October 2010 Neither man nor monkey. That was how wise grandmothers would once describe teenage boys, and if we need evidence that nothing really changes over the generations ‒ not in human development, anyway ‒ we need look no further than The Inbetweeners, an award winning comedy show than can be seen on the digital… Continue reading…
The Guardian (August 13, 2010) You won’t hear it said in many publishing houses these days, where those editors and managements who have survived the ten per cent cull in their numbers following the credit crunch now appear frozen in the headlights of the onrushing digital revolution. But from the point of view of authors,… Continue reading…
July 28, 2010 Jackie Cobell doesn’t look like a star. A council foster carer, she doesn’t have a glamorous job, and at fifty six years old, she’s so fat she’s had a gastric band fitted. All in all she just doesn’t fit your usual image of a cute, young, fake-tanned, TV celebrity. But a celebrity… Continue reading…
Daily Mail, June 2010 Have you noticed the promotion the BBC has been running for their niche channel BBC 4 recently? After snippets of what look like enticing, grown-up, forthcoming programmes it ends with the selling pitch “Everyone needs a place to think”. That’s absolutely right. Everyone does need a place to think and television… Continue reading…
Readers Digest 2010 Once, when a man got past forty, his hair began to go grey. When he reached sixty it frequently turned white. It was nothing to be ashamed of, just part of the ageing process. This didn’t necessarily apply to mature women, of course, whose hair has always come in many splendoured shades… Continue reading…
Daily Mail, May 2010 There was a hullabaloo at the end of our road on Friday night. It was so loud I went out take a look, and, as I did, other neighbours were opening windows and peering out in curiosity. And what was going on? Well, nothing really, just a hundred and fifty or… Continue reading…
Daily Mail, August 2008 We all recognise the moment. Suddenly a song or a piece of music that we haven’t heard in decades comes on the radio, and immediately we’re transported back in time to a key moment in our lives when that melody happened to provide the accompaniment. It doesn’t matter if we aren’t… Continue reading…
Daily Mail, August 2008 For thousands of young people around the country a dream came true yesterday. Their A-level results told them they’d got the grades they needed to begin their glittering careers at the universities of their choice. Congratulations to all of them. They worked hard and they’ve been rewarded. No matter if some… Continue reading…
Daily Mail, 2008 Can someone tell me exactly what is so funny about the F word, that Middle English verb, adjective or exclamation which used to refer solely to sexual intercourse but which is now used in a plethora of catch-all ways to indicate just about any kind of situation. It obviously must be funny… Continue reading…
Daily Mail, 2008 A father of two is murdered when he tries to stop two drug addicts stealing his car radio; a boy is stabbed to death in a London street by a gang calling themselves MDP–that stands for Money, Drugs, Power; a popular television presenter kills himself when his actress girl friend dies after… Continue reading…
