The master has done it again. No one – not even Stephen Fry – has perfected the art of snagging public attention with a deftly timed provocative remark quite like Martin Amis. The subject might be women, or euthanasia, or terrorism, or England, or sex, or Muslims, or age, or himself, but the effect is… Continue reading Martin Amis and the Serious Brain Injury. Are you sitting comfortably, children?
Read morePin-striped and in a chauffeur-driven car, Andrew Neil has been driving around Britain in search of privilege. In this week’s BBC documentary Posh And Posher: Why Public School Boys Run Britain, he argued that, after a couple of decades of relative classlessness, meritocratic Britain is pretty much dead. It was the closing of grammar schools… Continue reading The upstairs, downstairs society
Read moreHere is a small but useful tip for a young man considering a career as a writer: trash your own gender whenever possible. Male-hating is a winner when it comes to image-building. In a society where perceived feminine values (empathy, communication, emotional intelligence) are highly valued while the gifts masculinity has to offer (aggression, competitiveness,… Continue reading Sins of the fathers? Not necessarily
Read moreTalking in a prison library not so long ago, I was startled to learn of the prisoners’ favourite writer. Almost all of them read, liked and believed the work of David Icke, the former goalkeeper who has said that he is the son of God, that senior politicians are satanic paedophiles, and that the world… Continue reading Give prisoners a stake in our democracy
Read moreThe Hollywood producers said to be competing for the story of the fake eco-warrior Mark Kennedy will have to work hard to turn his sorry tale into a feelgood film. All those involved have emerged with some degree of discredit: the failed undercover cop, his incompetent employers, and the faintly absurd environmental campaigners. Film-makers may… Continue reading A dream job for a chancer on the make
Read moreI should have known that someone would go bonkers when I suggested, in an Independent piece earlier in the week, that the American writer David Vann was taking a cheap shot, trashing the men in his family in a Sunday Times piece on the publication of his new novel Caribou Island. I asked: “Where does… Continue reading Beware of dad rage when writing about fathers and sons
Read moreIt is rather early in the year to be making nominations for the annual Pride of Britain award for heroes of everyday life, but it would be a surprise if there are stronger candidates than the teacher known to her pupils as “Miss Rusty”. Three years ago, Miss Rusty, who in the outside world is… Continue reading We should hire more people like Miss Rusty, not fire them
Read moreInterviewed on the radio as the waters of the Fitzroy River rose to threaten thousands of homes in the Queensland town of Rockhampton, the mayor, Brad Carter, was matter-of-fact. Plans for evacuating residents were being put into action and residents were warned that, as the river approached a level of 9.5m, the effect was likely… Continue reading Australia is still the lucky country
Read moreIt is a bracing thing, to leave the country before Christmas madness sets in, and return with the new year well and truly under way. The sense of potential and change, which can seem bleary and uncertain on 1 January, must surely be clearer in the eye after three more or less news-free weeks on… Continue reading Same story, different headlines
Read moreBecause the world’s New Year dawns in Australia before most of the rest of the world, the celebrations are taken seriously here. Sydney is “the New Year’s Eve capital of the world”, according to Make Your Mark, an environmental campaign which has been launched for the occasion. It is not difficult to poke fun at… Continue reading Top marks for the green Australians
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