Blog Archive
On better reading and writing
I’ve been putting off reading James Wood’s How Fiction Works. I don’t know why exactly; something to do with a sneaking conceit that literary criticism can be lofty, dusty and display too much academic preening. And little of it ever led me eagerly to read the authors...
What's funny?
Hazel Blears MP got in an early plug this morning on the Today Programme for a speech she is giving this evening (remember when news was reported only after something had happened?). However, she was speaking of the sound notion that by improving communication and...
Does charity begin at home?
During a BBC radio discussion yesterday on whether UK troops should be in Afghanistan, Nicky Campbell summed up the position of those opposing intervention with the term, ‘Charity begins at home’. This diverted me from the weighty issue at hand to consider what we...
Your writing and the views of family and friends
Among the (too) many ‘how to write books’ I’ve read, an ever-present piece of advice – sometimes offered harshly, sometimes gently – warns writers against showing their work to, or readily accepting the views of family and friends. Reasonable advice once we're under...
Grumpy? Moi?
After a barbed suggestion that the Saying I love you post signalled ‘grumpy old man’ – like that bit of beard missed when shaving – I was further impaled this morning by this (daily Google quotes), ‘The second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits...
The difference words can make
This photo accompanies Mark Willis’s compelling piece on culture and accessibility at A Blind Flaneur Such a bleak image from another time brought to mind a story told me by Graham Lancaster, leading communications professional and author of several novels, to...
Saying I love you
I’ve been thinking, possibly too much, about saying, ‘I love you’. According to hints from those who know they’re my loved ones, I don’t do it enough; say it aloud, that is. I’m not sure I want to. How often is enough? My Joda reply - that ‘say’ may be important but...
Of thoughts, platitudes and truths
I came across – Platitude of the Day – after actually having heard Thought for the Day on the Today Programme this morning. (I defect regularly to Terry Wogan or Radio 5 Live when Today gets too earnest or some politician is demanding, again, ‘to make something...
Of snow and fine travel writing
One of thousands of 'gardens in the snow' pictures that will appear on blogs today. No one ever accused me of being original. Watching cars struggling vainly to get going in the snow reminded me of an incident from Rebecca West's incredible Black Lamb and Grey Falcon....
Winston Churchill – my part in his funeral
Sir Winston Churchill’s funeral took place on this day in 1965. Along with other kids from our youth club, St Andrew's Westminster, I was recruited to sell the Saturday edition of the Daily Express throughout Friday night to the miles of people queuing to pay their...