‘The editor said no, I’m afraid… ’ Just what does that mean? ‘The editor said, “No”, I’m afraid…’, as in, ’I’m afraid the editor said, “No”.’ Or, ‘The editor said, […]

(Or: Sour grapes ?) I’m keeping an eye on the nature of the pieces the Leicester Mercury is publishing in its ‘First Person’ column this ‘Holy Week’. Is it my […]

Those pillars of sagacity at the seriously minted Templeton Foundation, who like to hand out huge sums of dosh to esteemed individuals whose work they deem somehow (wittingly or unwittingly) […]

I recently saw Jon Richardson live, trying not to overly ponder on why, for her birthday, I had bought my girlfriend a ticket to be entertained by a younger, funnier, […]

Today, George Osborne said: “I regard tax evasion and, indeed, aggressive tax avoidance as morally repugnant.” Well, yes. But what is “aggressive” tax avoidance, as opposed to ‘non-aggressive’? Does this […]

Well, the 831-word diatribe here, which I then cut down to 449 words in attempt to have it published in the Leicester Mercury, was, last weekend, printed as a ‘Letter’, […]

What is it with artists’ self-re-evaluation of previous work when interview-promoting their latest offering? Or the lack of defence in the face of a critic taking the opportunity to get […]