I 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 to the White City estate in London, collect boys in my car and take them… Continue reading Paranoia that sexualises childcare
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 who appear are hired locally to minimise their carbon footprint. Programmes are printed on re-useable… Continue reading Entering the new age of personal guilt
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 the most developed, socially evolved country in the world. Other nations to have received a… Continue reading Is Britain really so unhappy?
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 if Straw Dogs had been re-made by the Carry On team, with the part of… Continue reading It’s an insult when a townie expects rural life to be an idyll
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 been times when I thought we’d never – What are you doing?” “I’m getting down… Continue reading Catholics do it on a wing and a prayer
Read moreA highly promising research project into the power and effects of the popular song is being undertaken at the University of Hertfordshire. A lecturer in health psychology, Dr Nick Troop, has fed all the lyrics written by David Bowie into a computer and has come up with a list of words and phrases most likely… Continue reading How songwriting can seriously boost your health
Read moreTake a look at the photographs of the nasty ruckus which took place at Tuesday’s football match between West Ham and Millwall. The mood expressed on the faces of those involved is not angry, or even defiant. It is joyful. These are guys having fun. In another context – a rock concert, say, or the… Continue reading Bring on the Hooligan Cup
Read moreThe much-publicised campaign which encouraged members of the public to photograph MPs enjoying their holidays in some unexplained sleazy way has not been going terribly well. The campaign group behind MP Holiday Watch must have hoped that it would produce something at least faintly embarrassing – Eric Pickles in speedos perhaps, or Hazel Blears windsurfing… Continue reading Politics has no place for these celebrities
Read moreA photographer searching for an image to capture the true strangeness of early 21st-century life could do worse than to visit Heathrow’s Terminal 5 this week where, amid the throng of August holidaymakers, a philosopher is at work. Occasionally, he will interview passengers. As he taps away at a laptop computer, his words will appear… Continue reading Why does a philosopher need to join the clamour for speed?
Read moreThere is nothing quite like big-time, high-profile sport to influence non-sporting behaviour in wider society. As the football season gets under way, we shall soon be hearing how some incident involving a player (pampered, overpaid, ill-disciplined) or a manager (ill-tempered, unsporting, disrespectful to authority) has set a terrible example to young people everywhere. Yet, compared… Continue reading Rugby players are experts at passing blame
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