It was the breastfeeding clause that tripped me up. Only the most heartless brute could oppose the idea of Harriet Harman’s Equality Bill, even if it has sometimes seemed that New Labour introduces an Equality Bill every year or so, usually when things are getting rough on the political front. Under this latest version, there… Continue reading We don’t need a lesson in fairness from Harriet
Read moreAlready there is talk of a film based on the life and unlikely fame of the Britain’s Got Talent contestant Susan Boyle. It will doubtless tell how an ordinary Scottish spinster of 47 had always dreamed of being a singer, how she appeared on a Saturday night TV show, how the audience and judges laughed… Continue reading Keeping it real has never been so attractive
Read moreIn despair at the futility of a money-obsessed world and the dreariness of his life, a man decides to start a new one by faking his own suicide. When, after his funeral, he returns to his own world in disguise, he sets out to show former colleagues and his family how to live a more… Continue reading Reggie Perrin, still a hero 30 years on
Read moreShare Close Digg del.icio.us Facebook Reddit Google Stumble Upon Fark Newsvine YahooBuzz Bebo Twitter Independent Minds Print Email Text Size Normal Large Extra Large sponsored links: Ads by Google NHS Organ Donors Get information on how to jointhe NHS organ donor register. www.OrganDonation.NHS.uk New Panasonic Lumix G1 Like An SLR, Only SMLR. Packed WithDigital SLR… Continue reading The politically divisive nature of diversity
Read moreThat old standby of the Labour years, the anti-racism festival, is under threat. The Rise Festival, which is normally held in Finsbury Park, north London, in September, will not take place this year now that the Mayor of London Boris Johnson has decided that local taxpayers’ money would be better spent on a variety of… Continue reading The politically divisive nature of diversity
Read moreWe are living through times which are rich with untapped satirical potential. Reptilian special advisers, crazed anonymous bloggers and rent-a-quote moralisers are all worthy subjects, but none is quite so deserving of the contempt of laughter than that great contemporary archetype, the ethical celebrity. The ethical celebrity is a very caring person who will ensure… Continue reading How, precisely, will Sting save the planet?
Read moreAt this time of the year, when part-time Christians all over the country will be making a rare visit to their local church in order to keep their membership up to date for another nine months, it has been salutary to be reminded of the role religion plays in everyday life – whether we like… Continue reading Why is support for the sick a religious issue?
Read moreIt is becoming increasingly difficult to take the appropriate attitude towards England’s patron saint – that is, to treat him as a slightly embarrassing joke. Once it was easy, when the white flag with a red cross was as reliable an indicator of English brutishness as the word “HATE” tattooed across a beefy knuckle, but… Continue reading A St George’s day festival is not very British
Read moreThe face of that familiar figure, the government nanny, is changing. Until recently, she was a scary, smiling appropriateness-enforcer with a hint of Cell Block H about her. In the imagination, she looked a bit like Harriet Harman. The new type of nanny is rather different. She is a gentle, middle-aged biddy to whom hard… Continue reading I’d save the world, but they won’t let me
Read moreAlthough saving money is always welcome in these tricky times, it is with a real pang of sadness that I will be cancelling my direct debit to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and resigning my membership. Watching birds gives me untold pleasure throughout the year, and I am generally in favour of… Continue reading Why I feel betrayed by the RSPB
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