Adrian Gatton

Author: Adrian Gatton

  • Lost in Spades (The Guardian)

    Lost in spades
    By Adrian Gatton
    The Guardian
    8 September 1998

    As the digging season approaches, Adrian Gatton finds the Government is finally grasping the health benefits of allotments

    Mention allotments and you think of fusty 1940s Dig For Victory posters. By comparison, the 1980s brought designer allotments and vegetable parterres. But with MPs this summer urging ministers to protect allotments partly for their ‘undisputed health benefits’ and ‘therapeutic potential’, maybe we will see ex -joggers hoeing manically and Buddhists meditating near cabbage patches.

    The Commons Select Committee report, The Future For Allotments, claims the health benefits are outstanding …

  • Squatters Have Rights to Renovate Too (The Times)

    Squatters Have Rights to Renovate Too (The Times)

    Squatters Have Right to Renovate Too
    By Adrian Gatton
    The Times
    1 August 1998

    Far from being the destructive pests of folklore, squatters could help to save old buildings, says Adrian Gatton. When Chris Singer, a mixed media artist and committed squatter, moved in to a closed Orthodox synagogue in Montague Road, Dalston, East London …

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  • Two’s company but three or more … (Time Out)

    Two’s company but three or more …
    By Adrian Gatton
    Time Out
    26 November 1997

    Prostitution may well be the world’s oldest profession, but the escort business continues to evolve. The current craze is for ‘call couples’. After all, why have Toby or Claudia when you can have Toby and Claudia …

  • E is for Ear Ache (The Guardian)

    E is for Ear Ache (The Guardian)

    E is for Ear Ache
    By Adrian Gatton
    The Guardian
    30 September 1997

    Nearly one in 10 people under the age of 26 takes ecstasy according to the latest British Crime Survey. But while health warnings have focused on water intoxication and the risk of death, there’s evidence of a new danger. Hearing specialists are now saying Ecstasy can contribute to the risk of deafness.

    While audiologists look on lengthy exposure to loud music as the main factor putting clubbers’ hearing at risk, ravers themselves see it as a vital ingredient for a good night out. Fuelled by Ecstasy, clubbers today dance harder, for longer to louder music than other club-goers. Modern dance clubs play music at truly pulverising volumes …

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  • How to Become a Monk (The Independent)

    How to Become a Monk
    By Adrian Gatton
    The Independent
    13 March 1996

    Ever fancied taking up the habit? The Carthusian monastery of St Hugh’s Charterhouse, near Cowfold in Sussex, is looking to recruit fresh novices, Completed in 1883 to house 200 monks, today there are only about 20 – plus a cow. With some of the fathers getting on a bit, the monastery needs a new batch of postulants to carry the English Carthusian tradition into the next century.

    Despite being the largest monastery in England, the sprawling mass of Charterhouse is cleverly secluded. The soaring spire which protrudes above the tree tops is the only clue as to what lies beyond. On the inside, the building comprises a labyrinth of passages and cloisters, libraries, chapels, winding stairwells and inner courtyards.

    In theory, anyone can join the community (one monk was a computer consultant in a former life, on a salary of 45K a year). Applicants should approach in writing and must fill in questionnaires …

    Read the rest of the story on the Independent’s website here.