A small moment of shame has occurred. I have earned a mention in the Independent’s Errors and Omissions column. As the name of the column implies, no appearance in Errors and Omissions is likely to be good news, and this was no exception. I was taken to task by its author John Rentoul for opening… Continue reading An error, an omission, a confession
Read moreIn a conveniently neat Old Year/New Year package, the government has provided evidence as to why, on the big questions of policy, it is not to be trusted. Old year. Three days before Christmas, an excellent time to bury bad news, the business secretary Peter Mandelson proposed, in a letter to the chair of the… Continue reading University – the job sausage-machine of New Labour
Read moreLiterary purists – JM Coetzee, Martin Amis, Zadie Smith, myself – like to argue that the writing of fiction is a solitary, often anguished, occupation. Increasingly, though, the idea is taking route that writing can be a social, even larky pursuit. The Quill and Quire blog has picked up a story suggesting that 18th century… Continue reading Where writers go wild
Read moreA DJ leaves his morning show. The nation mourns. When Terry Wogan presented his last morning Radio 2 show this week (he’ll be back in another next year), it was an event which was marked in the BBC news throughout the day. There was a sombre, formal farewell message from the radio knight himself. Emotional… Continue reading The rage of the Woganites
Read moreOh, bugger. At the very moment when finally – and nervously – I am joining the blogging community, the whole thing is slipping out of fashion. In a brilliant Observer article about writing in the digital age, Tim Adams refers to a backlash against online communication. “The capacity for rigorous sentence construction… is being replaced… Continue reading A blog virgin confesses…
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