I had always thought that people who actually liked the sight of enormous metal structures in the previously unspoilt landscape were a slightly eccentric minority. Society needs electrical power but I had assumed that a sensible scientific establishment would be looking for ways to reduce the cost of transmitting energy in underground cables for the… Continue reading Pylon-fanciers will love this BBC propaganda
Read moreThe air will soon be think with the sound of special pleading as George “Cat-Skinner” Osborne goes about his devilish work. On the whole, people accept the idea of public expenditure cuts in general; it is only when they get nicked or chopped by the axe that they become less enthusiastic. Here is my heartfelt… Continue reading Here’s to the PLR – a great (and now late) quango
Read moreAnyone looking for a neat, dispiriting example of the way powerful retail conglomerates work in modern Britain might turn their eyes to the north Norfolk coast where this week, after a 14 year – yes, 14 year – campaign, the might of Tesco has finally bullied and cajoled its way to getting planning permission for… Continue reading Tesco’s Big Society squashes Sheringham
Read moreThere is, I am almost sure, a funny world out there. Prince Charles, Ann “Dancing Queen” Widdecombe, Katie Price, Huw Edwards, Wayne Rooney’s vice-girls, the Speaker of the House of Commons: no one could seriously deny that the raw material for a great carnival of comedy is to be found every day in our public… Continue reading Don’t try to be funny with me
Read moreWhen pollsters and statisticians are on the loose, making their comparisons and drawing up their league tables, they seldom bring good news for Great Britain. If the survey is into obesity, teen pregnancy, crime, drunkenness and stress, we are to be found near the top of the charts. If the subject is personal consideration, quality… Continue reading Me-time won’t save you now
Read moreA small mystery is contained in the day’s news. According to the 2010 Living Planet Index, just published by the World Wildlife Fund, human demand for the world’s resources has doubled since 1966, causing tropical wildlife to decline by 60 per cent since 1970, with the numbers of freshwater species in the tropics falling by… Continue reading The western world’s worst polluter? That’ll be the eco-saints of Denmark
Read moreThese are confusing times for the English gentleman. Everything in his background has told him that manners are what help define him, but in this sharp-elbowed, aggressively egalitarian world, he has discovered that old-fashioned niceness is no longer quite enough. If he offers a woman his seat on the Tube, she thinks he wants a… Continue reading How to be a perfect gentleman
Read moreI so so love you. With five unlikely little words, uttered within seconds of being elected, the new leader of the Labour Party showed the world that he was a sympathetic kind of guy who was prepared to let his feelings show, whether he felt them or not. Not so long ago, this kind of… Continue reading Must love be all around?
Read moreIn a cynical, marketing-crazed world, it is probably absurd to be distracted by three words on a promotional poster. All the same, one or two people might have registered the mildest start of surprise at seeing a quote which appears beside the head of Stephen Fry in advertisements for his new one-man show. It… Continue reading A celebrity’s guide to impersonating yourself
Read moreThe last time I spoke to Claire Rayner was when she rang me this summer. It was in the aftermath of the General Election, and Claire was contacting friends to encourage them (“encourage” is probably in an inadequate word) to support a petition demanding electoral reform. She was, to the end of… Continue reading To Claire Rayner – who fought back
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