It is unlikely that any of the obituaries of Richard Rhys, the ninth Baron Dynevor, will present him as an establishment outsider, perhaps even a victim of the class system. Being born into a distinguished aristocratic family which Burke’s Peerage traces back to the reign of Henry II and, according to some sources, being a… Continue reading The independent life and remarkable times of Carly Simon’s King of Wales
Read moreSince the dawning of the age of sentimentality, which probably took place in that year of Blair and tears, 1997, there has been a self-consciously caring attitude towards employment. Staff and personnel have become valued human resources, whose individuality and rights are valued and protected. A vast industry has developed around the increasingly complex area… Continue reading Ed Stourton and the new brutalism
Read moreOn Mega Monday, the day this week which apparently marks the peak moment in the year for internet sales, I received an email from a fellow author. In chummy tones, he invited all of those in his internet address book to mark the day by going online to purchase his latest book. A link to… Continue reading Happy Christmas (all major credit cards accepted)
Read moreImagine for a moment that, in an effort to make sports-minded young people become involved in the London Olympics, Sports England had commissioned an advertising agency to make a publicity film. The agency decides that the best way to encourage people to compete in sport is to play up our rivalry with Australia, and hires… Continue reading No medal without winding people up
Read moreNow that George Bush is pouring public money into private firms and bankers have suddenly discovered the attractions of state intervention, it is increasingly difficult to find examples of savage, unadulterated, old-fashioned capitalism. Now, one of the few businesses where a wild and jungly form of free enterprise still pertains, is threatening to become responsible.… Continue reading Football is better for being ruled by greed
Read moreIn a saner world, the news that government-appointed bodies are now paying millions to communicate with the Government which appointed them, and are employing former government employees to do so would cause surprise, perhaps even outrage. Today, the idiocy and graft at work within the system barely merits a second glance. Here is the way… Continue reading The greasy gravy train of lobbyism
Read moreThose looking for a snapshot of modern army life, which is rather more accurate than the gung-ho recruiting ads on TV, might usefully consider the misadventures of Lance-Bombardier Kerry Fletcher of the 40th Regiment, Royal Artillery. The first woman to ride with the King’s Troop, Fletcher made no secret of the fact that she was… Continue reading The Army has lost the moral high ground
Read moreWhen even the film industry begins to worry about our ability to concentrate, it is time to start worrying. Identifying what he calls a “snack-culture sensibility”, David Kirkpatrick, the former president of Paramount Pictures, has announced a joint venture with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to look at what happens to stories in our restless,… Continue reading Only one person is writing this – me
Read moreThe celebrities-in-a-wood show is back on TV. A Page Three girl has eaten a kangaroo’s testicle and was worried, rather touchingly, that she might become pregnant. The show is a sort of annual ritual which follows a predictable routine – the pretty one in the “jungle” strips down to a bikini, the mad one gets… Continue reading We are the real savages of the show
Read moreWith slightly unfortunate timing, that great annual carnival of caring and tears, Children in Need night, has been followed in short order by a survey revealing that the British have distinctly ambivalent feelings towards children. Commissioned by the Barnardo’s charity, the opinion poll recorded that almost half of those questioned believed the nation’s children were… Continue reading Demonised – and sentimentalised
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