Mark Pollard Mark is an intelligent and versatile writer who's contributions to thisisUll.com include fiction, opinions and articles. Marks contributions are listed below.. For the index by Section to all Marks work Contributions click here. No Sections:  2  No Items:  9 Fiction,Opinions

Opinions - Fickle Voters By Mark Pollard

	I watched a TV programme the other night about the seemingly endless, unaccounted and under-investigated murder of scores of young women by street gangs in Guatemala. As a father of three girls myself it was heart-breaking stuff that made me thankful to live in the UK; the 'scandal' of John Prescott shagging his secretary hardly seems to matter by comparison. Read more...

Opinions - Response To Steven Greendale's Article By Mark Pollard
	To Steven Greendale: You're a bright lad, aren't you? Firstly, you accuse Anthony Newlyne of taking a poke at Ian Newton's book The Night Shift, when Newlyne's enjoyment of and respect for Newton's work is made quite clear despite the article being somewhat ironic in parts. How could you not have understood this, Mr Greendale? Can't you read properly? Secondly, you have a Read more...

Opinions - Steve Regan 'The King of Hull' Column By Mark Pollard

	I'm just wondering why Steve Regan is being given exposure by thisisull.com. It's something I've been pondering for a while, but his recent piece on the way our brave boys... in Iraq have been so badly treated by the white feather press (i.e. The Guardian), and which included disparaging references to hand-wringing liberals finally confirmed my concerns at Read more...

Opinions - Mark Pollard's Response to a Couple of Hull's Blinkered Critics

	Well, Channel 4's rubbish programme the other week (I can't even be arsed to mention it's name any more) certainly resulted in the odd fucknut blowing the cobwebs from their PC keyboard and jumping onto that bitter little bandwagon, didn't it? You want to know what's the worst thing about Hull? It's that, like any other city, it has it's fair share of these types - the sort of Read more...

Opinions - Regarding Tom Hawcroft's Retort to Lee Cassanell's Hull By Mark Pollard

	I'm not absolutely certain about this, but I think Tom might have been hoodwinked by a piece of ever-so-clever, post-industrial, post-modern, post-comedy, post-post-whatever, irony schmirony by Master Cassanell. Sorry - I'm being ironic myself now. Or am I? Lee - I think you need to come clean about your motivations here; something that may require a Read more...

Opinions - Channel 4's Best and Worst By Mark Pollard

	Last night's (Tuesday 9th August 2005) Channel 4 aired a programme which listed the ten best and ten worst places to live in the UK. It was one of the most ill-researched, unbalanced and downright irresponsible pieces of television that I have seen for many years. I used to regard Channel 4 as being a bit like BBC2 with adverts; unfortunately, they seem to be moving Read more...

Articles - Endless Guitar Solos and the Real Reasons for Opposing Fox Hunting. By Mark Pollard

	I love progressive rock. Always have done. There; I've said it. You can stick your three-and-a-half minute blasts of pop music where the sun don't shine. If it sounds great, let it drag on for half an hour is what I say. Why play one note when Read more...

Articles - The Golden Age of Education By Mark Pollard

	Anyone who regularly reads the letters pages of The Hull Daily Mail is probably aware of a serial contributor by the name of Lionel F. Cerny. I think he's probably a retired teacher, because one of his major, recurring letter-writing themes is Read more...

Fiction - Firm but Fair By Mark Pollard
	Cry-Baby Jim Breaks. He pioneered it, they say. And the hushed, almost ecclesiastical tones of Ken Walton had heralded it's entry into Saturday afternoon folklore: the bright lights of Blackpool and Great Yarmouth, down to the lesser reputes of Ilfracombe and Skegness had all borne witness Read more...

Opinions - Musings By Mark Pollard
	A couple of things that have perplexed me over the years: Firstly, why the link between heel bars and key cutting? They always seem to be combined under the same roof. I don't geddit. Potential for major calamities, too - imagine going in for a new heel on your brogues and ending up Read more...

Fiction - Scrawls Of The Unexpected By Mark Pollard
	Professor Colin Pillinger, lead scientist on the Beagle II programme, was calm but well pissed off inside. He had been clinging to the idea that his £35 million Mars Probe was stuck in a crater, waiting for some narrow rays of sunlight to banish the shade for a few precious hours each day in order that Read more...