It can’t be easy, wearing a wig and crinoline on the warmest day of the year in London, but the suffragette intent on her i-pad seemed unperturbed by it. I am in a former factory in North London which has been converted into the set for a new ITV Studio’s production. ‘Mr Selfridge‘ will chart…
I have been rather engrossed this month with writing commitments, hence the light blogging. It is not as if there have not been significance issues occupying the front pages. One of them is the Nicklinson case. Tony Nicklinson is the man paralysed from the neck down, who sees his life as a ‘living nightmare’ – he…
I was depressed over the weekend to read leaked reports of a new book by five ‘rising stars’ of the Tory party in which they accuse Britons of being among the worst ‘idlers’ in the world. Apparently they contend that we work among the lowest hours and argue that, instead, we should model ourselves on…
Four separate irreconcilable stories in the news today. First, a complaint that it is so difficult for Chinese tourists to get visas to visit Britain that they are not coming, and Mayor Boris says we need another airport. But we also read that airport expansion and holiday flights have a very bad effect in relation to carbon emission…
I wonder if the day after the Games, when we are all supposedly basking in an afterglow, was specially chosen for the announcement that rail fares will rise by RPI plus 3%, that is over 6%. The news certainly brought many down to earth with a bump. Our fares are already the most expensive in Europe, and…
I am not great on sports – I tend to like lonesome activities like hill walking but I thought the Olympics were a great success. From the stunning opening ceremony to the closing ‘party’ and all the activities in between it really did show all the strengths of the UK. Few other countries could replicate…
The formidable Baroness Trumpington has, I know, a fan base among our readers. They may therefore enjoy reading the interview with here here, published in today’s Daily Telegraph. She is clearly on form, recounting her days as a wartime land girl and code-breaker at Bletchley Park, as well as her more recent encounter with Lord King, when…
‘Good evening Mr Bond’. Given the participation of James Bond, and the Queen, in the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games, I thought it appropriate for this quiz to focus on members of Her Majesty’s security services, as well as the police, who have been made members of the House of Lords. The most high…
I was delighted to see Sarah Attar competing for Saudi. Why? Because she is the first woman to compete for Saudi Arabia but she had to wear a hijab. She came last but as the first woman to take part for the Saudi team she has set an important precedent and I suspect with her…
