If the delegates currently attending the global climate conference in Mexico need any reminding of the magnitude of their task in the face of human stupidity and hubris, they do not have far to look. At another meeting of a distinguished international body, the decision has been made to hold the most needlessly energy-wasting sporting… Continue reading The Qatar World Cup is the global equivalent of leaving all the lights on
Read moreThe dog has gone slightly mad. Astonished every morning that her territory has been transformed into a sparkling white playground, she bounds through the snow, her nose acting as a snowplough. Normally rather ladylike when it comes to creature comforts, she ignores the cold, the wet, the fact that balls of ice hang from her… Continue reading It’s not just the landscape that snow changes, but a whole outlook on life
Read moreToday marks the end of a peculiar, but increasingly popular, annual event: national novel-writing month is almost over. Heads down, fingers pounding away at their keyboards, would-be writers here and in America will be racing for the finishing line, having almost completed a novel of some kind or other in 30 days. The words of… Continue reading Why writers are mugging each other
Read moreIt has been one of those moments when, as if we have suddenly been spooked by the chilly uncertainties of today and tomorrow, there has been a general scurrying back to the warmth and safety of yesterday. The newspapers have earnestly discussed weddings, public schools, frocks and class. Broadcasters of the old-codger school have bemoaned… Continue reading Sometimes you can be too dignified
Read moreLike the hula-hoop, skateboarding and computer games, sexting is one of those teenage fads which has spread unexpectedly into the adult world. There was a time when talking dirty by text – or, more challengingly, within the 140-character form of Twitter – appealed mostly to those not getting the real thing. Now, increasingly, the grown-ups… Continue reading Modern love is just lust in the ether
Read moreIt must have been something of a shock for those attending a global-warming rally this week to find themselves caught up in an international debate about a dead rock star’s penis. Before turning to the state of the planet, the governor of Florida, Charlie Crist, revealed that he had become increasingly concerned about a famous… Continue reading Jim Morrison – the rock star who flashed for freedom
Read moreThe co-author of Families and How to Survive Them has embarked upon his Alimony Tour. One of the comic themes of this travelling one-man show derives from his divorce from his third wife Alyce, and the expensive settlement which followed. It could have been worse, one gag goes. “Imagine how much I’d have had to… Continue reading Divorced, and back on the couch
Read moreIt is time for town-dwellers to be very brave. We are about to venture into the perilous unknown. There is a place, according to no less an authority than the director-general of the National Trust, which is “alien” and “full of unfamiliar, unexpected things”. Today’s generation, Dame Fiona Reynolds has warned, “runs the risk of… Continue reading The hidden terrors of the countryside
Read moreAt a meeting of fans who supported a large football club, a man in his forties once stood up to speak. “This is our club,” he said. “Let’s face it, nothing matters quite as much as this – wife, family, whatever. For me, the club always comes first.” There were mutters of agreement, a smattering… Continue reading A father’s fancy footwork
Read moreA few concerns have been raised about plans for closer co-operation between the British and French armies. There have been quacks of alarm from traditionalists and little Englanders, fearful that the essential character of our soldiery will be compromised by contact with French brothers-in-arms. “British Army Under French Orders”, read one front-page headline over a… Continue reading Aux armes across the Channel
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