reported pattern of abuse over time by citing the Pythons' Hells Grannies skit. I emailed Timms asking if he was aware of the full context of what he was writing about in the "correspondence" either Smith or Woolas sent him. I emailed Smith back asking what exactly hes done about this and What hes doing about it.

Timms claims to be a Christian Socialist. Woolas claims for nail polish and shoes. Smith claims for expenses and he claims rather a lot. They're all aware that there is a strict parliamentary protocol forbidding them from intervening on behalf of other MP's constituents.

I'll not be naming any of the pensioners I was on the coach with. I'll not be commenting on whether they should come forward or not. Its not my decision. However, I might meet with Mr. Smith. I'm not happy at being lied to, and fobbed off. He clearly could use my help but he should have asked for it months ago. What personal details of mine can he possibly want?

If any professional journalists would like to pick this story up, link to it or re-tweet it please do so. I can be emailed at drew dot luke at gmail at com

Wheatley Village is really great.

Fri, 10 Jul 2009 00:00:20 GMT

Theres a house with lots of gargoyles on the side and a pub with hawks and owls and stuff. Photos were taken but it may be a while before theyre online.

My web connection is gone this weekend and leaving Oxford on the 21st. Next stop, Bangor (briefly) and then, Belfast. Still looking for paid work when I'm settled, with my Curriculum Vitae

Be patient expecting responses! Will have phone on me and should be available by text.

Exclusive to Livejournal! The Lost Tweets!

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 14:25:36 GMT

17/06 00:16 The Black Boat in Bangor might be a good place for activist musicians to communicate with. Rock!
19/06 13:11 Leaving Bangor with Henry Darger in mind. Next stop, the poet of Cregagh towers. He has his arms outstretched. Today shall be a rise.
19/06 17:00 Snake and Laurie Anderson's O Superman http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDbTP0B94AM
19/06 13:59 Anyone got space for a co-tenant behind on the rent for up to a month? Dir message.
20/06 11:17 On the train to Dublin. Hoping to catch up with Tweets tomorrow.
20/06 11:23 Strikes me most adults don't read comics (pamphlets) because theres fewer comics for adults and they don't know were to buy them.
20/06 11:28 Delaying publishing of my new comic (book) a few weeks which means it won't be out in time for #luc176 sigh too dangerous even for 176
20/06 11:35 Other than the usual suspects, why do you see #luc176 as important beyond its attending number in the great british comics publishing industry?
20/06 17:35 Green fields of Anglesey - not now to sleep I think. Wheres the debate in the nature nurture debate?
20/06 20:03 Christ. I'm on the Chester to Crewe train with Gene Hunt The Musical.

Yeah, life is strange

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:02:33 GMT

Tues. Finished boxing most of my belongings for moving house, ahead of two week cavation.
1:30-3:30 Manage 2 hours in the dark rest "because a rest can be the next best thing to a sleep."
5am Sleep on the coach to London
9am Collect tickets from Euston. Discover I am short the rail ticket from Dublin to London.
1230pm Sleep on train from Euston to Holyhead.
1240 Contact booking office who only have me listed as to Dublin. They promise to re-listen to the calls and fund me my return to Dublin if they've screwed up. Theres evidence aplenty.
1310 Twitter if full of Matt Bahdham asks incisive interviews with comics festival organisers. Matt Badham needs a journalists job help him find one so say all of us. Very good, but ***andrew luke needs your love too bitches and beauties*** I text Matt a job I applied for in Manchester. I'd really like it, but Matts a great guy, family to support, has helped me out. Hes a referee on my CV, he's sure to get noticed! Quick sulk ends.
1320 Sleep on ferry to Dublin Ferry Port
1700 Only forty euros available from ATM. This covers exactly e2.20 coach to Connolly and e38 from Connolly to Belfast. Somehow I get by.
1710 - 1945 Sleeping on Dublin Enterprise
smetime after 1945 I'm in th eback of an ambulance with a very helpful paramdeic. Can't make out much of what hes saying. I had a seizure and they stopped the train to take me to a hospital near Lurgan. I try to stay wake but I'm wearing an oxygen masks.
Thurs 03:45 The nurses seem to like me. The don't like the alcoholic in recovery who talks non-stop for 7hrs insisting I do what I want.
0800 the nurses insist I have a brain scan but I disagree. Theres not usual seizure cut or bruise on me nor an anomaly found from their tests so far. No headaches, not even the downers. I feel chirpy. I'm on holiday, and I get to spend one day with my brother who I've not seen in nine months befre he leaves for Greece. My parents I get to see for four days. So I'm damn well not spending any more time than necessarry in a hospital.
1658: Typing on my mum's laptop. Someone has hacked into my livejournal account writing a gobbledygood entry for Tuesday. Yeah, life is strange.

ps I shall try to come up with some good original material. I have been neglectful. I feel bad and I am sorry.

Tue, 02 Jun 2009 23:03:35 GMT

22:10 Packing up for fortnights holiday in norn iron. Room full of boxes easing myself out gently. #
22:21 @PeteAshton well done lad and the internets #
23:31 Have remembered to pack Marvel's Essential Howard the Duck by Steve Gerber and Gene Colan. This translates the first 113 issues of Cerebus. #