Let us not panic. The news that Sebastian Coe is to launch the Cultural Olympiad by putting on his running shorts and sprinting through Tate Britain may not be encouraging. It might even justify fears that other desperate attempts to hobble art and sport together will follow: Tracey Emin doing the breast stroke at Tooting… Continue reading Forget fuzzy togetherness – ruthless individualism should be our legacy
Read moreIn order for any kind of civic virtue to be taken seriously in 2008, some kind of award must be created for it – a prize to remind us all that, in spite of all the terrible things that are going on, some good still exists in the world. There is the Pride of Britain… Continue reading Speak the truth and be damned
Read moreIt is something of an August ritual. The suits and faces from Televisionland migrate to Edinburgh where, infected by the general atmosphere of alternative politics and comic skittishness, they go a little too far during a speech or a question-and-answer session. Newspapers, desperate for copy, whip up a “debate” about what has been said and… Continue reading Poor old Paxo given a stuffing
Read moreFor a moment, as those figures scampered around a double-decker bus in Beijing, like actors in an over-ambitious fringe event at the Edinburgh festival, there was a glimpse of the image which Britain could present to the world in four years’ time. After the faintly fascistic, massed-ranked displays of 2008, London will have the chance… Continue reading Never mind the Olympics, let’s hear it for the allotment
Read moreThere was a time when potentates travelling the world would shoot an animal – a tiger or a lion perhaps – as an expression of diplomatic friendship towards their hosts. The modern equivalent is to trade in endangered animals. Playing this deeply unattractive game, Gordon Brown will shortly travel to Beijing where, as part of… Continue reading Zoos show us little more than our own cruelty
Read moreIn a brave but almost certainly doomed attempt to appeal to America’s evangelical Christian voters, Barack Obama has taken part in a televised debate at a “megachurch” in California. Although he sensibly scattered biblical references throughout his replies, the senator’s position on key topics was not likely to appeal to his congregation. He favoured the… Continue reading Selfishness for the greater good
Read moreNot so long ago we were warned that, as a nation, Britain was sitting on a fat bomb. Unless something was done about the annual inflation in obesity rates, the fat bomb would explode. There would be a terrible mess. And yet the fat have continued to grow fatter. In 2005, more than one in… Continue reading How to make obese people feel a bit better
Read moreHow will your community be marking the imminent handover of Olympic flags from China to Britain, an event recently described by Tessa Jowell as “a truly historic moment, not just for London but for the UK”? In my part of East Anglia, plans are progressing well. The August Bank Holiday weekend will see the climax… Continue reading Do we really want to host the cut-price Olympics?
Read moreIt has been something of a shock to be reminded that ITV is still a public service broadcaster. For some reason, the idea that the channel responsible for The Jeremy Kyle Show, Golden Balls and Bingo Night Live is providing a service to the public has become difficult to grasp. This week, the station’s grim… Continue reading It’s time someone came to the rescue of Melvyn Bragg
Read moreAt this time of the year it can be useful to have some great, global problem to worry about. Staring moodily out to sea, or dozing over a Jeffrey Archer novel, many holiday-makers can find thoughts of a distant crisis – human rights, the state of the planet, mass migration – oddly invigorating. This summer’s… Continue reading Men, victims? We’re doing just fine, thanks
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