Because politicians only occasionally take into consideration what is happening in the British countryside, rural policies and initiatives, when they do come, often have an other-worldly, Alice in Wonderland feel to them. A few days, ago for example, a report...
Read moreEvery country which has hosted the Olympics has used it for image purposes. China presented itself as powerful and organised. Australia projected a sunny yet cheerfully competitive nature. The problem so far with the London Olympics has been to decide...
Read moreCould there be a more perfect nanostory than the sad tale of what happened when a university vice-chancellor made a joke about sex? A nanostory, you may recall, is one of those small media events which, in our fast, emotion-led...
Read moreAs the political parties square up to one another during conference season, we can expect the usual sugaring of carefully scripted political jokes among the policy statements. The Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Teather set the tone this week with a...
Read moreAs another of the great soaks of England makes his woozy way into the great beyond, we should brace ourselves for a round of that now-familiar game, Spot-the-Euphemism. Keith Floyd is being celebrated as "a character" with "an appetite for...
Read moreI have a confession to make. In the past, I have had frequent, intensive contact with children. There were boys, sometimes as young as eight. There were primary schoolgirls. Over a period of a couple of years, I would drive...
Read moreThe Canadian author Margaret Atwood, as brilliant a self-promoter in her way as Jeffrey Archer, has hit on a bright new idea. Her latest series of performed readings have been presented as a showcase of caring environmental concern. The musicians...
Read moreThere will be dancing in the streets of Oslo at the breaking news that Norway has topped an important United Nations survey. The dancing will be decorous and well-behaved because, according to the UN's Development Programme, Norwegians now live in...
Read moreIt would take a heart of stone not to laugh at the wonderful tale of Liz Jones, the me-and-my-mad-life columnist, and her experience of life in the country. With shotguns, sheep, toothless locals and a tearful heroine, it is as...
Read moreSo here we are, after all those dates and dinners and nervous telephone calls. It's just us, alone together, in a romantic double room at the Novotel. And for a whole night! I have to tell you, darling, there have...
Read more
