BLOGS

The new wave of reality TV stars are a bunch of animals

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When a person in public life compares himself to a plate of food, it is almost a sign that he is in a bad place, psychologically. So Peter Bazalgette's remarks on resigning from Endemol, the production company responsible for Big...

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The green prince and the queen bee of Hollywood

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Ever since it was announced last month that the heir to the throne was working with Hollywood on ideas for a documentary film, those of us in the environmental movement have been trying to find out more about the project....

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Why Sunday night’s Fry-up left a greasy after-taste

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What a very strange and not entirely pleasant business it must be to become a National Treasure. Some, like Sir David Attenborough or Michael Palin, might have been born for it. Others, like Billy Connolly, have had to work harder....

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How turning off nanny’s heating will save the planet

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It is a big week for Sir Giles Backwoodsman, the landowner and country sportsman who has been asked to explain the Conservative Party's new green policies to traditional party supporters across the country. "Green really can be blue, you know,"...

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New punctuation to hit the right note in these jazzy times

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In Japan, they are writing novels on mobile phones. Nearer home, the quickest, hottest way to communicate is through a controversial, attention-grabbing blog. Forms of expression are moving and morphing, popping the buttons of the old conventions like the Incredible...

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Students’ laziness is an education in itself

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They will be settling in this week, all those nervous, excited first-year university students. During Freshers' Week, they will sign up for societies and clubs, often more out of duty than enthusiasm. They may go out drinking with their peers,...

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‘Pussygate’ proves we have lost our innocence

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It is now known that a major new crisis is about to engulf the BBC. A producer has been suspended. There are threats of sackings. Unions are involved. According to the chorus of critics of the Corporation, who are ever...

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The rich still try to buy their way in to heaven

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For a true appreciation of the delicate balance which exists between contemporary wealth, conscience and poverty, the best place to start is at a prominent charity dinner and auction. At these fashionable events, various key players in the great soap...

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Capitalism v conservation: there’s only one winner

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Wildness is quite the thing right now. On TV, suburban makeover shows have been supplanted by a new, hairier kind of fantasy in which man – represented by Ray Mears, Bear Grylls or Bruce Parry – pitches his wits against...

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Why this couple are an example to us all

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In these property-obsessed days, it's refreshing to hear of those few brave people who have not been caught up with homes, houses and domestic life. In Norfolk, a local council has been worrying over the past two years about a...

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