The second part of our interview for ‘London Pillars of the Community’ where we investigate a local online celebrity – featuring Ben Locker. For part one, please follow this link.

3.) Tell us about your blog? Any big plans for it?
These days I am a phenomenally busy commercial freelance writer, not to mention father of a belligerently cheerful toddler, so I blog less than I used to. When I do post, I tend to write opinion pieces about local events and politics, publish occasional bits of research (did you know there’s a correlation in London between the parties that run councils and the amount they spend on publishing “free” newspapers?), and drop in photos of things I’ve witnessed locally. Like crime scenes. Other than that, I’m quite proud to have come up with the idea of “Elegantly Dressed Wednesday” - every week, a growing number of bloggers post about someone or something elegant. I devised it as an antidote to another meme, “Half Nekkid Friday” for which bloggers post photographs of some unclothed part of their body. Give me good tailoring over goose-pimples any day.

I also contribute free of charge to local print publications, particularly pub reviews for EastEight - a magazine that’s distributed free to all homes and business in the E8 postcode ares of Hackney - and I have a local history piece in the first ever issue of the Hackney Citizen, which has just been released.

I don’t have big plans for the blog: I’ve got a good number of loyal readers, and that suits me fine. I can never understand the desire to blog for fame and fortune; and as for getting published, I’m already co-author of a satirical book called Swinesend: Britain’s Greatest Public School, which did pretty well in Waterstones and elsewhere last year.

4.) Do you really get much Morris Dancing in Hackney?
No. The single photo of Morris Men on my blog (see below) was photographed in Essex. I used to see them far more often when I was growing up in Stamford, Lincolnshire.

5.) Why should benlocker.com be at the top of every right-thinking Londoners favourites list?
I don’t think it should, as it’s not that sort of blog. That said, I hope that at least some of my posts have the power to surprise, amuse or even rile - and for that reason I do think it’s a blog that’s worth keeping an eye on, certainly from time to time.

And thus, this is just a peek into the world of Ben Locker. Make sure to pop to his blog for more of him, and if you would like to feature as one of our ‘Pillars of the Community’. Do drop us an email.

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