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Miles Ellingham

@milesellingham.bsky.social
263 followers 172 following 51 posts

Senior Writer: @theobserveruk.bsky.social Contributing Editor: Dispatch Media Work in: The New York Times, Financial Times, Prospect, The New Statesman, Rolling Stone etc - miles ellingham(at)gmail(dot)com 📖 @rcwlitagency

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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
In print as of yesterday @theobserveruk.bsky.social
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Stan Dupp @sdupp.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Superb writing . I really enjoyed this despite staring sadly at the same glacier in 2024. It reminded me of an abandoned rusting, but once magnificent, stretch limousine. Thank you
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
A few ideas for how to deal with the end of the world which Andri and I brainstormed whilst climbing a volcano having left the water back in the car
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Henry Dyer @direthoughts.com · 19/09/2026
Brilliant piece of writing. Featuring a marvellous parenthetical throwaway remark about Magnason’s family.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
I wanted to write about the end of world but I didn’t know how. So @observeruk.bsky.social sent me Iceland to meet the extraordinary writer, @andrimagnason.bsky.social . Four days, one frozen helicopter ride and one dead glacier later I started work on this. observer.co.uk/style/featur...
observer.co.uk
Epitaph for a glacier | The Observer
Glaciers are not supposed to stop moving, but in 2014 one did. Miles Ellingham travels to Iceland to see it and meet the activist who believes its death should shock us into taking action
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
In 2006, the Romani villagers of Glod were tricked into portraying backward rapists for a strange, tall man named Borat. @dispatchmedia.bsky.social sent me there twenty years later to learn what happened and how life in Glod actually plays out. dispatch-media.com/what-happene...
dispatch-media.com
What happened to Borat’s village?
Sacha Baron Cohen turned Glod into a punchline • Its Roma residents say they were tricked • 20 years on, this is their story
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Cat Neilan @catneilan.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
"In the gardens of the basilica, a small group of PRs and critics pick at plates of mortadella and anchovies. “Has anyone here pulled yet?” one of them asks. “No one’s pulled me, that’s for sure.”" Beautiful, snarky piece by @milesellingham.bsky.social observer.co.uk/culture/art/...
observer.co.uk
Canapes at the end of the world | The Observer
Miles Ellingham spends a lost week at the Venice biennale
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Dispatch @dispatchmedia.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
"Everyone here walks around with a glazed expression. You can imagine them ambling contentedly into the waves." @milesellingham.bsky.social reports from Sandbanks, often dubbed "Britain's Palm Springs".
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 25/11/2025
travelled down to an ultra-wealthy enclave in Dorset to ask people about the budget. But I just found this weird eerie feeling, which I attempted to describe for @dispatchmedia.bsky.social . Amazing photography from Harry Mitchell.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 26/09/2025
Two weeks ago, @observeruk.bsky.social sent me to Kyiv. There’s normality in the capital but it’s fragile and continuously interrupted by war and fear and violence. I wrote a diary and tried to capture that. observer.co.uk/style/featur...
observer.co.uk
24 hours in Kyiv | The Observer
Art, raves and four-minute warnings: how the city’s young are clinging to normality while war rages on
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 24/07/2025
My first piece for @theobserveruk.bsky.social about a fascinating new book and the hellish gateway at the centre of the fascism/yoga Venn diagram. This was a strange one to research. observer.co.uk/culture/book...
observer.co.uk
Why do fascists love yoga? | The Observer
For more than a century, elements of the far right have been attracted by the rigour of eastern disciplines. But does the connection stand up?
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
🚨 Thought it might be worth posting that I'm going freelance. Please get in touch if you need some writing or just want to meet for a chat. I really enjoyed working as a staffer at The Londoner and I'm very proud of the features I produced there. Here’s some of my favourites.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 11/06/2025
Whilst researching this for @londonermag.bsky.social, I often had to pause and pace about the room or leave to catch my breath outside. It's about the homeless dead. It's a hard read, but, I think, a necessary one. Great edits by @hkatewilliams.bsky.social. www.the-londoner.co.uk/counting-the...
the-londoner.co.uk
Counting the homeless dead
Every year, hundreds of homeless people die in London. If we don't know they existed, how can we mourn them?
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
In 2018, the Brandon was dubbed 'the deadliest estate in Britain'. For the past few days, I've been speaking to dozens of residents about their lives. I ended up writing about it for @londonermag.bsky.social
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
In 2018, the Brandon was dubbed 'the deadliest estate in Britain'. For the past few days, I've been speaking to dozens of residents about their lives. I ended up writing about it for @londonermag.bsky.social
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The Londoner @the-londoner.bsky.social · 24/05/2025
Tme Out named Bermondsey's Venue MOT the 'best club in London'. Even in the eccentric world of nightlife, the maverick who built MOT stands out. @milesellingham.bsky.social meets Jan Mohammed, the Wakefield boy who smuggled heroin, threw prison raves & is keeping a DIY spirit alive.
the-londoner.co.uk
The maverick who built London's best club
Jan Mohammed shot AK-47s with the Mujahideen and raved in prison. Now he's remaking the capital's nightlife in his image.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Prepare to enter the weird world of Jan Mohammed. For @londonermag.bsky.social , I spent hours knocking back blue tequilla slushies with the man behind what Time Out has labelled “London’s best club". This one goes to strange places.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
I shadowed a team of 'spotters' — specialised cops in the Football Policing Unit who monitor and follow 'high risk' fans. I wrote about the experience for @londonermag.bsky.social . Some incredible pics from Harry Mitchell in there too.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
Nocturnally staring at a load of factories was unexpectedly the best thing I did in Japan. I wrote about it for the @financialtimes.com - on.ft.com/43l2NKV
on.ft.com
Postcard from Tokyo: the romance of heavy industry by night
[FREE TO READ] ‘Kojo yakei’ cruises offer the chance to see oil refineries, chemical plants and steel works as dusk falls
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
On Tuesday I waited in a queue of aspiring actors hoping to land a part in the Percy Jackson musical. Hundreds waited for over nine hours only to be turned away without even being seen by casting. I spoke to some of these people and a piece emerged. www.the-londoner.co.uk/its-like-the...
the-londoner.co.uk
"It's like the hunger games": How to try for West End stardom
On Tuesday, hundreds of young aspiring performers waited up to ten hours outside the Other Palace Theatre for nothing. These are their stories.
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The Fence @thefence.bsky.social · 20/04/2025
An oil trader and an Old Etonian with a genius for PR, was Justin Welby the worst Archbishop of Canterbury since Thomas Arundel? @milesellingham.bsky.social and @coramazov.bsky.social investigate www.the-fence.com/speaking-in-...
the-fence.com
Speaking in Small Tongues
Happy-clappy times in Knightsbridge and beyond.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 16/04/2025
I’ve got a feature out in @londonermag.bsky.social about how London became one of the most densely excavated cities in the world. www.the-londoner.co.uk/digging-up-l...
the-londoner.co.uk
Digging up London
How the capital became one of the most densely excavated cities in the world
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Derek Walmsley @derekwalmsley.bsky.social · 08/04/2025
If you enjoyed the recent @bigissue.com special on 10foot there’s a tremendous FT (!) longread on him from a couple of years back courtesy @milesellingham.bsky.social www.ft.com/content/45a1...
ft.com
After hours with 10 Foot, London’s most notorious graffiti writer
He risks his freedom and his life nightly. Why?
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Andrew Kersley @andrewkersley.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Really loved the little details of this @milesellingham.bsky.social piece. Especially the fact that a model who has been in cover shoots for Gucci and Dior is one of the leading volunteers in the Natural History Museum's basement beetle rooms.
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The Londoner @the-londoner.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
Thanks to climate change, invasive bug species have put UK ecosystems at risk of collapse. In the depths of the Natural History Museum, a team of bug experts, with help from a professional model, are trying to stop it. @milesellingham.bsky.social met them: www.the-londoner.co.uk/beetlemania-...
the-londoner.co.uk
Beetlemania: the crack team responding to London’s insect invasion
In the depths of a London institution you’ll find 27,000 boxes, nine million beetles and a race against time
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
For @londonermag.bsky.social I visited a room in the @nhm.org that contains 300 years, nine million beetles and a few dedicated bug experts at the cusp of a changing world. Have a read www.the-londoner.co.uk/beetlemania-...
the-londoner.co.uk
Beetlemania: the crack team responding to London’s insect invasion
In the depths of a London institution you’ll find 27,000 boxes, nine million beetles and a race against time
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Andrew Kersley @andrewkersley.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Do you ever wonder what it's like to work at Shrek’s Adventure? Well I spoke to ex-staff. They told me about actors running Shrek-themed OnlyFans accounts and ogre costumes too dangerous to wear for over 30 mins. My magnum opus for @londonermag.bsky.social www.the-londoner.co.uk/life-inside-...
the-londoner.co.uk
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 27/03/2025
For @londonermag.bsky.social I profiled Dermot Hudson, a London-born former civil servant who’s made it his life’s work to defend and support the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. He also enjoys windmills. www.the-londoner.co.uk/north-koreas...
the-londoner.co.uk
North Korea's man in London
Meet Dermot Hudson: retired civil servant, windmill enthusiast and lifelong champion of the DPRK
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Andrew Kersley @andrewkersley.bsky.social · 16/03/2025
An NHS doctor commits suicide every three weeks. I told the story of one of them, Dr Jagdip Sidhu, and chronicled how working in an underfunded, broken health system left him feeling like there was no future. My story for @londonermag.bsky.social www.the-londoner.co.uk/nhs-doctor-s...
the-londoner.co.uk
The lonely death of Dr Jagdip Sidhu
He was a rising star of the NHS. Could his work have contributed to his death?
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Camilla B-D @camillabd.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
@milesellingham.bsky.social pitching us headfirst into the mad world of football ultras via Naples' 'kamikaze pigeons'
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Pleased with this one. Reads a bit like a sports movie.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
For @londonermag.bsky.social weekend slot, I wrote about @claptoncfc.co.uk and how to foment revolutionary praxis at an east London, non-league football club. It's a great story, some of which is reported from Naples. www.the-londoner.co.uk/story-of-cla...
the-londoner.co.uk
Seizing the means of promotion
How to mount a coup at a non-league, east London football club
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Dan Roberts @lasvegaswi.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
I'd kind of lost track of what was going in at Clapton so this was the perfect thing to read today
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Stu Brooking @stubroos.bsky.social · 09/03/2025
This is tremendous. I'm even more determined to get to the @oldspotteddog.bsky.social for a @claptoncfc.co.uk game next season
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 08/03/2025
For @londonermag.bsky.social weekend slot, I wrote about @claptoncfc.co.uk and how to foment revolutionary praxis at an east London, non-league football club. It's a great story, some of which is reported from Naples. www.the-londoner.co.uk/story-of-cla...
the-londoner.co.uk
Seizing the means of promotion
How to mount a coup at a non-league, east London football club
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Big moment for us @londonermag.bsky.social . Feels very surreal my writing being quoted in @newyorker.com , thanks @samknightwrites.bsky.social - you can read the full piece here - newyorker.com/magazine/let...
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The Londoner @the-londoner.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
For our weekend read, @milesellingham.bsky.social visits a hidden, cloistered community of nuns. An (almost) silent spot in central London. This one's free to read and goes in some strange directions. www.the-londoner.co.uk/inside-the-h...
the-londoner.co.uk
Inside the hidden, (mostly) silent covent at the heart of London
Meet the cloistered nuns of Tyburn. They're always praying and can't leave except to vote or access medical care.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 15/02/2025
There's a cloistered community of nuns in central London who only leave the convent to vote and access medical care. They pray 24/7 on rotation. I spent a day chatting to them about dreams, Tolkien and true happiness. It's free to read @londonermag.bsky.social www.the-londoner.co.uk/inside-the-h...
the-londoner.co.uk
Inside the hidden, (mostly) silent covent at the heart of London
Meet the cloistered nuns of Tyburn. They're always praying and can't leave except to vote or access medical care.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 06/02/2025
Great piece
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
There's been a lot of coverage of @princecharlescinema.com and how the beloved London institution is under threat. But few have explored the question of why it's so beloved in the first place. Really enjoyed writing this for @londonermag.bsky.social - www.the-londoner.co.uk/once-upon-a-...
the-londoner.co.uk
Once upon a time at the Prince Charles Cinema
Inside the rise of a beloved London institution
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 30/01/2025
For @londonermag.bsky.social I managed to arrange a rare interview with Tim Hunkin, the reclusive inventor behind the satirical machines of Novelty Automation on Princeton St. This one's called 'The Chiropodist'. 🧵1/3
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Francisco Garcia @franciscogarciadf.bsky.social · 25/01/2025
For the past six months, I’ve been reporting on the highly controversial plan to open ‘Europe’s largest lithium mine’ in Serbia. You can read the resulting long read here if you’d like www.newstatesman.com/internationa...
newstatesman.com
The battle for the soul of Serbia
The need for lithium is driving a global race for resources – and plans for a mine 120 miles from Belgrade have triggered social and political turmoil.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
This is the third long-form profile Cormac and I have written. It might be our best so far, at least, I think it's our largest in scope, probably our longest too. Have a read @thefence.bsky.social - www.the-fence.com/speaking-in-...
the-fence.com
Speaking in Small Tongues
Happy-clappy times in Knightsbridge and beyond.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Thanks @direthoughts.com
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Cormac Kehoe @coramazov.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
The latest @thefence.bsky.social profile from my good self and @milesellingham.bsky.social. This time we look at the surprisingly insane life of Justin Welby, the ex-Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Church he remoulded in his image. www.the-fence.com/speaking-in-...
the-fence.com
Speaking in Small Tongues
Happy-clappy times in Knightsbridge and beyond.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
Following on from a mayor, then a billionaire, Cormac and I have written about an archbishop.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 24/01/2025
This is the third long-form profile Cormac and I have written. It might be our best so far, at least, I think it's our largest in scope, probably our longest too. Have a read @thefence.bsky.social - www.the-fence.com/speaking-in-...
the-fence.com
Speaking in Small Tongues
Happy-clappy times in Knightsbridge and beyond.
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Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Please subscribe to @londonermag.bsky.social so you can read my dispatch from Reform's annual conference. www.the-londoner.co.uk/reform-comes...
the-londoner.co.uk
Reform comes to London
Miles Ellingham attends Reform UK's south east of England conference
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The Fence @thefence.bsky.social · 22/12/2024
@milesellingham.bsky.social and Cormac Kehoe struck the ideal partnership to profile Evgeny Lebedev, the tragicomic press baron and peer (lots of wonderful material couldn’t make it in, alas). www.the-fence.com/the-buddha-o...
the-fence.com
The Buddha of Siberia
‘So many memories and so little worth remembering, and in front of me – a long, long road without a goal…’ —Ivan Turgenev, Fathers and Sons You might measure Evgeny Lebedev by the blast radius of his…
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Andrew Kersley @andrewkersley.bsky.social · 20/12/2024
Cleaning semen stains, forgotten names, sexual assault and being unable to afford the Tube. Me and @milesellingham.bsky.social documented the experiences of London office cleaners for @londonermag.bsky.social www.the-londoner.co.uk/life-of-offi...
the-londoner.co.uk
‘Nobody really acknowledges my presence’: The life of an office cleaner in London
Who is cleaning up after your office Christmas party?
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