You’ve reached the home of Manek Dubash, journalist in a variety of fields but mainly technology, automotive, politics and beekeeping.
About
I’m lucky enough to live in a town that sits in the Sussex Downs – see the main image above – from where a multitude of things becomes possible.
However, if you’re really interested, there’s quite of lot of mind-numbing detail about my professional life here, but my focus right now is more on fun things like beekeeping and messing around with rusty old cars – or rather, as this YouTube video explains, one ROC in particular.
Interests
I spent the first portion of my working life as a trades union organiser, and the second part – the bulk – as a technology and business journalist. Those career chunks were separated by five years at college, enhancing my knowledge about and how to think about both those areas. So my interests cover a range of topics, mostly science, technology and nature-related, plus politics – always a fundamental driving passion.
Right now, though, what consumes my time is beekeeping, old cars (new ones leave me cold, mostly), and railways, both modern and new.
I edit my local beekeeping association newsletter, which is fun. There’s more about us here. We’re organised and here to help, so if you think beekeeping might be your thing, please get in touch. Also, if you see a swarm of bees, please get in touch: there are always beekeepers looking for swarms.
Transport: MGB
This beautiful, 1968 British Racing Green MGB Roadster moved in with me in 2012, and since then I’ve enjoyed working on it, from basic maintenance to a major restoration (you can find details of how it was rescued from the ravages of rust here. This section of the site includes graphic images of iron oxide: so if you’re of a nervous disposition, beware!).
But just as importantly, I’ve loved driving it, whether locally or down to the south of France, it’s never missed a beat (well, it did once). It turns heads, sounds suitably fruity, and it connects the driver to what’s going on – unlike modern cars which attempt to do the opposite, not always with great outcomes.
Here is [er – will be] a series of pictures to give you a flavour of what this little green machine is all about [coming soon].
Transport: 2CV van
Meanwhile, I’ve acquired a new vehicle: a Citroën 2CV van or fourgonette. One of the last ones made, it rolled off a Spanish production line in 1977 and was imported into the UK in 2020. Despite being Spanish in origin, as far as I’m concerned it’s a 2CV, so it’s my own square of French territory.
Transport: Railways
As well as being a fan of the railways in general, I run the website of the Lambourn Valley Railway, a long-disused Great Western Railway branch line – with lots of lovely pictures of steam engines!
Blog
Letter to my MP re NHS pay rise
Dear Maria I’m compelled to write to you in protest at the appallingly paltry pay rise of just 1% to NHS staff. After all the hard work they’ve been asked to do during the pandemic – which let us note, is not yet over – after all the rhetoric the government has deployed to praise …
Pandemic lessons
This story is of its time. In a year, maybe less, events may have passed it by. But it’s important for all our futures, nonetheless. A few days ago, UK prime minister Boris Johnson announced that by mid-June, most restrictions on personal behaviour, imposed to help stem the global pandemic, would be lifted. For people …
The UK is becoming a failed state
It’s becoming clearer that the United Kingdom is heading towards failure – if it’s not already there. So it’s time to install institutions that work for most other states with which the UK likes to compare itself, namely, an elected head of state and a written constitution. Were these accompanied by a proportional method of …
Work
If you’re keen to see what I’ve been up to for most of my life,
there’s a bunch of stuff on this and succeeding pages.
Warning: the pages you will encounter if you follow the link above are a bit logo city – and more than a bit 1990s…