Author Archives: Paul

…and Theresa May “lost” an election that she won. We, the compliant British electorate, were supposed to endorse her with a thumping great majority. Our obedience and votes were taken for granted by arrogant politicians. We were supposed to vote to remain in the EU. Our obedience and votes were taken for granted by arrogant […]

1. That I was a fan of Miley Cyrus. 2. That I was a fan of Ariana Grande. Somebody I’d never heard of until two weeks ago. 3. That a pop concert can actually make you cry. Repeatedly. Watch this and if your eyes are still dry at the end, your heart is made of […]

Today marks the 50th anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper, the most celebrated and influential album of all time. The BBC have gone completely overboard with radio and TV documentaries. Predictably, they’re using the Scousiest of Scouse accents for the trailers and we’re also being told how “the people of Liverpool” will be celebrating […]

I went this week. First time I’ve ever been and I loved it. Not just the the gloriously colourful displays that left me slack-jawed in wonder, but the reassuring sight of proper doddery old posh people in linen blazers and Panama hats. I think my wife was rather hoping that my exposure to the majestic […]

So James Bond isn’t immortal after all. Yesterday Roger Moore became the first 007 to die. From 1973 to 1985, he was the smoothest and most urbane of Bonds, bringing a suave raise of the eyebrow to the role. For me Roger Moore will always be – not James Bond but Lord Brett Sinclair the […]

A suicide bomber blew himself up at the Manchester Arena after a concert last night and took 22 innocent people, including children, with him. Words cannot express the despair and revulsion felt across the world this morning at this tragic and horrifying news. However, thousands of (admittedly well-meaning) people have been on social media all […]

is ten minutes’ walk from my house and, like Brighton, it’s painfully right-on and full of liberal, left-leaning lecturers, actors and analysts. It boasts two arthouse cinemas and a clutch of artisan coffee shops. Crouch End is rather like a university campus for buggy-pushing grown-ups. When Woolworth’s closed down, it was replaced by Waitrose which […]

I never went to university. Partly because I didn’t fancy living in some provincial northern town in a grotty student house and having to my name on my yoghurt. Though I did quite fancy the London School of Economics. The LSE was famous seat of learning, a hotbed of revolutionary ideas and Mick Jagger had […]

Continue reading “We’ve reached the end of the lane.” »

Gary Gilmore was a murderer, executed in Utah in 1977, and famous for leaving his eyes to medical science. His last words, as he faced the firing squad were “Just do it”. Wieden & Kennedy, Nike’s ad agency, remembered this and turned those words into one of the most famous slogans of all time. How […]