Quince
I recently bought some quinces in our local farmshop as part of my new policy of investing heavily in right-wing…
There is no Santa Claus, Sir Patrick
It seems, then, that this latest lockdown has been instigated simply to protect two very questionable institutions — the National…
The morality of free school meals
The main problem with the government giving in over free school meals during the holidays — other than that it…
The BBC needs a reality check
One of my favourite moments of viewing in this strange and dark year was the outgoing director-general of the BBC, Tony…
Does anyone recognise David Hare’s Britain?
Having not watched television for nine months and already growing bored of the 1,000-piece jigsaw of General Alfredo Stroessner (part…
What I got wrong about lockdown
The news that residents of Liverpool are not allowed to visit any other cities in the UK is a hammer…
My pick for BBC chairman
There are two striking things about the new book, 100 Great Black Britons, which was compiled to celebrate the achievements…
A.G. Cook: Apple
Grade: A The future, then. The sound of pop eating itself, throwing up into a bag and then getting a…
Yusuf/Cat Stevens: Tea for the Tillerman 2
Grade: B– Time has been kind to Cat Stevens’s reputation — his estrangement from the music business and rad BAME…
Time for me to be more assertive
In the light of recent articles in The Spectator, I think it is vital I should point out here and…
J.K. Rowling’s fundamental mistake
I had my first doubts about Lord Hall, the former director-general of the BBC, when he addressed a group of…
The Pineapple Thief: Versions of the Truth
Grade: B– Of all the various subdivisions in that wheezing and crippled phenomenon that we call rock music, prog has…
Falsehoods are running amok
I don’t know how much of a shock this will come to you as — perhaps none, because you are…
How a lie becomes truth
Teachers were told to exclude children who made ‘inappropriate’ jokes about Covid when they returned to school this week. These…
Our Belarusian blind spot
I’d always rather liked the Finns, until I came across the conductor Dalia Stasevska. When I asked my mother what…
Brits aren’t idiotic – but our institutions are
Two headlines from the same news-paper, less than three weeks apart. So, the Guardian on 31 July: ‘The Guardian view…
Ill-received pronunciation
Radio 4 recently ran an adaptation of Albert Camus’s The Plague in which the protagonist, Dr Bernard Rieux, was transformed…
Deep Purple: Whoosh!
Grade: B+ Less deep purple than a pleasant mauve. Ageing headbangers will note a lack of the freneticism that distinguished…
Who cares about reality?
Activists wish to change the name of a school in north London because it is named after a road which…
Taylor Swift: Folklore
Grade: A- This is worrying — like listening to a speech by David Lammy and finding yourself, against your better…
Fat-shaming didn’t do me any harm
One of the genuine pleasures I always take in arriving back in the north-east after being in London is that…
Youthful mistakes
In January, the director-general of the BBC, Lord Hall of Birkenhead, announced that the corporation intended to shift away from…
The politics of mask-wearing
We are enjoined by certain experts to wear face masks while having sexual intercourse. No change there, then, for me.…
No one loves a despot
Displaying the pristine neutrality that has made her such a popular figure, Newsnight’s Emily Maitlis apparently tweeted the following last…
Neil Young: Homegrown
Grade: B+ Neil Young has been mining his own past very profitably for a long time now, disinterring a seemingly…
