Not much to say, really. The papers are awash with news, views, op-eds and outrage. Ten days of coverage, more details unfolding daily on the catalogue of inaction. I couldn’t face watching Panorama tonight after reading today’s news. It would have been like getting an abuse-porn fix.
Like the rest of the nation, I feel angry, [...]
Election? What election?
Published in November 4th, 2008
I hate elections. And I particularly hate the US presidential election. Try as I might, I just cannot work up the slightest enthusiasm for it. Or even the vaguest smidgeon of interest. I ought to feel guilty about that but I don’t. Try as I might to ignore the saturation coverage, it’s unavoidable, and irritating [...]
No orchids for Mr Brand
Published in October 29th, 2008
No question the hottest story of the week has been Brandgate, pushing Robert Peston and the recession off the front pages and onto the backburner. Things moved fast today when the BBC announced first the suspension of Brand and co-broadcaster Jonathan Ross, then Brand’s resignation. The fate of Ross remains unknown but Brand was always [...]
Held to account
Published in October 10th, 2008
Ever been without a bank account? With the turbulence on the global financial markets over the past few days, not having a bank account probably seems like a pretty good idea. BBC Magazine looked at the difficulties of surviving in modern society on cash alone. The story touched only briefly on the concept of so-called [...]
Dirty old town
Published in September 22nd, 2008
“When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford”, Samuel Johnson famously wrote in 1777. I am neither a man nor tired of life, but I tired of London a long time ago.
Leaving London was one of my better ideas. I’ve already [...]
The invisible older woman
Published in September 4th, 2008
It’s not been a good week this week if you are female and over 30. First, the news broke that newsreader Selina Scott is to bring an age discrimination claim against Channel 5, as yet another older woman vanishes off our screens, as Joan Bakewell so eloquently wrote yesterday.
Today, the latest report on the glass [...]
Fessing up - my failures at ethical consumerism
Published in August 27th, 2008
Journalist Sally Whittle, she of the fabulous Getting Ink blog, has tagged me in a meme, first started by Dom at PR-otagonism. The idea is to admit publicly to the products you use that normally you would be too ashamed to admit to in polite company.
I’m not mad keen on memes, but this one does [...]
Why it’s not grim up north
Published in August 14th, 2008
If you’ve been following the news the last couple of days, you’re no doubt aware of the Cities Unlimited report published by Policy Exchange. A Tory think-tank, Policy Exchange has been ridiculed even by David Cameron for the absurdity of its proposals, such as how northerners should all move south because otherwise we’re doomed to [...]
The obscenity of the Olympics
Published in August 8th, 2008
It’s here again. The sporting spectacle that is about so much more than pure sporting prowess. I’m not a massive sports fan but I might find it in me to admire the Olympic ideal if it was only about sport. I find it depressing that the reality is that the Olympics is about pretty much [...]
