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 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 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
Read moreThe clatter of police horses’s hoofs on tarmac, the wail of sirens, the throaty roar of English malehood up for a fight, alarmed bystanders scuttling into side-streets for safety: it was not just any old midweek evening game of football. It was Millwall’s visit to QPR. For four hours on Tuesday night, parts of Shepherds… Continue reading A night of football violence: ugly, noisy – and exciting
Read moreI’ve been thinking about song lyrics recently – or, rather, the translation of French song lyrics into English. The folk wisdom among serious translators is what, while French is the more natural language of romance and love, English is more economic, muscular and flexible The first is certainly true. If you doubt the superiority of… Continue reading Love and sex in song – why it helps to be French
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 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 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
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