On balance, it was probably not a very good idea for Lady Black, in the early days of the trial of her husband Conrad, to call a Canadian TV producer a “slut”. Nor was her subsequent characterisation of the entire journalistic profession as “vermin” particularly sensible or well-timed. As Barbara Amiel, Lady Black was once… Continue reading This sanctimonious whiff of disapproval
Read moreIn the relatively unlikely event of Britain becoming a republic and there being a vacancy for a wise, sensitive, public-spirited person to become head of state, there can surely be only one candidate. He is the man with whom Tony Blair shared a thoughtful podcast last month and to whom, a few days later, Robbie… Continue reading Truly daring remarks from a voice of sanity
Read moreAn exciting new sport is becoming popular in America. Enterprising safari owners have realised that there is good money to be made from the internet and are bringing the joys of hunting animals into the home. A variety of mammals – antelope, wild pig, deer and others – roam in an enclosed safari park where… Continue reading What is so thrilling about killing a deer?
Read moreThere is more than a hint of Lucky Jim to Professor David Coleman, as he poses for a photograph, tweed-jacketed, in his book-lined room at Oxford. He looks like a man who would rather enjoy stirring things up and goosing the pieties of the moment. Somehow it is no great surprise to learn he acts… Continue reading If academics can’t think freely, who can?
Read moreAn alarming insight into the minds of the people of Warwick has been provided by the psychology department of the town’s university. A study into British attitudes to character, published in the magazine Personality and Individual Differences, interviewed 17,056 adults, 40 per cent of whom were graduates, and a third of whom were managers or… Continue reading The sorry state of these latter-day icons
Read moreSo, the great carnival of celebration that will climax in five and a half years’ time with the London Olympics is now under way. This week the former rower Sir Steve Redgrave is launching a campaign to find some quite tall schoolchildren who might be interested in playing for Britain’s beach volleyball team in 2012.… Continue reading Enough of this defeatism about the Olympics
Read moreThere is some good news at last this week for Planet Earth. The writer Iain Banks has announced to the press that he has undergone a major change of conviction about the environment, and is changing his lifestyle accordingly. He will vote for the Green Party. He has bought a wind turbine to put on… Continue reading Pimp your ride the green celebrity way
Read moreAs a political leader nears the end of his period in power, he is likely to loosen up in interviews and perhaps even in the way he behaves. He might admit that, early in his career, he was too eager to be liked. Or he could become inappropriately flirtatious with younger women. He might even… Continue reading Why do we want marital perfection in our leaders?
Read moreHow did they feel, the 1.8 million protesters, when this week they received a long email in response to their petition from the Prime Minister? They had logged on to the Downing Street website, a new exercise in online consultation with voters. They had registered their online disapproval of road taxes. Finally each and every… Continue reading The dangers of email dependency
Read moreIt is the season for self-mortification with the start today of Lent, one of Christianity’s better inventions. There is much to be said for a short, bracing spell in our personal wilderness, without booze or chocolate or fags or TV, and pre-spring, these few glorious weeks of chilly anticipation, is the perfect moment for it.… Continue reading For Lent, could we all just calm down a bit?
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