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The Terrible Twos
Two years in the making and, just as Liam and I celebrated the blog’s second birthday with a drop of bubbly, Perking the Pansies received its 250,000th hit*. This may be skinny fry for the big hitters...
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Anally Retentive
As Perking the Pansies has been going for a couple of years, the blog is no longer seen as a here-today-gone-tomorrow flash in the internet pan. This credibility helps with Google rankings but also...
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Displaced Jack
The fine people at Displaced Nation have asked to me to write for them. My new gig is a monthly column about writing. God knows why they think I have anything particularly useful or original to say...
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Spamalot
Generally, I enjoy this blogging malarkey. I’m little troubled by the cyber-trolls and infobahn ne’er do wells. But, one tedious aspect of blogging is the endless stream of spam attacks – over 34,000...
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Turkish Eye
A few days ago, I was contacted by the fabulous people at Turkayfe, an online site dedicated to presenting a positive image of Turkey to the wider world. They very kindly publish my own ramblings from...
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Test Card and Tapas
Liam and I are taking a welcome break: a week or so in the stroller’s city of Palma de Mallorca. I intend to leave the hinterweb alone for the duration, soak up the shade and take in the vibe. We’ve...
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Life in the Old Blog Yet
These days, I think I know a thing or two about this blogging lark but when I started in 2010, I hadn’t a clue. I learned the trade the hard way, through trial and error. It was a trial and there were...
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Jack’s Cottage Industry
It’s a funny old world. Almost by accident, I seem to have started a little cottage industry. Anything to keep me off the streets (and the wolves from my door). Over the years, I’ve learned a thing or...
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Thou Shalt Blog
Read the blogging gospel according to St Jack, chapter one, on Displaced Nation. Those who regularly dip into Jack the Hack will know that I’m a passionate advocate of blogging—for fun and for glory....
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Old Posts Never Die
Readers of Perking the Pansies tell me that I’ve laid down some vintage posts in my time. They very kindly don’t mention the dross. Search engines and their secret algorithms have also been generous...
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The Yellow Brick Road
The blogging gospel according to St Jack, Chapter Two… Posts can be written in batches and scheduled to be published over time. Try to post at least once a week, though. It’s good for what’s called...
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Schmooze It or Loose It
Jack’s last word on blogging at the Displaced Nation. FACT: most blogs run out of steam after two years. So, giving your blog legs will keep it in the race for longer. Here’s how. More…Filed under:...
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2013 in Review
Perking the Pansies recovered from a difficult birth at the murderous hands of the Turkish censors, thrived through the terrible twos and survived the transitional threes, ending the year with 60,000...
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Oo-er, Missus
Let’s face it, the days between Christmas and New Year can be a bit of a damp squib. Unless you’ve been forced onto the tills by the hordes of hysterical bargain hunters flashing the plastic, it’s a...
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Desperately Seeking Doreen
A cursory glance at my stats shows that Perking the Pansies pops up on the internet in totally unexpected ways. My irreverent ramblings seem to attract the lost, the lustful, the inquisitive and the...
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The Sisterhood
I first compiled my expat glossary in 2011 as a tongue-in-cheek classification of the various expat types Liam and I encountered during our time in Turkey. The idea started with ‘emigrey’ to describe...
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Holding Out for a Super-Hero
Just like good old Auntie Beeb, I aim to inform, educate and entertain. It’s for others to judge whether I succeed or not. I find myself rather indisposed at the moment (more of this later) so my...
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The Cheque’s in the Post
I received an out-of-the-blue windfall from Amazon when a cheque for £17.91 landed on the mat. It wasn’t immediately obvious from the statement what the money was for. After a lengthy head scratch, the...
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Now That’s What I Call Really Old
This blogging lark is a bit of a hit and miss affair. Who knows the right formula to blast a post into orbit and keep it there? Certainly not me. My random musings about the life of a washed-up...
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The Whole Barry Manilow
Since 2015 promises new ventures, adventures and a sequel book, I decided it was high time Perking the Pansies got a face lift. I don’t mean a little nip here, a tiny tuck there, I’m talking the whole...
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