/Culture/ The Great British blogs

30/10/2006 | Filed under Design > Culture

Blogs are brilliant. British blogs are even better. Gary Marshall has filtered, winnowed and sorted through the blogosphere to present the 50 best blogs from Blighty – ranging from the plain weird and passionately political to Doctor Who and Samuel Pepys.

We love blogs, whether they’re blogs about blogging, blogs about web design, blogs about politics or blogs about pants – but while the best-known blogs tend to be American, the ones we read again and again are British. So we’ve decided to share: over the next few pages you’ll find fifty fantastic British blogs that cover everything from bile to bras.

But of course, it’s an entirely subjective list – the blogs that make us cry with laughter might leave you cold, or a blogger’s political views might make you red with rage. However, our list is unbiased: we’ve included blogs we completely disagree with, simply because we like the way the bloggers write. So are there only 50 great British blogs? Of course not. If you’ve spotted a brilliant Britblog we’d like to know about it, so drop us a line – or even better, blog about it and send us the link. We’ll print the most interesting ones in a future issue.

We have the technology

Some of the most interesting techy blogs are very different from the big-name US sites that rule the roost: Inky Circus (www.inkycircus.com) is a highly readable and often light-hearted science blog written by three London-based science journalists, while Shiny Shiny (www.shinyshiny.tv) is a gadget blog aimed at women who don’t want to be patronised and who prefer their tech news fully clothed.

In many cases our favourite blogs are notable for what they don’t do, rather than what they do do. So for example gaming blog Idle Thumbs (www.idlethumbs.net) manages to avoid the twin faults of so many gaming sites: fanboyism and juvenilia. Then again, sometimes juvenile humour is just what the doctor ordered, and when it is we head for Idiot Toys (www.idiottoys.com). This blog is technically about gadgets but really it has a lot bad jokes and takes the mick out of technology firms. When it comes to web design, we found it impossible to pick a single blog – so we decided to cheat and nominate the entire Brit Pack (stuffandnonsense.co.uk/general/destinations.html) instead. Here you’ll find links to the blogs of top designers and developers such as Simon Collison, Rachel Andrew, Mark Boulton and Andy Budd. It covers key issues such as accessibility, web standards and CSS trickery.

Is No2ID (www.no2id.net/news/newsblog) a technology blog or a political one? We think it’s the former. As the name suggests it’s a protest site about the ID cards fiasco, but it’s also an excellent source of news on the rather scary database state the UK is rapidly becoming.

A little bit of politics

Political blogs aren’t for the faint-hearted: it seems that politicians’ antics can turn even the most mildmannered blogger into an expletive-hurling maniac. However, there are some notable exceptions such as economist Tim Worstall (timworstall.typepad.com/timworstall/), whose blog exudes Zen-like calm no matter how annoyed he might be in real life. Worstall curated the blogging best-of 2005: Blogged and his weekly Britblog round-up is a great way to find interesting new sites.

No matter what your political views, Guido Fawkes (5thnovember.blogspot.com) is worth reading. Gleefully misanthropic, Guido seems to hate all politicians equally. He also seems to have spies everywhere who pass him insider gossip.

Other blogs are more partisan, although rather than take political sides we want to highlight some of the more interesting blogs from both sides of the right-left divide. Where Chicken Yoghurt (www.chickyog.net) wields his words like a scalpel, Bloggerheads (www.bloggerheads.com) offers quick and opinionated commentary on pretty much everything; Harry’s Place (hurryupharry.bloghouse.net) and Natalie Solent (nataliesolent.blogspot.com) are at opposite ends of the political spectrum but are equally passionate; and Norman Geras (normblog.typepad.com) is a Marxist with an award-winning blog that even his ideological opposites describe as ‘fearless’ and ‘unmissable’.

That’s life

While the political bloggers argue about big-picture stuff, lifestyle blogs concentrate on more mundane (but just as interesting) subjects. Londonist (www.londonist.com) aims to be a one-stop blog for everything Londoners might possibly be interested in, while Knickers (www.knickersblog.com) offers something for everyone. Women can see the latest collections, learn about common sizing mistakes and benefit from discounts and special offers, while men can look at the occasional new designs for blokes or just see photos of women in their pants.

Knickers’ have a section devoted to bridal lingerie, which gives us a link to our next blog: the Wedding Photography Blog (www.weddingphotographyblog.com) by Damian Counsell of Pootergeek (www.pootergeek.com) fame. It’s a good example of how blogging and business can coincide. Readers should benefit from Counsell’s photography tips, and Counsell should benefit from a higher profile than ads alone could achieve.

Let me entertain you

The British are obsessed with music, movies and TV, and of course that means there are stacks of blogs devoted to those subjects. In the music category our vote goes to the superb No Rock’N’Roll Fun (xrrf.blogspot.com), which provides a pointed look at rock, manufactured pop, music media and the record industry. It doesn’t pull its punches but it doesn’t suffer from knee-jerk indie snobbery either.

In the film category our new favourite blog is Very Mild Peril (verymildperil.com), where blogger Lisa takes the mickey out of film studios’ parental warnings, such as the one for Finding Nemo that warns of “very mild peril”. After a few months snickering at films, Lisa’s expanded her horizons and is currently dreaming up similar warnings for domestic objects such as toothpaste.

LinkMachineGo (www.timemachinego.com/linkmachinego) has been kicking the internet around for six years or so, and it’s as useful as ever. It’s a near-daily collection of interesting links with a strong emphasis on pop culture, TV and graphic novels. If you’d prefer something programme-specific, there are excellent blogs for individual programmes, and Behind The Sofa (tachyontv.typepad.com/ waiting_for_christopher) is a shining example of the genre with multiple contributors covering the current run of Doctor Who in alarming detail.

Of course, where there’s TV there are snacks – and we can’t think of a better snack-related weblog than the mighty Snackspot (www.snackspot.org.uk) where, as we went to press, they were getting excited about a real-life sighting of Cheeky Mango Jammie Dodgers.

This time it’s personal

Personal blogs come in many forms, from the personal – My Boyfriend Is A Twat (www.myboyfriendisatwat.com) – to the surreal – Chase Me Ladies, I’m In The Cavalry (chasemeladies.blogspot.com). The latter veers between lunacy and serious pursuits, such as wondering whether German police should attack hooligans with cattle prods.

Tom Coates’ Plasticbag.org (www.plasticbag.org) is good value, with posts about art, the internet and anything else he finds interesting. While Alistair Coleman – or Scaryduck (scaryduck.blogspot.com) – continues to amuse with his top tips and uncanny ability to find weird stuff on YouTube.

Many blogs are based around careers. Hugh MacLeod (www.gapingvoid.com) now has a following due to his business-card cartoons and musings on creativity and marketing. Mr Biffo (biffovision.blogspot.com), on the otherhand, provides an entertaining insiders’ view of the TV industry.

Some of the career-related blogs cover matters of life and death – quite literally, in the case of Random Acts of Reality (randomreality.blogware.com/blog) – the blog of a London Ambulance Service EMT. The Policeman’s Blog (coppersblog.blogspot.com) isn’t afraid to criticise the Police Service (it’s apparently blocked by some Police forces’ firewalls) while the Magistrate’s Blog (thelawwestofealingbroadway .blogspot.com) provides a welcome alternative to hysterical tabloid stories about activist judges and evil lawyers. Then Dr Crippen (nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com), the angry doctor, ‘watches and weeps as the Health Service, slowly but surely, is destroyed’.

Lastly, despite dying in 1703, Pepys posts daily to www.pepysdiary.com. Each one attracts dozens of comments and intelligent discussions on the site’s forums. The blog is by Phil Gyford, who began posting Pepys’ diaries in 2003 and will continue until 2013. There’s something compelling about the site, and while the language can be off-putting it’s easier to follow than a typical LiveJournal entry or MySpace profile. Using today’s technology to bring a 300-yearold manuscript to life is inspired, and dedicating ten years of your life to a dead person’s blog is a rather eccentric, and dare we say, British thing to do.

20 more brilliant Britblogs

Bifurcated Rivets (catless.ncl.ac.uk/bifurcated/rivets)
Daily Drawing Diary (www.dailydrawingdiary.com)
Diamond Geezer (Devilskitchen.blogspot.com)
Dust on the Stylus (Dustonthestylus.blogspot.com)
Geoffrey Chaucer’s blog (Houseoffame.blogspot.com)
Hippy Shopper (www.hippyshopper.com)
Labour Home (www.labourhome.org)
Little Red Boat (www.littleredboat.co.uk)
Mark Mulligan (weblogs.jupiterresearch.com/analysts/mulligan)
The DragNet (www.thedragnet.org/blog)
Mr Angry (www.iamlivid.com)
Nanny Knows Best (Nannyknowsbest.blogspot.com)
Popjustice (www.popjustice.com)
RNIB WAC Blog (www.rnib.org.uk/wacblog)
Semiskimmed (www.semiskimmed.net)
D-Flat Chime Bar (Dflatchimebar.blogspot.com)
Tim Berners-Lee (dig.csail.mit.edu/breadcrumbs/blog/4)
Troubled Diva (www.troubled-diva.com)
Burning Our Money (burningourmoney.blogspot.com)

 

Comments

mark rushworth / 01/11/2006 / 12:21 / http://www.markrushworth.com

starting blogging is hard, these guys have taken years to get where they are by developing writing styles, discovering what to write about and last but not least, what blog GUI/Solution they should use. as someone whos starting out (http://www.markrushworth.com) my first goal is to learn how to write well! so far my discussions on CSS code solutions proves to be the most popular topic!

Mr Angry / 03/11/2006 / 17:33 / http://www.iamlivid.com

Years to get where we are? I don't think so Mark.

I didn't even know what a blog was until 11th December 2005 ("A diary on the Internet? Are you mental?"). Some might say I still don't.

That said, you'll probably still find that there are more Jehovahs Witnesses in your local town, than there are readers of my site around the world, so what do I know...

Write about something you feel passionate about, write about it regularly and consistently, and so long as you're not rubbish (you're not are you?) people will keep reading.

mark rushworth / 08/11/2006 / 14:23 / http://www.markrushworth.com

Mr Angry, nope im passionate about lots of things, but im concious that not everyone will be interested in my general points of view on life so im trying to concentrate on internet business based topics for both clients and my peers, thank god FF2 has built in spell checking, now my blog posts wont be full of typos :)

Gary / 08/11/2006 / 15:11

I've got to agree with Mr Angry, Mark - the single most important thing is passion.

Nick Pettigrew / 08/11/2006 / 15:57 / http://customerservice.blog.co.uk

I too know basically nothing about blogs, other than how to add things to mine.

I, and many of my like-minded friends, have over the years contacted the great, the good, and the left-wing in order to castigate the wrong, commend the good or simply ask what the weight-bearing limit of a Stannah stairlfit is.

I feel that people like myself, whose common sense far outweighs their ability to discuss foreign films, lesbianism or herbal tea make the blog community a more sensible and wholesome place to be.

If you have a moment to spare from beating up orcs (or whatever you younger people do on the internet – my nephew seems to mainly watch horror films if the sounds of moaning women coming from his room is any measure) then do please pop along to

Customerservice.blog.co.uk

Awfully decent of you.

blog reader / 12/11/2006 / 17:01

I read a lot of those listed but my favourite by far is the policeman's blog. coppersblog@blogspot.com
It is hilarious and worrying when you realise how low our policing standards are these days. Well worth a butchers.

Illy / 13/11/2006 / 11:36

I'm surprised that www.hecklerspray.com isn't on your list - it's possibly the largest entertainment blog in the UK, yet you've ignored it. Was wondering why? Personally it's the first thing I look at on my RSS. They never fail to make me laugh or fill me in on stuff I've missed.

Julian Bond / 14/11/2006 / 16:05 / http://www.voidstar.com

Blows own trumpet. Under Political blogs see http://www.voidstar.com/ukpoliblogs It's an aggregated RSS display and list of every UK Political blog that I've found or people have told me about.

pilgrim / 15/11/2006 / 17:45 / http://www.nexistepas.com/enthuse/

guys,

I just posted to point out that you got the link to Diamond Geezer wrong. It is:

http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.com/

- and your comment system ate it. Ah well.

best,

Leo Jackson / 18/11/2006 / 18:28 / http://londonviews.blogspot.com

Yes hecklerspray.com is cool .I joined your list sometime recently Julian.Brilliant effort.

KEP / 18/01/2007 / 13:26 / http://www.Freewebs.com/keps/

Mmm...Cool, but not good

Jonathan / 09/02/2007 / 14:44 / http://www.logoguru.co.uk

Great post ! need to be tagged some where else as well ...

david george / 10/03/2007 / 00:01 / http://www.dgthekneelo.blogspot.com

when the standard of blog and blog site coverage has improved to the extent that major companies are hiding behind what looks like a personal diary to present their products it makes you realise just how powerful blogging is and has become.

elise / 25/04/2007 / 21:21

"...while the best-known blogs tend to be American, the ones we read again and again are British."

surely that's because you're British or living in Britain? bit subjective to suggest that British, or any other country's, blogs are inherently better/best.

Rev. Qelqoth / 30/05/2007 / 14:25 / http://www.qelqoth.com

It's always good to know there are other interesting British bloggers out there.

guru / 19/06/2007 / 10:34 / http://guerrilla-gorilla.blogspot.com/

Love the blogs above - some real crackers! Please check out mine, let me know what you think!
All comments much appreciated.

It's a blog dedicated to the sexy and exciting world of guerrilla and viral marketing!

http://guerrilla-gorilla.blogspot.com/

Freya Bletsoe / 27/06/2007 / 21:45 / http://www.freyabletsoe.com

Yup...got to agree with gapingvoid and radomreality. Both really good blogs.

Got be honest though there's some really good blogs coming out of Australia rather than America...so whilst your looking one way, their all sneaking in from the other side of the world!! tee hee. :-)

kim / 17/09/2007 / 15:11

Hi, I am a 26 yr. old american women. I recently discovered that in england they are taking the holocust out of the school childrens ciriculum as not to offend the muslims because they do not believe it happened. What happens to offending the people it happened to because it did happen! how dare you minimize what thosew poor Jews, Russians, Christians, and some catholics went thru. Just to not offend some stupid muslims. How about we teach them about the holocust so they are not so stupid that they do not realize it happened?

surly girl / 25/09/2007 / 14:05 / http://www.dflatchimbar.blogspot.com

Dear Kim

How about you do the civilised world a favour and take your narrow, prejudiced world view somewhere else? How about you learn how to spell "Holocaust" - it might lend some gravitas to an otherwise bizarre, rambling and offensive comment. How about you think about the fact that just because you read it on the internet, it ain't necessarily so. Why, only the other month i was sent an email directing me to an e-petition campaigning against a giant "super-mosque" that was planned for the UK - a couple of thousand people had signed it in outrage against the thought of "our" land being allocated for "their" worship. Only, can you guess what? There were no plans, there was no mosque. But even if there was, what's the problem? You don't see pagans protesting against St. Paul's Cathedral being on ancient common land, do you?

Holocaust denial horrifies me as much as it horrifies anyone with a grasp on reality. But by attempting to add fuel to the Muslim-bashing fire by attributing everything wrong with 21st Century selfish human behaviour to that particular faith, you are at best irresponsible and at worst potentially dangerous.

Plus, you sound a bit thick to me. I doubt you've ever been much troubled by "ciriculums".

You know. Just a thought.

lots of love

Surly Girl

lazybrain / 27/09/2007 / 18:56 / http://livingwithbert.blogspot.com

separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com is a fascinating blog about the differences between American and British English. It's written by an American but she lives in the UK and has UK citizenship so I think we should claim it as a Great British blog.

A very entertaining and clever blog is Whoopee (http://yetanotherbloomingblog.blogspot.com/). And you've already mentioned another of my favourites My Boyfriend is a Twat.

And finally you could take a look at my own humble effort (http://livingwithbert.blogspot.com).

Misssy M / 06/04/2008 / 17:02 / http://www.misssymartin.blogspot.com/

Whilst the list of great British Blogs is indeed splendid, there are many more that aren't often included in the usual suspects. This is mainly because there are huge numbers of blogs and every so often smashing new blogs are born. Can I recommend that in addition to checking out those mentioned in the above article that people check out the excellent, Post of the Week.

www.postoftheweek.com

They are always striving to highlight good new writing and make a determined effort to stop the list of Great British Blogs just including the chosen few that journalists happened to list somewhere once upon a time. Anyone is invited nominate their own favourites.

http://www.misssymartin.blogspot.com/

Truly Ace Design / 19/06/2008 / 21:32 / http://www.trulyace.com

Great list thanks.

Is it important to write 'well' or is it more important to write 'interesting'? Or do the two come hand in hand?

I say this of course to excuse my own poor standard and badly edited blog writing! ;-))

Too many great blogs out there, not enough hours in the day is my problem......

Media Training / 05/08/2008 / 11:58 / http://www.media-mentor.co.uk/

This is a great list of really good blogs. It is certainly a powerful tool and after introducing one to our website we have proved to have some interesting debates on it.

I think the key to why these blogs are good and popular is the fact they are well written and talk about something different or view something from a different perspective.

Copy is King.

Peter

Saqib Shaikh / 10/08/2008 / 17:40 / http://www.zohrasarwari.com

Hey !

its great to see nice listings of British Blogs at same place!

Keep up the good work!

Regards
Saqib Shaikh

Catherine / 28/09/2008 / 08:57 / http://www.commerceshop.com

I'd like to add www.caroline-middlebrook.com/blog - she brings an honesty to internet marketing blogging that is unique. She's also very generous with sharing her experiences. And she's a Brit!

Paul Baines / 23/11/2008 / 12:30 / http://paulbaines.co.uk/category/blog/

I'm a British artist with a nice line in rant - yes I do it in fits and bursts but it's worth the wait - I harp on with an outwardly aggressive yet intrinsically benign gusto. Obviously I like to complain from a distance, that goes without saying. Oh and I'm rather sick of the Yankees' internet so I'd like to request a new one If those science boffins could manage it - preferably wholly British and powered by tea, fags, beer and occasional farts - please forward on the appropriate forms to fill in...

Madame Arcati / 29/11/2008 / 15:02 / http://madamearcati.blogspot.com/

List too male. Widen your horizons, dearie.

Lily / 12/01/2009 / 21:06 / http://jdsalingerwriter.com

The 50 great uk blogs makes me feel mine is not only crap but seriously crap. (no comments please). Lily

jim w / 12/07/2009 / 02:01 / http://www.urbanartbomb.com

Awesome list, good to see brit blogging promoted.

wg / 12/07/2009 / 02:02 / http://www.world-graffiti.com

i need to buck up my blog, i'm miles behind this bunch...

Julia / 28/08/2009 / 08:44 / http://culturaltalesoftwocities.blogspot.com/

Any comments on my blog gratefully accepted - still got my L plates on!!

Davis / 06/09/2009 / 12:43

Hey there, I'd like to add to the list:

http://ediblemince.blogspot.com

I recently stumbled upon this GrEat Site, it has news about the latest tech news, interesting medical points of interest (recently posted something about Flesh EaTing bacteria that caught my interest) and some other useful info. I believe they deserve some recognition for some of their works

Denny Bellows / 20/10/2009 / 02:41 / http://www.skirting-and-bellows.com

I've got to agree with Mr Angry, Mark - the single most important thing is passion. I also read a lot of those listed but my favorite by far is the policeman's blog. coppersblog@blogspot.com It is hilarious and worrying when you realize how low our policing standards are these days.

Dennis / 24/10/2009 / 04:20 / http://www.skirting-and-bellows.com

This is a great list of really good blogs.

It is amazing the rate at which companies are opening blogs as well. The company I work for just opened a blog and it seems like they are already up to dubious postings. My experience is that British blogs, per companies, have higher standards than the American company blogs...

JERRY / 29/11/2009 / 18:16 / http://warzonegames.t35.com/

HaHa...Knickers...last time i hear knickers was on a Benny Hill Show. nice read....I`m checking out your brillant other bloggers aswell....I think americans like british blogs cause there`s stuff in them that we haven`t read alot about...so blood heck keep it up!

Richard / 13/01/2010 / 10:19 / http://www.theunidentified.co.uk

There are some great blogs here to follow.

Could I add one more into the mix, it's not a huge blog or one following the day to day life of someone. This one is more to do with collecting together a few interesting thoughts both philosophical and humorous, original and from literature.

http://www.theunidentified.co.uk/

'Unidentified Thoughts', see what you think.

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