Today is the official launch of the official video for SAD OLD BASTARDS WITH GUITARS, my musical tribute to ageing rockers, with unacknowledged contributions from a few SOBWGs of the YouTube community. Please visit, comment, tweet, retweet, reretweet, link and generally pass on the word – particularly to those to whom this song may speak personally. Â
Read moreEvangelists of the Big Society would have been dismayed by the annual meeting of my local parish council last week. Once a year, a community of almost 1,500 people has the chance to comment on the running of two villages. This year there were important matters to discuss – plans for a major development nearby,… Continue reading So much for a nation of volunteers
Read morePraise the Lord, Lady Gaga is to release an Easter single. The exotic singer has taken her interest in religion a step further with a song called “Judas” which will be launched next week. According to Lauriann Gibson, her choreographer, the new song is essentially “a conversation about salvation, peace and the search for truth”.… Continue reading Why God will smile on Lady Gaga
Read moreWhat merry chortles greeted new research showing that those who shop regularly and often tend to live healthier, longer lives than those who stock up once a week or less. There were comical headlines about retail therapy. Old jokes were dusted off: the person who said money cannot buy happiness didn’t know where to shop,… Continue reading Shopping locally is a political act
Read moreIt is the moment of the year when, after months of chill greyness, nature stirs and, slowly, colour and warmth seep back into the world around us. A butterfly lands on the compost heap! A chiff-chaff calls from the cherry tree! A hedgehog shuffles out of the woodpile after its winter hibernation! Fortunately, for those… Continue reading Tell-tale signs that change is in the air
Read moreAs someone who would be very happy never to hear the words “wind†and “farm†in the same sentence ever again, I have been watching the four-part BBC series Windfarm Wars somewhat begrudgingly. Over the past seven years, I have argued in my Independent column that, while renewable energy and less wasteful consumption are urgent… Continue reading How to watch Windfarm Wars – a semi-insider’s guide
Read moreIt is not, on the face of it, the most encouraging claim to be made for a new novel: not only does it have boredom as its theme but its author was himself so bored while working on it that he committed suicide. Although the book in question, The Pale King, will still be a… Continue reading We are saved by having nothing to do
Read morePerhaps it was the pressure of the moment, or maybe the prime ministerial stiletto is not as sharp as it was. Whatever the excuse, David Cameron’s description of Ed Balls as “the most annoying person in modern politics” has had experts in the field shaking their heads in disbelief. A clammy, pop-eyed monster of ambition?… Continue reading Those who annoy us, we salute you
Read moreA few years ago, spivs working in the development sector hit on a cracking new wheeze. They bought fields outside towns and villages where plans to develop had been denied by the local council. Then they sold small housing plots, reassuring would-be buyers that, sooner or later, planning restrictions would be relaxed, earning the investor… Continue reading Land-sharks first, local people second
Read moreBy one of those inexplicable quirks of modern technology, there was a most unusual case of crossed wires in the House of Commons this week. While the rest of the nation listened to George Osborne’s Budget speech, another narrative was coming through loud and clear on the smartphone of a junior parliamentary correspondent. It was,… Continue reading The budget of Ken’s dreams
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