Dear Fifa inspectors Welcome to the home of football! In what must be the highlight of your trip around the world to decide which country should be appointed host for the 2018 World Cup, you have arrived in England for a tour of our football venues. You have met Cleggy, the little substitute in Downing… Continue reading An open letter to Fifa’s inspectors
Read moreI wrote recently in the Independent that the high level of self-satisfaction within the BBC at the quality of its output was not exactly borne out by what we see on our screens every evening. I concluded: “Away from the discussions about salaries, relocation and pensions, the BBC needs to remember that its public remit… Continue reading Sleek, corporate, safe – it’s time for the BBC to take risks
Read moreThere was once a very silly government minister who floated the idea that Britain’s public libraries should be privatised. It was in the days of Margaret Thatcher when such talk was fashionable. Even so, the idea was quickly laughed out of court. The minister’s political career was over. Modern-minded Tories do things differently. They consult.… Continue reading Hands off our public libraries
Read moreThe dawning of this new age of happy liberation from the state (or should that be “miserable betrayal by the state”?) has provided few greater surprises than the suggestion that the parish council, that whiskery old joke beloved of sitcoms like The Vicar of Dibley, will play an important part in the great revolution to… Continue reading Parish councils and a quiet revolution
Read moreOddly, because I was born on a farm and take an interest in rural matters, I have a troubled relationship with farmers. Every few days, while enjoying looking at the birds and the trees on a country lane, I get harangued by the local farmer or his gamekeeper. For me, walking down a lane enjoying… Continue reading Hedges, wool, dead dogs – an everyday story of country folk
Read moreNow that politicians vie with one another to prove the sweet ordinariness of their domestic lives, holidays have become competitive. Rather than do what they would like to do – sit by a billionaire’s swimming pool in the sun – political leaders are obliged to express heartfelt enthusiasm for something cheap, patriotic and home-based. “I… Continue reading Camping – the proper way to have a holiday
Read moreHigh passions and occasional dottiness are never far away when public libraries are under discussion. Earlier in the year, I wrote a light-hearted blog which induced an attack of the vapours in Ed Vaizey, the shadow Culture Secretary. Vaizey is now the Mr Big of libraries in the government, and his department has recently released… Continue reading Libraries – and an elephant called Google
Read moreThumping his chest, a silverback of the London Zoo management has announced that, after the premature deaths of two male lowland gorillas, another is to be imported. “Without a doubt, seeing a gorilla will rank as one of the most breathtaking moments in a person’s life,” zoological director, David Field, has said. He is almost… Continue reading Gorillas have no place in captivity
Read moreAs from this week, the word “shame” is likely to be appearing with increased regularity in the national newspapers. The Premier League football season starts on Saturday, and the national team will be in action on Wednesday. Already the predictable shame-based, football-related stories are beginning to appear in the press. This weekend the England… Continue reading It’s not the players, it’s their followers
Read moreNow and then, about once a year, the stage of public life darkens as a leading player makes his entrance. Sir Jonathan Miller is about to make a pronouncement about the cultural state of the nation. The news is rarely good. This week he revealed that, in spite of being a director, he had not… Continue reading Beyond the whinge – a message to Sir Jonathan Miller
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