My good friends Laura and Raj were married yesterday; today, they have very sensibly started their married life together with a seminar. The subject under discussion was prompted by the title of a book Laura once saw in a guesthouse in Scotland: How To Be Happy Though Married. Here surely is one of life’s tougher… Continue reading Keeping the magic alive after ‘I do’
Read moreHave you had a call from a personal travel adviser yet? In some parts of the country, they are knocking on doors and offering tips on responsible travel. It is a government initiative, financed by the Local Sustainable Transport Fund, and its aim is to encourage more of us to leave the car at home… Continue reading Why we’re all being driven to extremes
Read moreIf you have tears, prepare to shed them now. In our great national melting pot, one section of society is being systematically excluded from what we read or see on our screens. “There is this notion that the lives of the comfortably-off middle class don’t merit being treated seriously and with compassion,” the novelist and… Continue reading Bourgeois angst? Life is too short
Read moreHaving recently contributed to a public inquiry into a proposed wind turbine development, I have taken a particular interest in the news that planning applications of this kind are less likely to be granted than in the past. As usual, the story has been presented in terms of selfish locals acting against the greater environmental… Continue reading Get rich quick by being ‘green’
Read moreIn his first detailed statement to the public, Lord Patten, the new chairman of the BBC Trust, has rather daringly invoked the great novelist Gustave Flaubert. The corporation is in danger of “drowning our viewers and listeners in a small metropolitan pond of stereotypes and prejudices, what Flaubert called ‘received ideas'”, he said. Unfortunately, his… Continue reading Some useful received ideas for the BBC
Read moreSeldom has a general opinion been more instantly and depressingly confirmed by specific news. Last week, in a Radio 4 documentary, I suggested that censorship, particularly in music, is alive and well. It takes the form of extreme sensitivity to other people’s feelings, and causes more suppression than a platoon of Mary Whitehouses could achieve.… Continue reading ‘Liberals’ at their most cowardly
Read moreLast night, a grim 21st-century tradition was observed on BBC television. Within days of the jury returning a guilty verdict in a high-profile murder trial, an hour-long documentary about the case was broadcast at prime time. Doubtless, millions tuned in to catch up on this miserable story. Not only had it been excitedly promoted on-air,… Continue reading Prurience posing as compassion
Read moreAn arctic rock is to be dug up and brought to London, as a statement about climate change. A giant Lady Godiva in aluminium will be held aloft by 50 cyclists, reflecting heritage and green energy. That great national emblem, the three lions, is to be crocheted in sheep’s wool – presumably as a witty… Continue reading It’s hard to say what’s great about Britain
Read moreAs if we were caught up in some science fiction B-movie, a war is being fought over the control of our souls. As yet, the conflict is little more than a few light skirmishes – most of us are hardly aware it is happening – but, in the view of many, some mighty battles lie… Continue reading Happy your life online is an open book?
Read moreConservative MPs like to sneer at the Human Rights Act. It is, they say, anti-freedom, nannyist, and, worst of all, much too European. One of their number, though, is about to invoke the act on a matter dear to his heart. He believes the House of Commons authorities are in breach of Article 8 of… Continue reading How much is that doggy in Westminster?
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