It’s astonishing that New York has only just legalised gay marriage. There are some very touching pictures in the Guardian. The word is right though: marriage. And changing the law in this country does, to a very large extent lie with simply changing a few words. I’m pleased that we have civil partnerships in Britain […]
The language of civil partnerships matters Read More »
The resignation of Rebekah Brooks was inevitable. That Sir Paul Stephenson has resigned too, on the same day as Brooks’ arrest, is remarkable. Surely David Cameron is next in line. I’ve been saying it on Twitter and down the boozer for at least a week. Tonight, even Iain Dale thinks it’s a possibility, having previously
What did the Prime Minister know? And when did he know it? Read More »
One of the great surprises of the City Council elections in Brighton and Hove in May (Yes, yes, the ones where I got absolutely thrashed by the Cllrs Kitcat), was the victory in Central Hove ward of our very own local eccentric Christopher Hawtree. Needless to say, when I call someone eccentric, I mean it
In praise of Christopher Hawtree Read More »
I can’t help thinking that this frankly awful error is the result of Newsquest cutting staff, especially those wonderful sub-editors who are fastidious as a class. Hear me now. You can’t run a newspaper on a shoestring and maintain your reputation and readership. The cracks are showing at the dear old Argus. The Argus hacks
Argus Apostrophe Ouch Read More »
(I’m sticking to my 2010 resolution to read a book a week. Here’s what I read in January 2011. And excuse the tardiness, I’m clearing out scribbles that I haven’t blogged yet.) Instinct, Ben Kay. Insects. Bloody big insects and bloody thousands of them. I grabbed this in December because I’d met the author at
Reading List: January 2011 Read More »
Back in at the start of 2010, I resolved to read a book each week for pleasure over the course of the year. My total at the end of the year was 48, which isn’t too bad. The general election campaign gave little time for reading and I blame that for my falling short. That
Reading List 2010: Entertainments Read More »
I’ve been blogging in various forms, and on different sites and platforms, for pushing a decade now. I’ve blogged as myself, helped others blog and also ghost written bloggery (usually in a corporate context) too. This site has been my personal blogging home for more than a few years but I am deeply conscious that
Claire Rayner died yesterday. She was a remarkable woman: a fantastic campaigner for the NHS, a brilliant voice of common sense and also a woman of good humour and love. I’m of such an age, that she has always seemed to be in my life. The tributes call her an agony aunt and that seems
Farewell Claire Rayner Read More »
eBay celebrated its 15th birthday a few weeks back. Here are 15 memories of my time at eBay. Happy 15th Birthday! The first pay cheque I ever got from eBay was from the head of eBay Europe’s joint account with his wife. eBay itself didn’t even have it’s own bank account. In the first month
On eBay’s 15th birthday: 15 reminiscences. Read More »
An unfortunate juxtaposition? Or a clue? Spotted. Two Argus posters down my way. I think we should be told.
Are the two things linked? Read More »
I can’t generally do name dropping. Not least because I don’t have names worthy of jettisoning in public. And I obviously shy away from playing the posh school card (for so many reasons). But this tickled so much, that I have to share. I donned black tie and headed back to the alma mater last
Douglas Hurd backs Ed Miliband* Read More »
It’s more than a month since the General Election and I have one last post to make in my Election Notes series. I’ve been sitting on it because I was unsure exactly what I wanted to say. I made some notes at the time. This is a verbatim extract from the Sunday after the General
Election Notes 2010: On losing Read More »
I had the Scrabble set out earlier (not a rare occurance) and discovered the Lego House of Commons. Where are my Lego people? And my Lego despatch boxes, Lego mace….
Where’s the Honourable Member for Legoland? Read More »