Iains_Page

Iain Managhan, who has grown up in what can only be described as a house in an estate, with nothing but a small bedroom to sleep in and numerable privileges, is not comfortable about discussing his childhood. When asked about this(As he declines a light for his cigarette whilst giving a wry grin which seems to question my importance as a human being and makes me want to punch him in the face) the creator of the HALIV site explains, "I was a very depressed child and just seemed to lash out at people for release". He goes on to say, "My friends would always attack me saying I was just trying to stop everyone having fun and that I should be grateful that I wasn't starving like the children in Africa. But as I told them, you're a f***ing Idiot! Starving's for piss artists!" Managhan goes on to recount how his friends would never understand the turmoil he would face every day of his early years. Amazingly though, not once, even when confronted would he part with what they were supposed to understand. I persevered for a while, trying to be patient before I got angry and told him to be quiet and smile once in a while, whether he was happy or not.
After I had calmed down, I questioned him on what made him decide to create such a site. "Well it all came about through a series of events; me, on the internet, all evening, every evening, doing nothing". I then enquired about how he'd moved on from that, he replied after a considerable pause, "Well, I gotta read the message board, check nobody's writing nothing that isn't insulting, and I look at what I've done on the site... hehe, I give so much to these people".
As is well known, Managhan has a knack of just pissing people off with his somewhat extreme views, none more famous than the claim he only wants to be happy, enraging the Happy contingent, and in their words, "undermining the state at which we try so hard to achieve". Managhan declined to answer any questions on this saying that he was now fine and was trying not to be down at all. Knowing this to be a lie, I perserved but to no avail. Finally I got sick of his lying, and him thinking that I wouldn't get it, called him a moody b*****d! and stormed out of the interview room.
But as I sit here writing this article up it is clear that this is why the site works so well, if only by people talking about it's self indulgence and irritation factor. Luckily for the public, Iain collaborates with Marcus Ratcliff and Richard French, the first an hilarious artist which is almost the opposite of Managhan in his views and therefore a lot easier to take in, and it is almost impossible not to take in what Ratcliff is trying to actually say. The latter, well is good friends to the first two and although having nothing to really say, is still remarkably funny and light hearted and no doubt an important part of the team. French is almost certainly the work horse behind the site and without him, the work would undoubtedly slow till a stand still.

Report by
Alan Rumour