Author Archives: Paul

Shocked and upset to hear of the death of Charles Kennedy, former leader of the Lib Dems at just 55. He was that rare thing – a politician genuinely loved and respected on all sides of the House. Back in the 90s, I got to know him quite well. I was going out with a […]

Chelsea have already won the Premier League title and the League Cup, so this season London teams have won all three domestic competitions. This never used to happen. The North West was always the powerhouse of English football. But Manchester United, like Liverpool before them, are nothing like the force they once were. And despite […]

Make that “former Brummie scumbag” for my old friend Frazer Jelleyman is a reformed character. After years abroad pursuing a successful career as a creative director, he is now a picture of urbane civility. He arrived in an elegant hand-tailored jacket which I’d have nicked if he’d left it unattended on his chair. All a […]

So I want to wish her many happy returns. My 17th was my favourite birthday, the day I could drive a car and she’s exactly the same. Part of me will be sad when she passes her test. Much of the last seventeen years has been spent driving all over London, dropping her off and […]

The First Division title decided with the last kick in the last second of the last game of the season. Yet 26 years ago tonight, that’s exactly what happened. Arsenal needed to beat the mighty Liverpool at Anfield by two clear goals. It was 1-0 with just seconds to go when Michael Thomas scored Arsenal’s […]

Without question, the BBC’s best and most successful new sitcom in years. Peter Kay is a phenomenal talent – as a comedian, actor and writer. And now in Car Share – sorry, Peter Kay’s Car Share (for that’s its official title), director too. And that’s what I’ve always found slightly odd. Why does someone so […]

Denis Moran turned up in our kitchen one day. My sister Caroline had brought him home from school. He was about fourteen and had just arrived from Ireland. Denis was very camp, very charming and he practically lived at our house. As he got older, he developed that winning combination of campness and apparent heterosexuality […]

…. a few years ago on holiday. I recognised “Pat” immediately. Patsy Adams, one of the Adams Family – the most fearsome criminal fraternity Britain has ever known. My wife had no idea. So when I said I was taking our kids to the waterslides, she kindly volunteered me to take their little girl too. […]

Imagine you’d been going out with a girl (or boy) for years. And in all that time, this person had treated you with either casual indifference or outright contempt. You’d given everything – love, passion and unswerving loyalty in the hope that things would improve. But if anything, they got worse until the inevitable happened […]

Good opposition is almost as important as good government and one reason that Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair got away with so much was the lack of effective opposition. So it’s vital that Labour appoints a credible new leader. And soon. But so far, that quest isn’t going terribly well. Chuka Umanna, one of the […]