How I would save the BBC: Two writers have their say on the future of the corporation
Fiona Sturges; Radio critic of The Independent
Fiona Sturges; Radio critic of The Independent
Jeremy Corbyn is not going to win the Labour leadership election. The Labour Party may be losing its mind, but it is not so far gone that, having lost two elections, it would vote to make sure it loses a third.
There is a wonderful moment in Born in Exile (1892), George Gissing’s great late-Victorian novel of religious doubt and social advancement, when the hero, Godwin Peak, comes across a man with whom, some years before, he went to college in a Midlands town. Naturally, in the interval their paths have diverged – Peak is an embittered, class-conscious free-thinker; the Rev Bruno Chilvers, as he is now styled, a fashionable and ambitious clergyman. Even more of a distinction, though, is offered by... Читать дальше...
The future can still be orange
As someone who commissions, edits and writes book reviews, I am often asked when I am going to write my own first novel. The answer is, probably, never. Editing someone else’s writing is one thing. Reviewing it is another skill entirely. (And those critics who only like to pounce on the work of an inferior writer, and lay into it with great verbal dexterity are concealing an awkward secret: it is much harder to review great writing than bad.) However, I’ve read enough books both magnificent and... Читать дальше...
“Prepare your daughter for working life. Give her less pocket money than your son.” This slogan appeared on an Equal Opportunities Commission campaign poster 15 years ago. I keep it on my fridge to remind my son of his gender-induced entitlement.
Did anyone say “lame duck”? This was supposed to be when Barack Obama hit rock bottom, in the final stages of his second term, with the Republicans in complete control of Congress, attention switching to the next battle for the White House in 2016, and a President reduced to virtual irrelevancy. The perfect season, in short, for limping waterfowl.
It was starting to look like my dream summer. The sun was out … for a while. I’d been a guest on Test Match Special and I was going to introduce the lead singer of Supertramp on stage at the Cornbury Festival….
I spent last week in Karbala and Najaf, the Shia holy cities south-west of Baghdad, which I have always found to be among the wonders of the world. There is something entrancing and even magical about the sight of their golden domes and minarets rising above the roofs of the houses around them. I first saw the Shrine of Imam Ali in Najaf from the outside in 1977, but I was with a Baathist official who did not dare open the great wooden doors leading to the outer courtyard.
The footage of the Queen as a child in 1933 giving a Nazi salute should have stayed unseen. This newspaper would not have published it. Naturally there is huge interest in the footage, but public interest is not the same as being in the public interest, and The Sun’s attempt to defend publication fails to meet that test.
John McInerney writes in to raise a fascinating question that inhabits the debatable territory between English usage and philosophy.
This week, The Independent revealed that David Cameron wants his civil servants to write in clearer prose, with less jargon. The response of Sir Humphrey Appleby, Britain’s leading mandarin, has been leaked to our news desk. We reproduce it here in full.
When Michael Gove became Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary, he had an easy act to follow. His predecessor, Chris Grayling, had no legal training and filled that gap with fixed ideological notions about crime and punishment, and a stubborn refusal to listen to anyone who knew better than he did.
In modern American history, most second-term presidents have been a disaster, often after a successful first term. Truman’s first term rebuilt post-war America; his second was bogged down in Korea. Eisenhower’s first term retreated from Korea; his second was marked by scandal, after Chief of Staff Sherman Adams fell. Nixon first opened up to China and withdrew from Vietnam. His second term ended with Watergate. Reagan emancipated America from its 1970s lethargy, but Iran-Contra overshadowed his second-term victory in the Cold War. Читать дальше...
Millions are facing a retirement income gap, a new report reveals. The latest Aviva Real Retirement Report shows that a typical working over-45 year old faces a £8,955 annual retirement income gap based on their current savings and investments.
My phone buzzed with a text from a friend. "Important question: can I go out with a man who is five foot four?" My response was: "Yes, providing he's not a dickhead". Because, surely, that's more important, right?
In 1977, Nasa's two Voyager space probes began an endless mission across the Milky Way that has already sent Voyager One beyond the borders of our solar system and out into the interstellar void. Before they launched, the astronomer Carl Sagan invited proposals for the content of the "golden records" aboard each craft, designed to inform curious aliens about life on Earth. Biologist Lewis Thomas suggested the complete works of Johann Sebastian Bach, but then had second thoughts: "That would just... Читать дальше...
Great news from British Gas this week when it announced that it will cut gas prices by 5 per cent. It can only be a matter of time before its Big Six rivals announce a similar reduction.
Booker, the cash-and-carry chain and star of the No Pain, No Gain portfolio, continues to exude calm and confidence in what remains an under-pressure retail sector.
Thanks to all of you who got in touch with your experiences of phone scams. The crooks certainly seem to be busy, judging by our postbag! Some of you have sadly been caught out, while others have had near misses. Audrey Jones of London reports that she was almost the victim of two scams recently.
As we approach the holiday season, with millions of families set to travel overseas, now is the perfect time to review the cards in your wallet to see what they'll cost you to use when you're away.
Q. I was interested to read of pre-payment cards not working at European toll booths and self-service petrol stations (Questions of Cash, 4 July). I had the same problem with my Metro Bank debit card.