The parasitic poisonousness of Omid Scobie
I don’t remember exactly when I first read about the ancient courtier role of Groom of the Stool, but it’s…
Britney Spears is back with a vengeance
After years of abuse and being reduced to the status of child-robot, the singer is back on track with soaring album sales and a smash-hit memoir
Ed Sheeran’s time is up
Who’s the worst pop star of modern times? Some might say that Adele sounds like a moose with PMT –…
In defence of ‘nuisance’ buskers
I’ve always been partial to buskers. I’m sympathetic to beggars of most kinds – except the aggressive rotters, of which…
The cultural appropriation of the keffiyeh
I’ve never been sorry that I left education at 17, armed with nothing but my raw talent and splendid rack.…
Sam Smith, can you put your clothes on?
Undressing. Getting one’s kit off, whether for the gentlemen or the ladies, depending on one’s bent. Disrobing, divesting, denuding. Slipping…
Dave Courtney and the grotty reality of true crime
The death of the gangster Dave Courtney – found in his bed with a gunshot wound at the age of…
Why the kids hate Jews
The surest way to work up a crusade in favour of some good cause is to promise people they will…
The many, many faces of Keir Starmer
Is nomenclature destiny? If Keir Starmer had not been named for Keir Hardie, the founding father of the Labour party,…
Helen Mirren is perfect to play Golda Meir
The word ‘actress’ used to be interchangeable with ‘prostitute’ and though it’s a good thing that this little misunderstanding was…
What went wrong with Billy Bragg?
An online ding-dong is like a full complement of condiments at lunch; you wouldn’t want to live off it, but…
Britain is now a nation of shoplifters
Shoplifting is out of control
Why musicians can’t stand politicians liking their songs
I was amused to hear that Eminem has sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy –…
It’s time to end the rewilding menace
There’s a ghastly predictability to the news that the University of Sussex – in Brighton, naturally – wants to set aside nearly half…
Do the police think ‘lesbian’ is a term of abuse?
Reading that a 16-year-old autistic girl had been dragged from her home by seven cops after reportedly saying a female…
Brighton rock bottom: How the Greens nearly destroyed the city I love
When you’re short-sighted, everyone seems attractive; for this reason, I don’t often wear my glasses, as I think myopia has…
Lizzo and the problem with Fat Activism
Remember when we all loved Lizzo? In 2019 ‘Juice’ (the last great party anthem BP – Before Pandemic) was a…
The sinister truth about the war on cars
When I was a girl in the 1970s, we didn’t have a car. We always took the train from our…
Who killed comedy?
Wading into the Sadiq Khan #HaveAWord brouhaha, Laurence Fox had a pop at Khan’s ally Romesh Ranganathan thus: ‘You are…
The cruelty of a trans beauty queen
BeKind is one of the Great Icks – to use the vivid word so beloved of Love Islanders – of…
Andy Murray and the unstoppable rise of the sporting bores
When I was a girl, sportsmen were amiable dolts. If they were old-school, they liked blokes and beer; if switched-on,…
The Transmaid’s Tale
It’s generally agreed that sex-selection is a Bad Thing. In India and China, sons are favoured over daughters – but…
Solid, drab grey
Count Maxim pursues his former cleaner Alessia to Albania – but sex in badly plumbed bathrooms while senseless on raki doesn’t sound that thrilling
It’s becoming ever clearer that climate change is a class issue
It’s not news that we live in a New Medieval age of Magical Thinking, when the Enlightenment is seen as…
The stupidity of the Oscars’ diversity quotas
Is anyone actually watching the Oscars anymore? Until ‘The Incident’ between Messrs Smith and Rock last year the direction of…
