Author Archives: Paul

When referring to the author of the book I’m reading. Packie Bonner, the former Celtic and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper, has written a great autobiography called The Last Line. I grew up with Patricks aplenty, including my own father, and if they abbreviated their names, it was always either Pat or Paddy. Mr. Bonner is […]

I finally got to see The Danish Girl last night, in which Eddie Redmayne has been tipped for an Oscar for his critically acclaimed portrayal of Einar Wegener, one of the world’s first recipients of gender reassignment surgery. It’s a serious and sensitive subject that I was not supposed to find funny. But the moment […]

Four days after my daughter was offered a place to read English at Cambridge, I’m still almost tearful with pride. Though pride, even of the most chest-puffing variety, doesn’t come close to describing how I feel. I’d love to claim some sort of credit but I can’t. Although I write for a living, I was […]

…….has been the general reaction to Jerry Hall’s engagement to Rupert Murdoch Why? The obvious answer is that he’s a billionaire but, with a £15 million fortune of her own, she hardly needs his money. She shot to fame almost 40 years ago in this video and was one of the highest paid models in […]

Today whole world is mourning the death of David Bowie. His brilliance and influence is impossible to over-state but that brilliance came from constant re-invention and surprise. This is how he started – fey and flowery in 1969. After just one hit, he vanished for three years before turning up as Ziggy Stardust and inventing […]

A generation of Britons will be saddened this morning to hear of the death of Ed “Stewpot” Stewart. His Junior Choice show on Radio 1 was listened to by every child in the 1970s. It was the first time the BBC had used a young-ish presenter for a children’s programme and it was quite a […]

It’s not the food, it’s not the prices, it’s the customers. Waitrose customers tend to be brisk, middle-class and both quick and efficient in the way they live their lives and do their shopping. They’re in and out with a minimum of fuss. The Tesco clientele are rather different. They lumber slowly and gormlessly up […]

What is it with David Bowie and “getting things done”? About 20 seconds into this 80s hit, he says “get things done”. About three years earlier, he was at No.1 with Ashes to Ashes which repeats the line “My mama said to get things done, you’d better not mess with Major Tom”. A psychiatrist could […]

….is apparently a sign of, shall we say, “maturity”. You’re no longer interested in trying new styles. You know what suits you or, more accurately, what doesn’t. So you find yourself replacing your old clobber with new versions of what you have already. This is exactly what I was doing the other day when trying […]

Not me, obviously, but my son Jack. He’s cool, smart, funny and kind but there aren’t enough words to express how proud I am of him today. As I have been every day for 21 years. But my God, that does make me feel old. I now have a son who’s the same age as […]