There has, perhaps unsurprisingly, been scant sympathy for the professional jockeys who have objected to new rules and penalties for excessive use of the whip. The right of small men to hit sensitive animals for human profit and sport is hardly a case for the European Court of Human Rights. Yet the decisions currently… Continue reading We should give jockeys a fair crack of the whip
Read more And finally, here was an item of news to bring a smile to the nation’s lips after a succession of stories about falling incomes, rising costs of living, inflation and spiralling unemployment. Someone had just been awarded a huge unearned bonus of over £101 million. The word “bonus” was not, of course, used. Had… Continue reading The Lottery – as obscene as any banker’s bonus
Read more Not for the first time, that great art offensive known as the Cultural Olympiad is giving cause for serious concern. The Olympics are essentially a marketing opportunity – once every half century or so, we have the chance to show the world why Britain is such a wonderfully dynamic, creative and amusing country. While… Continue reading Ronnie Wood, an artist of our times
Read moreThere are those – and I am not making this up – who honestly believe that party conferences are a waste of time. That they are a schmooze for lobbyists, a general goosing-up of the party faithful, but they hold nothing of interest for the rest of us. How wrong these people are. The past… Continue reading Prudent is the last thing they want us to be
Read moreThere are few characters in public life who give the press, and presumably its readers, such sustained satisfaction and pleasure as the deserted wife. When things go well at the end of a high-profile marriage – that is, badly – the full misery and ghastliness of the situation can be played out like a wonderful… Continue reading Vicky Pryce and the curse of shared pain
Read moreI have a story which is about to go out to publishers. What better moment to post my recent Endpaper piece for The Author magazine, providing a useful cut-out-and-paste guide for authors? * After a while, experienced professional authors learn the importance of the calendar. They learn that it is not so much which editor  to approach  with… Continue reading It’s all about timing: an author’s guide to the publishing calendar
Read moreOne by one, the chicks and dudes of yesteryear are having their say. They are part of a lucky generation, never having had to fight a war, catching a wave of personal liberation four and a half decades ago, and now checking out before things get too heavy on Planet Earth. They have never been… Continue reading Take time to smell the flowers: why the hipppies were right about everything
Read moreAnyone who happens to drop an item of litter into a bin in London or Liverpool in the near future maybe in for a surprise. The voice of Michael Palin is likely to issue from its interior, exclaiming, “Nobody expects the Spanish binquisition!” Alternatively, the Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden might hail them with… Continue reading The great British right to litter
Read moreThere is something undignified, even a touch absurd, about someone agreeing to tell the story of his life, only to change his mind when the words have taken shape on the page. When the memoirist happens to be well-known, the false start can look like something of a tease – an act of self-importance and… Continue reading Writing about your life can shut it down
Read moreIt is the time of the year when, in a mood of post-holiday seriousness, we are all supposed to be considering matters of moment in international politics and economics. Unfortunately, as a result of the misbehaviour of a few political leaders, bizarre and inappropriate cameos tend to break the mood, as if Inspector Clouseau keeps… Continue reading Why politicians have problems with sex
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