There was a time not so long ago when most of those in public and private life could be divided into players and referees. The players saw individualism and flair as the keys to forward progress, while for the refs, order and organisation were what mattered. Both had their virtues and both believed they had… Continue reading Can a public figure any longer be a serious person?
Read moreThe good news is that Gordon Brown has broken with the recent tradition which requires party leaders to name Ian McEwan as their favourite novelist. Rather less welcome is the revelation that one of the first things he will do once he becomes Prime Minister is to read a children’s book, the final Harry Potter… Continue reading Harry Potter and the childish politician
Read moreWe are being watched from every street corner. Those slightly creepy men from Google are turning our computers into domestic spies. But the surveillance that really has the British people worried, at least if one believes reports in the family-values wing of the press, is the microchip that could be included in our dustbins. A… Continue reading Being wasteful is not a personal liberty
Read moreA lucrative double vacancy for ambitious media professionals has just become available. No outstanding writing skills are required but the two applicants should have a high threshold for personal embarrassment. They will also need to be a married couple and hate one another. Applications from adulterers, slobs and domestic sadists will be particularly welcome. Mrs… Continue reading Wanted: adulterers, slobs and sadists…
Read moreIt sounds enticingly simple. A snip of epidermis will be removed from the scalp. The activity will stimulate cell activity including the regeneration of hair follicles. If the effect of a gene called wnt is boosted, hair could well begin to grow where none had previously been. Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania believe that… Continue reading Are the bald ready for the trauma of hair?
Read moreOut of date, middle-class and generally a bit mimsy: the verdict of a focus group on the Today programme’s Thought for the Day was so unambiguous that not even the BBC could ignore it. Will its replacement in the “God slot” work any better? A transcript of the first Celebrity Thought for the Day leaves… Continue reading The world according to Sir Alan Sugar? Now there’s a thought
Read moreIt was a marvellous thing, the Independent on Sunday’s recently published Pink List, which graded the 100 most important gay people in the country in order of influence. Sexual preference is now such an important part of our culture that many will be hoping the trend continues, with the Top 100 Celibates, Top 100 Metrosexuals,… Continue reading You’ve seen the Pink List – now here’s the Grey List
Read moreThe political landscape is changing, with a new Prime Minister, Cabinet reshuffles and shifts of power around the United Kingdom, but, when the music stops, we can be sure that one thing will not have changed. Those in power will, like those who write about public affairs, come from our large cities. The landscape itself… Continue reading Will anyone listen to the views of farmers?
Read moreWhile it is not a constitutional crisis on the scale of, say, Prince William breaking with a girlfriend or his brother kicking a photographer outside a nightclub, the row between the Queen and “the Queen” has been causing serious problems in royal circles. At one level, it was trivial matter – the Queen invited Helen… Continue reading When the Queen invited the Queen to dinner …
Read moreA successful young British actress has just experienced one of those “I want to be alone” moments. While trekking in the Himalayas, Keira Knightley had noticed that what she liked most about her holiday was the fact that no one knew who she was. She had, she told a magazine interviewer, begun to see herself… Continue reading Madam Whiplash will never run out of punters
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