Simon Usborne
@susborne.bsky.social
Journalist, London. Features for The Guardian, Sunday Times, Financial Times, Telegraph Magazine etc. susborne.com
Went to Sellafield to look at how robots - including those mad dogs - are increasingly joining the nuclear decommissioning race. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...
November 6, 2025 at 9:45 AM
Went to Sellafield to look at how robots - including those mad dogs - are increasingly joining the nuclear decommissioning race. www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/11...
A good day to share one's own worst mistake (xref the de Blasio balls-up). See last paragraph, and the mea culpa: simonusborne.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/w... #wankyballs
October 30, 2025 at 12:44 PM
A good day to share one's own worst mistake (xref the de Blasio balls-up). See last paragraph, and the mea culpa: simonusborne.wordpress.com/2016/03/23/w... #wankyballs
Reposted by Simon Usborne
I'm publishing the weirdest story I've ever written tomorrow, for London Centric members only.
So here's an one-off offer. Sign up for a year before midnight today and I'll give you 33% off. If the story doesn't live up to expectations, I'll refund you tomorrow. www.londoncentric.media/a21e85e7
So here's an one-off offer. Sign up for a year before midnight today and I'll give you 33% off. If the story doesn't live up to expectations, I'll refund you tomorrow. www.londoncentric.media/a21e85e7
October 17, 2025 at 2:54 PM
I'm publishing the weirdest story I've ever written tomorrow, for London Centric members only.
So here's an one-off offer. Sign up for a year before midnight today and I'll give you 33% off. If the story doesn't live up to expectations, I'll refund you tomorrow. www.londoncentric.media/a21e85e7
So here's an one-off offer. Sign up for a year before midnight today and I'll give you 33% off. If the story doesn't live up to expectations, I'll refund you tomorrow. www.londoncentric.media/a21e85e7
Reposted by Simon Usborne
STUDENTS! You can subscribe to the Guardian for just £9 a year: theguardian.com/studentoffer. Spread the word.
September 24, 2025 at 12:59 PM
STUDENTS! You can subscribe to the Guardian for just £9 a year: theguardian.com/studentoffer. Spread the word.
Reposted by Simon Usborne
A little bit of navel-gazing on the last twelve months of trying to run a start-up local news organisation with no investment or plan, entirely funded by readers. www.londoncentric.media/p/london-new...
One year of London Centric
A selection of our favourite stories that you might have missed — and a quick note from Jim.
www.londoncentric.media
September 20, 2025 at 7:14 AM
A little bit of navel-gazing on the last twelve months of trying to run a start-up local news organisation with no investment or plan, entirely funded by readers. www.londoncentric.media/p/london-new...
No idea who this “Osborne” guy is
September 17, 2025 at 5:41 PM
No idea who this “Osborne” guy is
Famously comfy? You might as well be dragging my arse over the sleepers
September 12, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Famously comfy? You might as well be dragging my arse over the sleepers
Reposted by Simon Usborne
You join us live from Danny Dyer’s birthday drinks.
September 11, 2025 at 6:58 AM
You join us live from Danny Dyer’s birthday drinks.
More like 14-18p but that is still criminally low
6p to 8p per-word
Any science feature writers? We pay £350-450, send your pitches today or tomorrow!
September 2, 2025 at 10:18 AM
More like 14-18p but that is still criminally low
Went up north to try Britain's only water menu and talk to the "sommeliers" who are convinced water's the new wine www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Meet the water sommeliers: they believe H₂O can rival wine – but would you pay £19 a bottle?
A restaurant in the English county of Cheshire has launched a water menu, as have a number of US establishments. Is it really possible, though, to tell one terroir from another?
www.theguardian.com
August 28, 2025 at 10:12 AM
Went up north to try Britain's only water menu and talk to the "sommeliers" who are convinced water's the new wine www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Reposted by Simon Usborne
love this story - and would like to know more about the "Society of Mudlarks, a separate secretive group with special privileges"
London's mudlarks at war: feuds, fights and slurs on the shoreline.
It's a Bank Holiday so for one day only, I'm making this brilliant piece by @susborne.bsky.social free to read.
There's also an experimental one day flash sale for the first 25 people!
www.londoncentric.media/p/london-mud...
It's a Bank Holiday so for one day only, I'm making this brilliant piece by @susborne.bsky.social free to read.
There's also an experimental one day flash sale for the first 25 people!
www.londoncentric.media/p/london-mud...
London's mudlarks at war: feuds, fights and slurs on the shoreline
“Fuck off, this is my patch": A niche hobby exploded in popularity due to social media. Now the police are involved, as the people searching the Thames mud for historic artefacts battle each other.
open.substack.com
August 25, 2025 at 8:12 AM
love this story - and would like to know more about the "Society of Mudlarks, a separate secretive group with special privileges"
Reposted by Simon Usborne
London's mudlarks at war: feuds, fights and slurs on the shoreline.
It's a Bank Holiday so for one day only, I'm making this brilliant piece by @susborne.bsky.social free to read.
There's also an experimental one day flash sale for the first 25 people!
www.londoncentric.media/p/london-mud...
It's a Bank Holiday so for one day only, I'm making this brilliant piece by @susborne.bsky.social free to read.
There's also an experimental one day flash sale for the first 25 people!
www.londoncentric.media/p/london-mud...
London's mudlarks at war: feuds, fights and slurs on the shoreline
“Fuck off, this is my patch": A niche hobby exploded in popularity due to social media. Now the police are involved, as the people searching the Thames mud for historic artefacts battle each other.
open.substack.com
August 25, 2025 at 8:07 AM
London's mudlarks at war: feuds, fights and slurs on the shoreline.
It's a Bank Holiday so for one day only, I'm making this brilliant piece by @susborne.bsky.social free to read.
There's also an experimental one day flash sale for the first 25 people!
www.londoncentric.media/p/london-mud...
It's a Bank Holiday so for one day only, I'm making this brilliant piece by @susborne.bsky.social free to read.
There's also an experimental one day flash sale for the first 25 people!
www.londoncentric.media/p/london-mud...
Went to the “Wimbledon of jousting” for @ftweekend.com www.ft.com/content/f4da...
My day trip to medieval England
At the ‘Wimbledon of jousting’, Simon Usborne finds historical re-enactment is becoming big business — and meets the knights and tourists partying like it’s 1499
www.ft.com
August 23, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Went to the “Wimbledon of jousting” for @ftweekend.com www.ft.com/content/f4da...
Extremely relatable content www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025...
‘What the hell should I wear?’ The style challenges of a fortysomething man
The certainties of youth are slipping away and I find myself in something of a clothing identity crisis. It doesn’t help that what’s ‘cool’ is increasingly hard to pin down. So where does that leave a...
www.theguardian.com
August 20, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Extremely relatable content www.theguardian.com/fashion/2025...
Reposted by Simon Usborne
Missed this solid piece on how the populist narrative of a migrant-driven crimewave in Britain...is a load of made up right-wing balls
www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
Violent, lawless, broken Britain? The facts tell a different story
The populist narrative of a migrant-driven crimewave is catnip on social media and oil to the wheels of Reform. But it is so far from the truth that we’re in danger of losing sight of the country we l...
www.thetimes.com
August 18, 2025 at 11:16 PM
Missed this solid piece on how the populist narrative of a migrant-driven crimewave in Britain...is a load of made up right-wing balls
www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
www.thetimes.com/comment/colu...
Reposted by Simon Usborne
I first talked to Jim four years ago, not long after he’d lost his arm. He’d worked in prosthetics and orthotics for 20+ years. He wanted to connect a bionic arm via a titanium implant that is dividing surgeons and the NHS. Wrote about it for Guardian Saturday: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
August 2, 2025 at 11:31 AM
I first talked to Jim four years ago, not long after he’d lost his arm. He’d worked in prosthetics and orthotics for 20+ years. He wanted to connect a bionic arm via a titanium implant that is dividing surgeons and the NHS. Wrote about it for Guardian Saturday: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
I first talked to Jim four years ago, not long after he’d lost his arm. He’d worked in prosthetics and orthotics for 20+ years. He wanted to connect a bionic arm via a titanium implant that is dividing surgeons and the NHS. Wrote about it for Guardian Saturday: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
August 2, 2025 at 11:31 AM
I first talked to Jim four years ago, not long after he’d lost his arm. He’d worked in prosthetics and orthotics for 20+ years. He wanted to connect a bionic arm via a titanium implant that is dividing surgeons and the NHS. Wrote about it for Guardian Saturday: www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
In my case it was approaching 70 minutes and I'm still not over it
London Centric’s average payment time from receipt of a freelancer’s invoice is currently eight minutes.
And it’s a tiny operation but also it means people might actually want to work with you again in future? And freelancers talk to each other and say you pay promptly so pitch better ideas.
And it’s a tiny operation but also it means people might actually want to work with you again in future? And freelancers talk to each other and say you pay promptly so pitch better ideas.
Freelance journalists must be paid promptly and fairly for their work.
The UK government's consultation on poor payment practices offers an opportunity to right the wrongs of our industry.
pressgazette.co.uk/news/freelan...
The UK government's consultation on poor payment practices offers an opportunity to right the wrongs of our industry.
pressgazette.co.uk/news/freelan...
August 1, 2025 at 9:39 AM
In my case it was approaching 70 minutes and I'm still not over it
Best sex-water content since penis beaker (c.2013) www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
You be the judge: should my boyfriend stop drinking from a water bladder during sex?
Leanne has banned Wes’s hands-free hydrator because it’s a ‘turnoff’. You decide whose argument holds water
www.theguardian.com
July 31, 2025 at 9:44 AM
Best sex-water content since penis beaker (c.2013) www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle...
Reposted by Simon Usborne
1. Trump says that the letter to Epstein is fake because the letter is "not the way I talk."
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the letter is "not at all how he speaks or writes."
JD Vance said the same thing.
Does the letter sound like Trump?
I investigated.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the letter is "not at all how he speaks or writes."
JD Vance said the same thing.
Does the letter sound like Trump?
I investigated.
Does Trump's alleged letter to Epstein "sound like" Trump? An investigation.
On Thursday, the Wall Street Journal published a bombshell report about President Trump's relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
popular.info
July 21, 2025 at 1:14 PM
1. Trump says that the letter to Epstein is fake because the letter is "not the way I talk."
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the letter is "not at all how he speaks or writes."
JD Vance said the same thing.
Does the letter sound like Trump?
I investigated.
Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the letter is "not at all how he speaks or writes."
JD Vance said the same thing.
Does the letter sound like Trump?
I investigated.
Reposted by Simon Usborne
Excellent, gripping piece by Sophie Elmhirst about the trial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ju...
‘A relentless, destructive energy’: inside the trial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon
The long read: An intimate account of an unprecedented trial
www.theguardian.com
July 16, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Excellent, gripping piece by Sophie Elmhirst about the trial of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon www.theguardian.com/news/2025/ju...
Reposted by Simon Usborne
I spent months on this investigation and gathered docs from the UK courts, Land Registry and a French local authority, to show that Raynor and Moth Winn's story is not as they claim. @tortoisemedia.bsky.social @observeruk.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
The real Salt Path: how the couple behind a bestseller le...
Penniless and homeless, the Winns found fame and fortune with the story of their 630-mile walk to salvation. We can reveal it was far from the truth
observer.co.uk
July 6, 2025 at 6:06 AM
I spent months on this investigation and gathered docs from the UK courts, Land Registry and a French local authority, to show that Raynor and Moth Winn's story is not as they claim. @tortoisemedia.bsky.social @observeruk.bsky.social
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
observer.co.uk/news/nationa...
Reposted by Simon Usborne
I wrote about the Vylanising of the Gaza discourse, and what happens if you keep telling people things they can see aren’t true. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
The Gaza discourse has been Vylanised – but that diversionary strategy just doesn’t work any more | Archie Bland
Those appalled by Israel’s actions in Gaza, and the kind of media frenzy prompted by Bob Vylan’s Glastonbury appearance, are finding their voice, says Archie Bland, editor of the Guardian’s First Edit...
www.theguardian.com
July 5, 2025 at 9:19 AM
I wrote about the Vylanising of the Gaza discourse, and what happens if you keep telling people things they can see aren’t true. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
Reposted by Simon Usborne
I’m hiring a reporter for London Centric, looking for someone smart who can use a phone, knock on doors and wants to cause trouble. Don’t care if you’ve got qualifications, just want evidence of caring about news. Initial six month contract, pay above national rates. www.londoncentric.media/p/jobs
July 1, 2025 at 7:11 AM
I’m hiring a reporter for London Centric, looking for someone smart who can use a phone, knock on doors and wants to cause trouble. Don’t care if you’ve got qualifications, just want evidence of caring about news. Initial six month contract, pay above national rates. www.londoncentric.media/p/jobs
Reposted by Simon Usborne
Looked into the dark side of Mudlarking for @londoncentric.media. Like and subscribe for revelations of libellous graffiti and a brawl near Lambeth Bridge
Fights, excessive demand and an active police investigation into libellous graffiti against a prominent author: What’s going on with London’s mudlarks? (Great to have @susborne.bsky.social writing for London Centric!) www.londoncentric.media/p/london-mud...
London's mudlarks at war: feuds, fights and slurs on the shoreline
“Fuck off, this is my patch": A niche hobby exploded in popularity due to social media. Now the police are involved, as the people searching the Thames mud for historic artefacts battle each other.
www.londoncentric.media
June 28, 2025 at 7:34 AM
Looked into the dark side of Mudlarking for @londoncentric.media. Like and subscribe for revelations of libellous graffiti and a brawl near Lambeth Bridge