June 16, 2017 Columns by John Connor Looking Back in Anger Back in the day, I always wanted to be a columnist. That day was so long ago it was before sunrise. In my youthful naivety, I never thought about generating an idea a week. I also never…
June 9, 2017 Columns by John Connor Living with MS: There’s a World Out There One of the most dispiriting aspects of a chronic illness is that it traps you in your own world. Major events happen but these are filtered against the achievement of actually being able to get yourself to…
June 2, 2017 Columns by John Connor Lemtrada II: My Right Foot (Hopefully) Read John Connor’s previous column, “Lemtrada I: This Island Couch.” Apologies for the pic of my edema–riddled right foot. If I put whiskers on it, my big toe could do a damn fine impersonation of a seal.
May 26, 2017 Columns by John Connor Lemtrada I: This Island Couch The latest drug media storm to erupt in Britain is “Spice,” which causes users to become living statues. Exactly a year ago, I became a living statue for six weeks, and not one reporter hassled me. That…
May 12, 2017 Columns by John Connor Whisky Galore: Two Friends Walk and Roll into a Distillery If I was writing fiction about two disabled people going on a road trip, I’d be pleased to create a character like Nigel. He’s stroppy, Northern (from the perspective of the U.K. there isn’t a direct U.S.
April 21, 2017 Columns by John Connor A Very Hip Story: ‘The Shower That Ate Me’ It was three years since I’d seen my best mate Nigel. The last time had been when we said goodbye at London City Airport after our three-day sozzled sojourn (OK, drunken trip) round the Scottish Isle of Islay. To…
April 15, 2017 Columns by John Connor There’s Something Wrong with Both of Us There are a few moments when life changes. In my day, it was meeting your partner across a crowded room. Now it’s sadly the flick of an app. What hasn’t changed is that only later do you realize…
April 7, 2017 Columns by John Connor One Day in the Working Life of John Peter Connor These might be the days of the gig economy, but I’ve been doing one every Tuesday for 27 years. My particular white van (for US readers the delivery drivers of such are a British stereotype of the new…
March 31, 2017 Columns by John Connor Request for Tennis Lessons Leads to Academy Teaching Many Disabled In the summer of 2012 David Bowie’s song “Heroes” became the anthem of the London Olympics despite Bowie turning down an invitation from British director Danny Boyle to be part of the opening ceremony. Gracious as ever, Bowie agreed…
March 24, 2017 Columns by John Connor History Conjures Up Electricity-Aided Walking, but a Too-Daring Pilot It seems I’ve made it to my second weekly column. I was going to write about a non-MS physical impairment that had kept me down for a month. It’s easing now and hopefully will make a future story with…
March 21, 2017 Columns by John Connor A Mountain to Climb with MS – in My Living Room So, I’m lying on the floor taking in the stippled ceiling we’ve never changed in the past 19 years. My son, also 19, is now at university. That’s how I can be so exact on the age of my…
September 28, 2023 Columns by Benjamin Hofmeister With multiple sclerosis, don’t worry about asking stupid questions
