Progress, What Progress? Britain on the Skids

Technologically, Britain is moving forward in leaps and bounds. We can buy everything we could possibly need online from Tesco, Amazon or a plethora of other outlets - and have the goods delivered within hours. Words like gigabyte and Netflix are as familiar to us as tea and coffee. We can talk to our friends on the other side of the world, at no cost, in real time, fully visible and stark naked if we like. Everything's on tap, 24/7. But is downloading a blizzard of smartphone apps and consuming Deliveroo-ed pizza just because we can, making us appreciative, happy souls - or turning us into arseholes?
What happened to our green and pleasant land - or is it more colourful and lovelier than ever?
From politics to parenting and schooling, the honours system to the state of our national game (football), from the way we build our housing estates to how we behave at horse races, Progress, What Progress? offers up a wry and humorous commentary on what it means to live in 21st-century Britain. Is this a country we can be proud of and feel safe to live in? Has social media been our saviour, or has it set us on a course where, in a few years from now, the art of conversation will be lost forever and we'll barely be able to string a sentence together? As long as you can still read, see what you think...

Howard Sharp is an award-winning former newspaper journalist and has spent the majority of his career running his own PR consultancy. A baby-boomer, with a grudging acceptance of technology and an appreciation of comedic writing (he's a huge admirer of John Sullivan of Only Fools and Horses fame), he was born in Brighton and educated at Ardingly College. Away from work, he has a passion for travel and sport-especially his beloved Brighton and Hove Albion-and is happily married to Jane, his wife of 25 years.