Category Archives: High Hopes

It’s OK to be afraid

High Hopes, the hippy, ,
2020 version!

We are living in unprecedented times. Nothing has come close to what we are going through right now, with COVID-19. And it is going to get worse before it gets better. 

It’s OK to be afraid.

I’m scared, but then I have read that I have reason to be scared. 

Hypertension, high blood pressure, which I have, is one of the leading risk factors for death from the coronavirus.  My risk of death is 5 times higher as a result of my high blood pressure. I take pills to manage it, I monitor my BP frequently, and it is under control, but it still increases my risk of death. 

Old age is another risk factor, I am pushing 60. The older you are, the more at risk you are. The NHS is not equipped or resourced enough to deal with this pandemic. Five cases out of 100 infections will require intensive care and we simply do not have the beds, the ventilators, or the staff to cope with what is about to come. 

I am assuming if I catch it, I am going to die and I don’t think this is an unreasonable view of my situation. And a death at home due to respiratory failure, is a death I do not wish to contemplate. So yeah, I am scared. 

It’s OK to be scared.

I am full time carer for my partner, and have been for the last few years. If something happens to me, she is on her own. So I can’t let anything happen to me. So I won’t.

Last year, I had a breakdown myself. It was a bad one. Though be honest, have you ever heard of anyone having a good one? It’s not something I have mentioned much online, so far. 

I nearly checked out of life last year, I was really low. I am saving the details for my book, “High Hopes”, assuming I survive long enough to finish it, and anyone is left to read it when I do. 

For the first time in over 20 years, Mrs. H and I are in a position where we can move out, leave London and take it easy. And this stupid virus is fucking it all up. 

I planned on house hunting in March and April, and if I found a place, moving by June. Clearly none of that is going to happen, if I am self isolating like an old person for the next few months, or longer.

If this pandemic hit a year ago, I would have simply and quietly surrendered to it. But a year later, with new found freedom, determination and some rare optimism for the future, and I want to do all I can to survive.

I think the government advice so far has been far too weak. We are in the period where people are walking around infected, without showing symptoms, and spreading it. We can slow this bullshit down.

Our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson is not letting this pandemic interfere with taking weekends off, and he has not been seen for a few days. That’s probably a blessing, since all he did during his last press conference is tell us that everyone we love is going to die. Not exactly channeling Churchill there, is he? Can we get Boris an empathy coach?

A reassuring PM

Now is the time for social distancing and self isolating. Don’t wait for the government to advise it. And no, clearly I am not a doctor, or expert, but I have a lot of common sense, and that is what I am using to guide me and my decisions. If the government won’t exercise good judgement, then we will need to do it for ourselves. Just look at how other countries are coping and the fallings here so far, become more apparent. 

It’s OK to be frightened, it’s OK to be scared. None of us have ever experienced anything like what is going on now. The unknown is scary. Our leaders indecision and inaction, is scary. And potentially dying from this horrible virus, or losing loved ones, is scary too.

We can do this. We can survive. Common sense, and caution. If you can stay home, do it. If you need to go out, keep lots of distance between you and anyone else. Act like you have it already, and act like everyone else does too. And wash your damn hands! A lot!

It’s OK to be afraid. I’m a grown-assed man and I am scared. But I am not going to let my fear rule my life. I am going to survive this, and so are you! And hopefully, when we all come out the other side, we can keep making this world a better place. Just hang on to your optimism, we are going to need all we can get!

After a 30 year career as a journalist, working for some of the largest news organisations in the world, including Associated Press, and Reuters, and 15 years as an overnight duty news editor for BBC News, Doug – the northlondonhippy is now a full time writer, hippy, and drug law reform campaigner. 

Doug is also the author of “Personal Use by the northlondonhippy.”  “Personal Use” chronicles Doug’s first 35 years of drug use, while calling for urgent drug law reform. It’s a cracking read, you will laugh, you will cry, and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!

Doug’s next book, “High Hopes” should have been published by now, but it is hard to write a book about remaining optimistic in the face of adversity, during a global pandemic. Try it yourself!

For the last year, Doug has spent most of his time hiding away from a killer virus. Bet many of you have too. 

You can find Doug –  the northlondonhippy on Twitter: @nthlondonhippy. 


I was a background artist on the BBC’s Ten O’clock News

"Personal Use", cannabis, cannabis evangelist, drug use, High Hopes, legalisation, the hippy, , ,
(Photo taken Sept 2012, on my first NBH nightshift)

I have worked in the media for the past 35 years, the last 30 as a journalist. But the role I am most proud of, is my work from 2013 to 2019, as a background artist on the BBC’s Ten O’Clock News.

I didn’t start out at the BBC as a human prop in the background of the network news. From 2004, I worked there as a senior broadcast journalist too.  

(TVC at dawn)

When the network news teams moved from Television Centre, into New Broadcasting House, in the spring of 2013, I got to make my on-air debut as a background artist. We don’t like to be called extras. Using that word only diminishes us. 

There’s a good chance you might have spotted me during one of my many recurring appearances. I played “journalist rushing between desks”, a role I put my very heart and soul into, night after night.

I joined the BBC less than a year after I left Associated Press Television News. I worked at AP for around a decade, as a field producer, cameraman and news desk editor. 

When I left AP, I had only one career goal, to work for BBC News. I eventually wangled an introduction via an old friend to the right person and started freelancing in the Spring of 2004. I got my first contract in the autumn of that year and was a member of staff until earlier this year, when I left their employ. 

BBC News initially hired me as a World Duty Editor, working on the foreign desk, and I started out on the nightshift. Fifteen years later, I was still only working nights, and still working in effectively the same job. That’s half of my thirty year career as a journalist. Go me.

It wasn’t easy, joining the BBC later in life. There was so much jargon and BBC-speak, that I felt lost for the first 6 months I was there. And it is just so big. There was a lot to learn to do my new job. I was lucky that a couple of people, and one in particular, helped me get up to speed in those early days. Otherwise I would never have lasted long enough to become a background artist, when the time finally came to have that very small, yet vital on-air role. 

(That’s BBC News foreground artist/newsreader Huw Edwards on-set, with background artists/journalists behind him)

If you’ve watched BBC News on TV in the last 7 years, you no doubt noticed that behind the main set where Huw Edwards sits, is the actual BBC newsroom. That’s where I worked, that’s where I sat. If you think the CCTV surveillance is bad where you work, imagine having it broadcast to millions of people, night after night, in high definition. 

When we first went live from NBH, everyone was extremely uptight about what those of us in the background might do. Journalists are notoriously unpredictable, just ask any politician. 

We were discouraged from standing up and we were told not to wear bright colours. On one of the early broadcasts, someone had a hi-vis vest on, as they were preparing to depart and cycle home in the dark. It stood out, like hi-vis yellow is meant to do. But it was noticed by management, and hi-vis clothing was quickly banned from our shop floor. I think it still is to this very day. I hope that’s not a trade secret!

For the first couple of weeks, a squad of spotters patrolled the newsroom floor during BBC One network news broadcasts. They were in direct contact via radio headsets, with managers watching screens in the gallery. It was the spotter’s job was to quickly rush over on command from the gallery, to point out when people violated the rules of behaviour in the background. Mainly they just barked at us to “get down”. A lot. It was weird. I bet they had experience working as baby wranglers on a nappy advert before this gig.

As I mentioned, I only worked nights, and the Ten O’Clock news went out within the first 90 minutes of my arrival. In that time, I really would be rushing around, trying to speak to people who had been on all day, asking them questions, about what happened while I slept. Once they went home, that was it, I was on my own, so it was always good to get as much info as possible from them.

I had an actual, operational need to be in constant motion. So my character, “journalist rushing between desks” had motivation and a rich and complex backstory. I hope you agree it allowed my performance to be more multilayered, nuanced, and convincing.

The patrolling spotters didn’t like me, or care at all, why I had to move around during the news. I was yelled at more than once, to “get down”. It was about as much fun as it sounds. 

When they told me to “get down” I had to constantly resist the huge urge to jump up on the desk and shout “gimme a beat!” and then do my best choreography.  But then I would remember I was a short, fat, bald, middle-aged guy, with zero dancing skill. It was always a crushing blow. 

What was worse, is for maybe the first 6 months of being in the new building, my colleagues were constantly telling me they spotted me on TV during the news. 

It was always the same. My shift would finish around 7am, I would pass someone on the spiral stairs, or near the revolving doors, or outside on the piazza, and they would say, “I saw you on TV last night”. Or “you sure looked busy buzzing around behind Huw”.  Or my personal favourite, “you looked like you were in a hurry last night.” Of course I bloody was! I was “journalist rushing between desks”!

As nice as it was to be complimented by my peers for my convincing performance, in truth I would have preferred to have never been spotted. I never asked to be a background artist. I was happy enough, just doing my real job as an overnight, duty news editor. 

My specialty at BBC News, if I can call it that, was breaking news. When something unexpected or unforeseen occurred in the middle of the night, that was when I got to shine. Earthquakes, plane crashes, any disaster really. And high profile deaths too. Good news never happens in the dead of night. Only bad.

In my job as a duty news editor, I was responsible for organising the BBC’s initial response to big, breaking news and I’ve dealt with a huge range of stories, from the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Asia, to the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 and many, many more. If you watched any TV news in the last 30 years, there’s pretty good chance you saw something I had a hand in covering. That’s not a boast, it’s just a fact. 

And even though I’ve lost track and count of the number of major and minor events I have covered in the last 30 years, they have had an accumulated effect on me. How could they not? Professional detachment can only get you so far. 

I still find it hard to let go of the enormity and horror of Grenfell, and I still have the occasional nightmare about it. And it still hurts many years later, to think about friends I’ve lost in the line of duty. There is a personal cost to my former line of work, and everyone ends up paying for it, eventually. 

After a period of ill health last year, and my subsequent recovery, I decided to leave the BBC. It wasn’t an easy decision, but I know it is time for me to move on. I’m a full-time hippy now, something I have secretly wanted to be for a very long time. 

I will cherish my time at BBC News, and as a journalist. It was great place to work, full of smart, dedicated, hard-working people.  And even though new challenges and adventures hopefully await me, I know I will miss that very special time when I was a background artist on the BBC Ten O’Clock News. 

I understand they have had to recast my role. It wouldn’t be the BBC News without someone portraying “journalist rushing between desks”. I wish my replacements nothing but success and all the best, as I do to all my former colleagues. I will miss you all.

Doug – the northlondonhippy

4th March 2020

(That was me, 15 years ago)

After a 30 year career as a journalist, working for some of the largest news organisations in the world, including Associated Press and Reuters, and 15 years as a duty news editor for BBC News, Doug – the northlondonhippy is now a full time writer, hippy, and the United Kingdom’s very first cannabis evangelist. Hallelujah and amen to that!

Doug is also the author of “Personal Use by the northlondonhippy.”   “Personal Use” chronicles Doug’s first 35 years of drug use, while calling for urgent drug law reform. It’s a cracking read, you will laugh, you will cry, and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!

“Personal Use” is available as a digital download on all platforms, including Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iBooks and Barnes & Noble’s Nook.  The paperback is available from all online retailers and book shops everywhere. 

You can also find Doug –  the northlondonhippy on Twitter: @nthlondonhippy but only if you look really hard

Personal Use – Book Montage

Copyright: All words and photos are copyright the northlondonhippy…

…except the screen-grab of BBC News, which is used fairly without permission, but with affection. 

Another countdown

"Personal Use", cannabis, cannabis evangelist, High Hopes, the hippy, ,

[wpcdt-countdown id=”714″]

Sixteen years ago, on the 4th of March 2004, I posted my first ever entry on the original northlondonhippy Blogspot blog. It was a long, rambling piece, introducing myself. It didn’t get seen by many people, but it kickstarted this thing that I am somehow, still doing. Sixteen years later, I am still pretending to be a make-believe hippy online. The pretending ends, next week.

On 4th March 2020, exactly sixteen years to the very day, I will be publishing a piece online that pretty much identifies me. It’s an extract from my forthcoming book, “High Hopes”, which is the follow up to my first book, “Personal Use”.

Personal Use

If you know me in real life, then you will learn I am the hippy. And if you know me online, then you will find out who I really am. Everybody’s finding out something, even me. I’m going to find out if I can really be a full time hippy.

I’m ready to start working again, so once this piece goes live, you can hire a hippy. Details will be available here on my website of what I can do for you, and your media organisation. Yes, you can hire a hippy. Everyone should have one on retainer, because you never know when one will come in handy. I’m a handy hippy, and I represent real value for money. Ask me about my loyalty scheme and hippy reward card.

While I am still expecting a collective “so what” from the wider world to my public revelation, should there be any media interest, I will be available to any and all media organisations that might wish to speak to me. Don’t all queue up at once! 

Doesn’t matter how big or small your outlet might be. For the first fortnight after publication, I will say yes to any legitimate requests that I can physically do, in person, on the phone, or via Skype. But check this, as it is really important. After the two weeks are up, I won’t agree to just anything, and will only say yes to things that meet my new criteria for life.

What’s my new criteria for life? Simple, I will only turn up if I can have some fun, or do some good. No good? No fun? Then no hippy. No joke.

From now on, I will be writing and campaigning full time. This is what I do now. I will have more to say on this, once my piece goes live, but I will remain open to any and all opportunities. If I do this right, you will all be sick of me in no time. Maximum effort for maximum exposure. 

I will also be offering all media organisations in Britain free training for their journalists with my new course called “Covering cannabis accurately in the age of legalisation”. Having spent the better part of three decades in British newsrooms, I can tell you that the general standard of cannabis knowledge is extremely low and woefully inaccurate. I aim to change that. I’m not going to teach any controversy, as the great British press manufacture plenty on their own. I will teach facts, science, and history, and I will give them an introduction into what a legal, regulated market looks like.

The UK is way behind the rest of the world when it comes to cannabis, and I don’t want to see us be the last country on earth to sort this out. If we really want to unleash the true power of global Britain, then the legal cannabis industry needs to be a part of it, for us to reach our true potential. Why do you think so many other territories are jumping on the cannabis bandwagon?

You might have noticed the countdown clock near the top of this page. When it hits zero, at midnight on Weds 4th March 2020, my new piece will go live online, here on my site. You don’t need to stay awake to read it, it will still be there in the morning, when you wake up. And so will I. And you all will know a lot more about me than I ever expected to tell anyone. Things change, I changed too. Wish me luck, I am going to need it. And I apologise in advance for the disappointment.

Hippy Highlights

While you wait, you can check out some of my recent output on this list of hippy highlights:

Dangerous tea!

REVEALED: The Shocking Link Between Tea and EVERYTHING BAD! – If you only read one thing on this page, read this one. It’s one of my most popular recent pieces. 

The night Princess Diana died (Extract from “Personal Use”) – I didn’t kill her, I only felt like I did

Surviving the Climate Apocalypse – Great news, you can survive the end of the world, if you are rich enough

Politi-hippy 3 – The death of Polti-hippy – There is a part one, and a part two, but this is the best part.

A Question of Character – Or lack of it, in the case of our current Prime Minister. 

Branding Jo Swinson’s Liberal Democrats – They made some mistakes, and paid for them on election day

Hating String Beans – They are now my favourite vegetable, but that’s not really what this is about

The Personal Risk of “Personal Use” – After my appearance on LBC, I wrote about being interviewed by James O’Brien

Why I Suck at Twitter – You should still follow me anyway

I Live in a Dry Country – I mean the UK, because weed is still pointlessly illegal

The northlondonhippy is an author, cannabis evangelist and recreational drug user, who has been writing about drugs and drug use for 16 years.  In real life, until recently, the hippy was a senior multimedia journalist working for a large company. With over 30 years experience of working in broadcast news, the hippy’s now left journalism to embark on a career as a full time hippy. 

The hippy’s book, ‘Personal Use’ details his first 35 years of drug use, while calling for urgent drug law reform. It’s a cracking read, you will laugh, you will cry and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!

“Personal Use” is available as a digital download on all platforms, including Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iBooks and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. The paperback is available from all online retailers and book shops everywhere. 

The hippy’s next book, “High Hopes” will be published in autumn 2020.

You can also find the hippy on Twitter: @nthlondonhippy but only if you look really hard.


I’m a full time hippy now

"Personal Use", cannabis, cannabis evangelist, decriminalisation, drug use, High Hopes, legalisation, Politics, society, the hippy, , ,

It might not seem like it, just yet, but I am now a full time hippy. Yay! The countdown clock has ticked down and for the first time in a decade and a half, I am now unemployed.

I spent the last 30 years working as a journalist, mixed media really, but mostly TV news. The last 15 years was for the same company. It’s one you’ve heard of. but I’m not revealing it, yet. I’m not revealing much of anything, now. I’m still waiting for my final pay cheque. Once that’s banked, then I can pull back the curtain. I’m crazy, but I’m not stupid. 

I will be publishing a piece in the next couple of weeks, which reveals my identity. Somewhat.

Spoiler alert: You will get my first name, and you will find out where I used to work. I’m still a nobody, my name won’t make a difference. I will still be the northlondonhippy, but I want to claim my real-life identity publicly, anyway. I have wanted to do this for a long time. 

There will be a companion piece, which lays out my goals in my new role as the UK first self-proclaimed, cannabis evangelist. It’s not a crowded field, but I still want to make my mark. Hallelujah and amen to that!

Now that I have the freedom to operate a bit more openly, I want to spend the next  few weeks getting some advice, I want to contact some people I admire who fight to reform our drug laws, plus some campaigners in other fields, and some media folk too. I want whatever I end up doing to have some impact. 

Personal Use – Book Montage

When I wrote and published “Personal Use”, I had no expectations. It was a fun, secret side project. I used to joke if I sold a million copies, I would quit my job and be a full time hippy. I haven’t sold a million, not even close, yet here I am.

So while you wait for me to do whatever it is I am going to do, here’s a selection of 10 hippy highlights to keep you entertained:

REVEALED: The Shocking Link Between Tea and EVERYTHING BAD! – If you only read one thing on this page, read this one. It’s one of my most popular recent pieces.

The night Princess Diana died (Extract from “Personal Use”) – I didn’t kill her, I only felt like I did

Surviving the Climate Apocalypse – Great news, you can survive the end of the world, if you are rich enough

Politi-hippy 3 – The death of Polti-hippy – There is a part one, and a part two, but this is the best part.

A Question of Character – Or lack of it, in the case of our current Prime Minister.

Branding Jo Swinson’s Liberal Democrats – They made some mistakes, and paid for them on election day

Hating String Beans – They are now my favourite vegetable, but that’s not really what this is about

The Personal Risk of “Personal Use” – After my appearance on LBC, I wrote about being interviewed by James O’Brien

Why I Suck at Twitter – You should still follow me anyway

I Live in a Dry Country – I mean the UK, because weed is still pointlessly illegal

The northlondonhippy is an anonymous author, cannabis evangelist and recreational drug user, who has been writing about drugs and drug use for over 15 years.  In real life, the hippy was a senior multimedia journalist until Feb 2020. With over 30 years experience of working in broadcast news, the hippy’s now left journalism to embark on a career as a full time hippy, writer and cannabis evangelist.

The hippy’s book, ‘Personal Use’ details the hippy’s first 35 years of recreational drug taking, while calling for urgent drug law reform. It’s a cracking read, you will laugh, you will cry and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!

“Personal Use” is available as a digital download on all platforms, including Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iBooks and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. The paperback is available from all online retailers and book shops everywhere. 

The hippy says his next book, “High Hopes” will be published in 2020. The hippy says a lot of things.  

You can also find the northlondonhippy on Twitter: @nthlondonhippy but only if you look really hard.

A busy hippy

Brexit, cannabis, Climate Change, Climate Crisis, decriminalisation, drug use, High Hopes, Politics, society, , , , , , , , , , ,
Not an actual photo of me

You might have noticed in the last few weeks, I’ve been more productive than usual.

I’ve been a busy hippy. 

I’ve had some free time, so I decided to solve some big issues.

Dangerous Tea

For instance, I highlighted the truth about cannabis. Don’t blame weed, it is tea drinking that is the real cause of everything bad.

ClimateGear(TM)

Want to survive the Climate Apocalypse? I figured out how it can be done. First, you need to be super rich.

Brexit lives at the bottom of this very deep hole

I had a free hour, so I solved Brexit. It’s not pretty, but it gets the job done. You can thank me later.

Giant steps are what you take

I shared my memories of the first moon landing. I was 6 and a half when it happened, but I still came up with a few obscure details.

The UK is a dry country

I wrote to Grandma Hippy about living in a dry country. She is imaginary, and she lives in Colorado. She digs edibles. I do too.

Dump Trump, because Trump is a dump

I received my first 12 hour Twitter ban. I tried to fight the power, but the power of stupid prevailed.

Fire!

And, my fellow earthlings, I tried to convince everyone that we are all Citizens of Everywhere. It’s our only hope.

There’s not a lot to be optimistic about these days, but we can all distract ourselves from the mess we’re in. My distraction, ironically, is hope. Don’t lose hope, we can all help make things a little less miserable. This is my attempt to do just that.

Citizen of Everywhere

"Personal Use", High Hopes, Politics, society, , ,
Shit’s on fire

A couple of weeks ago, I marked an interesting milestone in my life. I celebrated my 50/50 day. 

I can already hear you asking, what is a 50/50 day? Please allow me to explain, as it is a concept of my own creation. 

If you’ve read my book, “Personal Use” (getting the shameless plug in early), you will know that I wasn’t always a north London-based hippy, but I began my life on the east coast of the United States of America. I moved to London in the early 90s, when I was my late 20s. I’m mid-50s now.

My 50/50 day is a way I’ve determined to mark my dual nationality, as it is the day where I have lived exactly half of my life in each country. So the first 50% of my life was spent in the states, the 2nd half of my life has been spent in the United Kingdom. 

As I know my birthday and the date I moved to the UK, it was fairly straightforward to work out the exact date of my 50/50 day. I simply used an online date calculator that easily counts the number of days between dates. It worked out that I have lived over 10,000 days in each country. Wow.

Ain’t math amazing? And clearly I have too much free time.

But what does it actually mean, to mark one’s 50/50 day? All immigrants must pass this milestone, if they live long enough, so what’s the big deal?

For me, it is a way of honouring my dual heritage and reflecting thoughtfully about it. Don’t tell me I don’t know how to have a good time.

My paternal grandparents were Scottish and they moved to America and that’s where my father was born. My mother’s parents started their lives in Italy, and also moved to America before my mother was born. Both of my parents were first generation American-born, I was second. And then I moved back to Europe. It’s the circle of life, but with jet travel.

So I am half British and all European by birth, but my first nationality is legally American. I hold two nationalities now, as I am now also British, but what does it all mean? Other than a date I can point to as a midpoint in my geographic life, I guess it doesn’t mean that much. I just thought it was a cool thing to work out. 

I always like to say, I am an earthling first. It’s what we all are, we are all earthlings. We scurry around on the surface of the Earth, which makes us all earthlings. It’s the one thing we all have in common. It comes before your race, your nationality, and your gender. You are an earthling, most of all. 

“Hey, do you live on earth? Me too! That’s a huge thing to have in common. Let’s be best friends!”

We are the sentient, indigenous inhabitants of this planet named after dirt. Envy us, as we may be the smartest things that exist in the universe. Or pity us, as we may be the smartest things that exist in the universe. We may be as good as it gets.

Some say claiming you are a citizen of the world is controversial. Wasn’t it Terrible Theresa May who said it makes you a “citizen of nowhere”? It was.

What Terrible Terri doesn’t understand, and will never understand is that we are all citizens of the world. We are all really Citizens of Everywhere. We all flit about on the surface of this planet and while we may remain behind artificially delineated borders, we all share common hopes and common dreams. There is more that unites us, than divides us, as they say, but we forget this simple basic truth, so easily. 

Countries and borders are made up creations. We decided all this nonsense, to keep us apart, when the reality is that we are all Citizens of Everywhere. Who is to say where on the surface of the planet, we are allowed to exist? What if I want to stand over there for a while?

We all need to think in these terms, if we want to have any hope of the continuation of the human race. We desperately need to be Citizens of Everywhere. 

That may sound hyperbolic, but it is not. We are rendering the planet uninhabitable and we may reach a point, in the not too distant future, where human life will not be sustainable on Earth any more. 

I’m not going to lay out the case for climate change here. I accept it is happening and I believe the official estimates of the rate of change are extremely conservative. It’s much worse than the mainstream media wants to admit. It’s a climate crisis and no warning is dire enough. Though to be fair, I am seeing this view slowly creeping into the mainstream, it’s just not creeping in fast enough. Listen out for the words ‘climate crisis’, they are being used more frequently by the media. 

Sometimes, I hang out on a subreddit called r/collapse. It is not happy reading, but everyone deserves the truth. You can check it out RIGHT HERE. 

The pessimist in me believes it is already too late, that the damage has been done and there is nothing we can do to reverse our inevitable extinction. But the optimist in me still tries to find some hope. It’s not easy, in the face of the overwhelming evidence, but I try, anyway. 

Here’s a clip from a fictional TV show, called The Newsroom, from 2014. At the time of broadcast, it was considered over the top, now it is seen as visionary. Please take 5 minutes to watch.

Our denial over the impeding climate crisis is a bit like our denial of other existential threats in our lives. The easiest example of this, is our denial over death. 

What do I mean?

I mean, we all know we are going to die. There is no cheating death, at least not yet. It is the only certainty. We can all expect to shuffle off our mortal coils, eventually. We don’t know when, we don’t know how, but we know one day, we will be gone. And somehow we put all of that out of minds and mostly live our lives with carefree abandon, day after day. 

It’s the same with climate change. We put it out of our minds, we accept the gradual and dramatic changes, and we normalise them, quickly. It’s part of our in-built coping mechanism, it’s not a bug, it’s a feature. It’s how we get through every day. But our lack of attention to this detail, you know, that the entire planet is dying, only confirms our fate.

Ut oh.

I’ve been working as a journalist for 30 years, and I’ve been making the same joke in newsrooms for about as long. The joke is that I always hoped I would live long enough to be able to cover the end of the world. Funny, huh?

Now that I am confronted with the actual possibility (certainty?), I don’t seem to be laughing quite as much. 

I don’t think the world is going to suddenly end, that’s not what I mean. The planet will still be here, but it will rapidly become inhospitable to almost all life. There may be some bacteria, or perhaps some of the extremophiles will survive, but you can say goodbye to all the plants and animals.

We’re animals, in case you need reminding, so that means bye-bye us. 

Gosh, this started out being about me marking my dual nationality, and our global commonality, and somehow it lead me to the climate crisis.

Everything leads back to the climate crisis. It is the existential threat to all of our lives. And it might already be too late. 

In that context, my 50/50 day, is pretty insignificant, but I marked it anyway. We all need distractions, even if it is a distraction from the end of the world.

Have a nice day!

PS – If you found any of this upsetting, you are not alone. Check out r/collapsesupport for help with coping. You are NOT alone. Whether we like it or not, we are all in this together. 

The northlondonhippy is an anonymous author, online cannabis activist and recreational drug user, who has been writing about drugs and drug use for over 15 years.  In real life, the hippy is a senior multimedia journalist with over 30 years experience of working in the industry. 

The hippy’s book, ‘Personal Use’ details the hippy’s first 35 years of recreational drug taking, while calling for urgent drug law reform. It’s a cracking read, you will laugh, you will cry and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!

“Personal Use” is available as a digital download on all platforms, including Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iBooks and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. The paperback is available from all online retailers and book shops everywhere. 

You can also find the northlondonhippy on Twitter: @nthlondonhippy

Where dat hippy at?

"Personal Use", High Hopes

Guess who’s back? 

No, not your herpes. Me! Though perhaps I am just as irritating, only not as itchy 

I haven’t written much since I published ‘Personal Use’ around a year and a half ago and my public profile has been practically non-existent.

So what happened?

Real life got in the way of my plans and I withdrew. I haven’t done anything to promote my book in over a year. I still hang out on Twitter, but that’s about it. I have not really been actively promoting ‘Personal Use’ in any meaningful way.

It all started out really well. I was a guest on James O’Brien’s radio show on LBC and off the back of that, I was interviewed by VolteFace magazine. Many copies of my book were sold during this brief period of exposure. And if you bought a copy, thank you very much!

My cunning plan to be a full time hippy was progressing nicely. I was ready to do even more promotion. And then Mrs. Hippy got sick. 

I’m not going to go into the details here, but I suddenly became the only earner in my household. And I couldn’t risk getting sacked, so my PR campaign came to a complete halt. 

Was I disappointed? Fuck, yeah. Was it the end of my world? Fuck, no.

In the last year, I’ve thrown myself hard into my job. I didn’t have a choice. Any dissatisfaction I had, has been firmly tamped down and I have re-engaged myself fully with my occupation. I pretty much had to reinvent myself at work, out of necessity. It’s actually been good.

But not good enough, I still find myself wanting to do more. What I enjoyed the most about writing ‘Personal Use’ was the actual writing. And what I enjoyed least was the promotion. 

I’m not someone who naturally craves attention. In truth, I am the sort of person that hides from attention. I like being invisible and unnoticed. That’s been tricky at work in the last year, as I have been involved in some high profile stuff. People who never heard of me, now know who I am. 

So being a full-time hippy hasn’t been an option, but perhaps I can go back to being a part time hippy?

When I finished ‘Personal Use’, I started planning a follow up. I made notes and came up with a title, and then the real life distractions started. I’m hoping to pick up where I left off. 

My next book will be entitled ‘High Hopes’ and I have a cunning plan to help focus my attention. I am going to post each chapter as I write it, here on my website. You can all read my rough drafts, which I hope will eventually become my next book. Feedback will be very welcome!

I have a very simple premise for ‘High Hopes’, since ‘Personal Use’ solved the drug problem, I am going to turn my attention to all the other issues which plague our society, And then I will solve them all, as you do.

Yes, my tongue is firmly pressed against my cheek on this one, in case you were thinking I’ve finally lost it completely. 

For the record, I lost it decades ago, but I am good at creating the illusion of being a functional human being. I’m still neurotic as fuck, don’t you worry about that.

So that’s my plan, if I can cobble together 25-30 decent essay-like chapters that address society’s most complex and divisive issues, whammo-blammo, that will be my next book. 

As I am my own agent, manager and publisher, I haven’t set myself any deadlines. I am keeping the pressure on myself to a bare minimum.

And before you ask, I am a terrible agent/manager. If I was any good at it, I would have secured a better publisher than myself. 

So there you have it, the bar has been set, low. Now all I have to do is post stuff on here regularly and before I know it, I will have another book ready to go.

That’s the plan, anyway. Real life has a way of screwing with my plans, so let’s have this conversation in a year or so, and see how it worked out.

Until then, I remain, as always, your loyal and faithful hippy. Dig it, hepcats!

The northlondonhippy is an anonymous author, online cannabis activist and recreational drug user, who has been writing about drugs and drug use for over 14 years.  In real life, the hippy is a multimedia journalist with over 30 years experience in the industry. 

The hippy’s first book, ‘Personal Use’ details the hippy’s 35 years of recreational drug use while calling for urgent drug law reform. It’s a cracking read, you will laugh, you will cry and you can bet your ass that you will wish you were a hippy too!

“Personal Use” is available as a digital download on all platforms, including Amazon’s Kindle, Apple’s iBooks and Barnes & Noble’s Nook. The paperback is available from all online retailers and book shops everywhere. 

10% of all profits from ‘Personal Use’ will be donated to drug charities, annually. 

The hippy has announced his follow-up to ‘Personal Use’, entitled ‘High Hopes’, which currently has no due date or expected date of publication. 

You can also find the northlondonhippy on Twitter: @nthlondonhippy –  follow him and receive a free gift*)

(*There is no free gift)