Gursimran Hans


Medium was the first blog I used and in here you'll find pieces I wrote before I had more regular sites to write for or that don't fit into any publication I write for. 

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Book Review: The Acid Test by Clyde Best

In April 1972, history was made at the Boleyn Ground as West Ham United played Tottenham Hotspur. West Ham manager Ron Greenwood, who later gave an international debut to England’s first black player, picked three black players for the first time in English football. They were Bermudan forward Clyde Best, Nigerian born US striker Ade Coker, who scored that day, and Canning Town-born full-back John Charles. The Acid Test is Best’s autobiography. The title coming from an anonymous letter sent to h
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Book Review: The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

First published in 1846, The Double tells the story of Yakov Petrovich Golyadkin, a Saint Petersburg bearcat. Golyadkin’s behaviour is rather antisocial and his doctor encourages him to put himself about more. After leaving a party in rather acrimonious circumstances, he finds himself in a snowstorm and meets a man who looks just like him. They also share the same name. The two figures referred to by Dostoyevsky as Golyadin Sr, the original and Golyadkin Jr, the titular double, start off as cl
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13 Must-Watch Sports Films

Billions of people around the world love watching films of all kinds of genres. Films about sports or sportsmen and women are often hailed as classics. In this article, I look at 13 sport-related films which you should watch if you get the chance. This article does not include documentaries but does include docudramas. A working-class boxer who is a debt collector in Philadelphia, Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), suddenly gets a chance to take on world heavyweight champion Apollo Creed (Carl
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Book Review: Farewell My Colony by Todd Crowell

Todd Crowell is a journalist who has worked in Hong Kong for Asiaweek. He wrote Farewell My Colony to chronicle the experiences of the last years leading up to the handover. It is an eye-opening book, chronicling the hopes and fears of both the pro-democracy and pro-Beijing camps as well as the UK and People’s Republic of China. The book takes you through interviews with locals, legislators in both camps whom Crowell had lunch with, and gives a comprehensive telling of Chris Patten’s democrati
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Book Review: Life According to Freddie Flintoff

Life According to Freddie Flintoff sees Flintoff discuss quite a few aspects of his life. He talks about growing up in Preston playing cricket and chess, his cricket career, his time as a boxer, his media work, his showbiz work, family life and life in general. It is quite honestly, a gripping and captivating read. Flintoff is brutally honest about himself and at times, downright hilarious. Particularly amusing is a prank involving an alarm clock he plays on David Lloyd whilst on tour in Pakis
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Book Review: The Life and Times of a Famous Football Club by Tom Wright

Hibernian Football Club was founded in 1875 in the Cowgate area of Edinburgh by a group from the city’s Irish community. Tom Wright delves into the first 142 years of the club’s history in his book: The Life and Times of a Famous Football Club. It is a gripping read with Wright discussing the early challenges facing the club in the early years of the organised game in Scotland, through two World Wars, the era of the Famous Five, memorable European nights against Barcelona and Napoli, the attem
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5 Must-Watch Foreign Language Shows on Netflix

With many of us being forced into quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak, Netflix is expected to be a popular tool for people to pass the time. I’ve written this listicle based on my recommendations on 5 non-English language shows on the platform you ought to take a look at. La Reina del Sur — The Queen of The South (Telemundo, 2011 — present) La Reina del Sur has been adapted for an English remake, but season 1 from 2011 and season 2 from 2019 of the original are available on Netflix. Produ
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Science’s battle to tackle plastic waste

Plastic waste is one of the major environmental challenges that activists have faced in recent years. I spoke to two specialists from Imperial College London about their research into tackling these issues. Plastic waste can take centuries to biodegrade. It can be washed into oceans, and be ingested by maritime species who mistake it for prey. They can also suffocate on plastic packaging. The world’s waterways are not the only place where the impact of plastic is dangerous. Plastic can also re
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Simple ways you can start reducing your plastic waste

In recent years, individuals have been looking to reduce their plastic waste to become more environmentally friendly. With many of us under quarantine due to the coronavirus crisis, why not focus on the way we can reduce our own waste to make a difference when life returns to normal? Plastic Free Hackney’s Daisy Hutchison told me: “It’s really easy to start and then it’s a question of commitment.” One of the tips Hutchison recommended is to always carry refillable bottles for water, which not o
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5 TV Shows based on real life events you must watch

April marks the 33rd anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster. Last year, HBO’s show reignited the public imagination of the incident. With many of us self-isolating here are five other shows based on real life, you must watch, and where to watch them. Seinfeld creator Larry David plays a fictionalised version of himself in this comedy. The show has plenty of big cameos.David gets himself into some rather awkward situations, due to his steadfast belief in his own morals. AVAILABLE ON: NOW TV The
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Book Review: Why We Get The Wrong Politicians by Isabel Hardman

Isabel Hardman is a political journalist, who is currently assistant editor of The Spectator is the author Why We Get The Wrong Politicians. The obvious answer some politicos have is ‘you keep voting for them!’ but Hardman’s book is a brilliant, thought-provoking analysis answering the question. At a point in the book, she acknowledges her book is perhaps more of analysis of why we don’t get the right politicians. Using her experience as a member of the ‘lobby’, journalists at Nationals, who w
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Book Review: Policing Hong Kong: An Irish History by Patricia O’Sullivan

Throughout the history of the British Empire, men from the British Isles would travel to colonies to work in administrative positions and even the police. Hong Kong was one of those, with several of the recruits moving to the colony from Newmarket a town in County Cork in what is now the Republic of Ireland from the 1860s. In the summer of 2009, Patricia O’Sullivan’s 90-year-old aunt asked her to find what happened to her Uncle Murt in Gresson Street. From this point and looking at family histo
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Book Review: Quotations from Mao Tse-tung

Colloquially known as the Little Red Book in the western world and widely distributed during Chairman Mao’s cultural revolution, Quotations from Mao Tse-tung is a collection of speeches and writings from the CCP leader published in the 1960s and 1970s. In Hong Kong, it is not that difficult to find, being available from several street vendors and some museums. The book was compiled by the People’s Liberation Army and distributed to delegates in 1964 before being expanded after feedback. By 19
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Groundhopping in Hong Kong: What I learnt from watching 66 football games in HK.

I decided before I went out to HK, I would try to see a fair amount of football. I choose to provisionally pick Eastern as my Hong Kong club. This was because studying at HKBU, the closest top-flight ground to my room was Mong Kok Stadium. The two teams who played at the ground were Eastern and Kitchee. I plumped for Eastern as they were formerly managed by Bobby Moore and during the 1980s also possessed Alan Ball in their squad. Thus on my first Saturday in the former British colony, I decided
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Book Review: The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang

Book Review: The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang Purchased from a book store in Hong Kong International Airport, I read Iris Chang’s The Rape of Nanking in one sitting. The atrocities committed by Imperial Japanese troops in Nanking and throughout Asia are well known, but they were not in 1997 when Chang wrote this book. Indeed, it was one of the first books to make Western readers aware of the events that took place and indeed some in the East, due to Japanese nationalists denying the events t
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How and why do attitudes to the Chinese Communist Party differ in the Special Administrative…

How and why do attitudes to the Chinese Communist Party differ in the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau? Hong Kong and Macau have similar but different political backgrounds, this has influenced how the two special administrative regions interact with the central government of the People’s Republic of China. These differences how their populations perceive the attempts of Beijing to have its sovereignty and interests fulfilled. Macau has often been praised by state-run media
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Lantau Tomorrow: The environment will pay the price for the government's unnecessary plans

Lantau Tomorrow: The environment will pay the price for the government's unnecessary plans Hong Kong has a plan to tackle the need for housing. In her most recent policy address, Chief Executive Carrie Lam announced a plan to reclaim 1,700 hectares of new land around Lantau to create a new economic and housing hub to alleviate pressures on Hong Kong’s economy from its’ growing and ageing population. The plan is likely to cost in the region of $500,000,000 HKD, which is around 64 million in US
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HoCWC 1987: A glimpse of the future – Gursimran Hans –

In 1987, the Cricket World Cup left for England for the first time. This edition was held on the subcontinent with defending champions India co-hosting with Pakistan. At this point in one day cricket’s development, 50 overs had become the standard for international cricket, so the World Cup which had traditionally been 60 overs each innings was no down to his present 50 over format. With South Africa still banned from international cricket, the seven Test-playing nations at the time where join
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HoCWC 1987: A glimpse of the future – Gursimran Hans –

In 1987, the Cricket World Cup left for England for the first time. This edition was held on the subcontinent with defending champions India co-hosting with Pakistan. At this point in one day cricket’s development, 50 overs had become the standard for international cricket, so the World Cup which had traditionally been 60 overs each innings was no down to his present 50 over format. With South Africa still banned from international cricket, the seven Test-playing nations at the time where join
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Book Review: Ross Kemp Gangs II

Ross Kemp: Gangs II follows parts of Season Three and Season Four of Sky One’s documentary series Ross Kemp on Gangs. Kemp, who had shot to prominence for his role as Grant Mitchell on Eastenders during the 1990s begun his career as an investigative journalist in 2004 with the filming of Gangs. The Essex born Kemp would write books about his experiences filming the documentaries and the second book delves into the episodes focusing on Colombian sicarios and paramilitaries, Polish football hool
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