Sign in

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

PostsRepliesMedia
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Thanks John. Also, if, shot into space, the amount of cars we produce annually would form two rings of Saturn around the Earth... why haven't we done that?! We should do that.
010
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
In print as of yesterday @theobserveruk.bsky.social
112
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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
001
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
011
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
Henry Dyer @direthoughts.com · 19/09/2026
Brilliant piece of writing. Featuring a marvellous parenthetical throwaway remark about Magnason’s family.
043
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
It’s hard to think about climate breakdown because it’s hard to talk about. Even those two words “climate breakdown” just feel muted. Hopefully this piece will help reframe our muted descriptors. It also briefly details the sex lives of trolls.
011
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
274
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
001
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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
254
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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".
101
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.
011
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
010
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 07/08/2025
🙏
010
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?
263
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
I'll still be writing for The Londoner; I love London, but I'm also excited to cover events outside the M25.
000
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
7. Cleaning the dark I walked under the earth for this. I still think about how the air felt down there. It was thick. www.the-londoner.co.uk/tube-cleaner...
the-londoner.co.uk
Cleaning the dark: What goes on in the Underground after the last train
Every night, workers scrub a mixture of hair, skin and metal filings from the walls of the Tube. Miles Ellingham joins them for a shift.
100
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
6. Seizing the means of promotion This explains how to foment lasting revolutionary praxis at a non-league, east London football club. 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
100
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
5. Dog Days At Romford Greyhound racing is deeper than you think, as is Romford. www.the-londoner.co.uk/londons-last...
the-londoner.co.uk
Dog Days At Romford: London’s last surviving greyhound track
Romford Stadium will soon be the last dog racing facility within the M25. Miles Ellingham visits the outpost and traces the sport’s controversial history.
100
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
4. To catch a hooligan Enjoyed following the Met's policing unit around as they searched for football hooligans. Sadly this meant I had to spend an extended amount of time with Tottenham fans but there you go. www.the-londoner.co.uk/to-catch-a-h...
the-londoner.co.uk
To catch a hooligan
Over the years, the Met have developed a network of “spotters”, dedicated to monitoring football violence. Miles Ellingham shadows them for a day.
100
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
3. “I thought I was in heaven.” How residents actually feel about “the deadliest estate in Britain”. The Brandon was labeled “Britain’s deadliest estate” by The Times. I got to know residents and something more nuanced emerged. www.the-londoner.co.uk/i-thought-i-...
the-londoner.co.uk
“I thought I was in heaven.” How residents actually feel about "the deadliest estate in Britain".
Back in 1961 the Brandon estate was meant to revolutionise social housing. Then its reputation declined.
100
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
2. The maverick who built London’s best club Jan really is a maverick. This story goes from Venue MOT to some unexpected places head-spinningly fast. www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-maverick...
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.
100
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 03/07/2025
1. Inside the hidden, (mostly) silent convent at the heart of London This was probably the best story I wrote. Harry Mitchell and I spent time with the Tyburn nuns who are literally always praying and only leave the convent to vote or access medical care. www.the-londoner.co.uk/inside-the-h...
the-londoner.co.uk
Inside the hidden, (mostly) silent convent 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.
100
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.
131
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?
020
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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
184
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
You can read the piece here (for free): www.the-londoner.co.uk/i-thought-i-...
the-londoner.co.uk
“I thought I was in heaven.” How residents actually feel about the deadliest estate in Britain.
Back in 1961 the Brandon estate was meant to revolutionise social housing. Then its reputation declined.
031
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
184
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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.
122
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Read it here (this one's free) - www.the-londoner.co.uk/the-maverick...
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.
000
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 27/05/2025
Before he was a club owner, Jan was throwing raves in prison cells and firing AKs with the mujahideen. He's currently watched over by his 55kg XXL Pitbull, Sox, who Mohammed occasionally enlists to help him chase away homophobes and racists.
100
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.
110
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 12/05/2025
Here's the piece - have a read: www.the-londoner.co.uk/to-catch-a-h...
the-londoner.co.uk
To catch a hooligan
Over the years, the Met have developed a network of “spotters”, dedicated to monitoring football violence. Miles Ellingham shadows them for a day.
010
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.
152
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
121
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Some really inspiring stories in there too.
000
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
You can read it @londonermag.bsky.social . It's about the burden of hope and the thin line between dreams and nightmares.
100
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.
130
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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.
022
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
021
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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?
283
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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.
011
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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
0166
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
032
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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
044
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
052
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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?
276
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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'
011
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Thanks John!
000
Miles Ellingham @milesellingham.bsky.social · 10/03/2025
Pleased with this one. Reads a bit like a sports movie.
130
Reposted by Miles Ellingham
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
12112