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Life

Time to volunteer, methinks …

A few hours ago now, I just ‘came to’ for the second time today, nipped across to pick up my papers, had a spot of breakfast and settled down in front of the BBC Breakfast Show … as you do. You can criticise me on principle for ever buying it but, for all its naffness, I do find the Daily [...]

February 25, 2014 // 0 Comments

The blame culture

In yesterday’s Standard I was struck by one article in the normal tedious parade of celebrity features on the usual suspects: Petronella Ecclestone, Naomi Campbell, dressed as a cowboy in boob tube, and of course Simon Cowell. A tribunal hearing into Chelmsford hospital was reported after the [...]

February 25, 2014 // 0 Comments

The Old Ship

The Old Ship is the oldest hotel in Brighton. In 1559 there are records of an inn on the site  known as the Shippe, the Hampshares, Brighhelmstone.  In 1650 it was renamed  the  Old Ship when  the New  Ship was built opposite  (now Hotel du Vin). In 1651 King Charles II  fled  the country [...]

February 24, 2014 // 0 Comments

Women and sport

In my own sweet way, I regard myself as an enlightened metrosexual gentleman – in this context I would cite the example that I go to the expense of applying shaving cream before scraping my chin, rather than just soap and water as was the habit of my grandfather. And yet we are also children, if [...]

February 21, 2014 // 0 Comments

Aqua Shard

There is a saying amongst restaurant reviewers “never trust a place with a great view.” There is another “never accept  an invitation from an owner”. I went against both yesterday when I visited Aqua Shard as guest of one of the two owners, Richard Ward. But first the view. [...]

February 20, 2014 // 0 Comments

A new angle on the rat race

There’s an old wives’ tale that those of us living in Greater London are – statistically, i.e. by calculating numbers against acreage – never more than six feet away from a rat. When I say it’s an old wives’ tale, this theoretical estimate is actually alleged to have first seen the [...]

February 20, 2014 // 0 Comments

Difficult issues

Ten days ago, at a lunch with some mates, the topic of celebrity sex-charges came up largely because the William Roche and Dave Lee Travis cases were then nearing their end. The consensus – unaided by any personal attendance at the trials and therefore based entirely our ‘reading’ of media [...]

February 16, 2014 // 0 Comments

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Valentine’s Day

Call me soppy if you will, but I like St Valentine’s Day. What is the problem being romantic once a year? I composed poems for my two favourite poppets Grania and Julia. I will not publish them as: 1) they are not very good; 2) they contain in-joke;s 3) it’s none of your business. [...]

February 15, 2014 // 0 Comments

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Greens

Greens at Duke Street, St. James, was a great favourite of mine in the eighties. Owned by Simon Parker Bowles, it epitomised the elegant English fish restaurant but was always more fun than Wiltons or Bentleys. It certainly was not cheap but I took the view that I would pay a subscription if it [...]

February 14, 2014 // 0 Comments

It’s all in the mind

A phenomenon of modern popular culture, and a media staple, are reports detailing the findings of cod-serious research projects that supposedly shed light upon developments in the way we see ourselves. There’s a classic example available today, featured on the website of the Daily Mail, courtesy [...]

February 14, 2014 // 0 Comments

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