When I was younger I used to read small colorful comic books about war called, Commando. You can buy them concatenated as huge volumes in bigger bookshops. Gripping and predictable stories from all wars about fighting and destruction. I couldn’t get enough of it, the struggle between good and evil laid bare by Tommies with… Continue reading The sanitisation of war
Category: Newspapers
Conservatism is easy
It’s always been easy, conservatism. Not much thought has ever been required to identify with its principles, policies or morality. The way that almost everything can be simplified into channels of right and wrong provides a tempting path for those wishing to easily convince themselves of their fortitude. There’s plenty of company too, family, friends… Continue reading Conservatism is easy
No point waving the tabloid around now, it’s too late
The last week or so has seen the vortex of politics and violence momentarily slow for viewing, with the four quarters of hypocrisy facing each other in perfect symmetry. On one opposite Piety faces is old office as peace envoy to the Middle East, an appointment straight out of The Onion, Viz or Public Eye.… Continue reading No point waving the tabloid around now, it’s too late
Peter Crouch, Liverpool FC and England
Pete Crouch’s transformation from baddie to all round good guy has to be a shining example of just how fickle we are as a nation of people. A few months ago, with a good helping of tabloid spite, he was being lampooned as ‘Mr Miss’, a half-witted fraud who simply couldn’t find the back of… Continue reading Peter Crouch, Liverpool FC and England
They’re at it again!
They’re at it again! My back was turned for just five minutes, but that’s more than long enough for our beloved royal family to start living out more fantasies at the expense of others. And that’s not the financial expense one usual associates with royalty either. I’m referring to the eternally smug William Windsor dressing… Continue reading They’re at it again!
David Beckham, homework and The Independent
There was an article in yesterday’s Independent about David Beckham admitting to not being able to do his six year old’s homework. A humbling and genuinely funny confession from someone who is obviously at ease with knowing where his calling in life lies. Which, thankfully for us, is not in academia. I wasn’t surprised by… Continue reading David Beckham, homework and The Independent
Is armed robbery the new Rock and Roll?
What sort of bottle does it take to steal £50 million from the bank of England? I mean, how do you go about even imagining a plan like that? Talk about putting a team back together for another job is the stuff of movies, but it actually happens and these people actually exist. Just as… Continue reading Is armed robbery the new Rock and Roll?
The wit of the perpetual student
The quest for wit consumes anyone who writes in broadsheet newspapers about food or TV. Slipping in as many witty one liners as possible is part of the training, along with giving your kids a mention and a little self depreciating humour about being useless at DIY. In this instance I’m referring to Thomas Sutcliffe’s… Continue reading The wit of the perpetual student
Did you get a deal?
Quite often, when I tell someone that I’ve brought something or that I’ve booked a holiday the first question that comes back is, “Did you get a deal?”. Getting a good deal now seems to take precedence over choice, quality and availability of any purchase, whether it be a house or a weekend in Vienna… Continue reading Did you get a deal?
Whale in the Thames
I arrived back from holiday on Saturday to the headline, “Celebrity Big Blubber”, and despite my dislike of The Sun you have to give credit for a good headline where it’s due. I immediately got on the phone to my brother to fantasise about the most ridiculously politically incorrect solution to the problem of whales… Continue reading Whale in the Thames