"What are you like?"

My Liverpool comrades - and a friend from the Wirral (hello Claire) - have been known to ask me that from time to time. But now everyone gets to find out, thanks to a sympathetic Guardian profile from the witty John Crace. Maybe I came across as more cut up about the whole episode than I really am: all publicity is good publicity, after all. This profile is a good account of my happy slaps infamy, backed up with some early biographical details.

Someone who knows me from those days on the South Coast wrote to say:

Dear Graham,

I see from the media that you are now the world's most renowned authority on Happy Slapping. I hope that you are not "Happy Slapping " anyone with the Motorola phone that I sold to you 10 years ago. If so please visit my site www.cheapphonesonline.co.uk and get yourself a newer model.

Sadly " Happy Slapping" only really happens in the minds of Daily Mail journalists, which is a shame as it could really drive my website sales if it caught on.

Hope you are well,

Kamil

Cheers Kamil. I wouldn't even think of phoning anyone on that old Motorola ...
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My Reconstruction review of Bill Mullen's thought-provoking book Afro-Orientalism appears here; you can buy the book here.