The news that Prince Charles has tested positively, and thankfully has only minor symptoms, must have prompted much amusement. How on earth would his valet help him on with his jacket from two metres away? How would he cope self-isolating with only a handful of servants to assist? Who would do the shopping? How would he decide which of his … [Read on]
I have just made the mistake of switching on the radio and finding it tuned into Radio 4’s Any Answers, which consisted of a succession of ‘young people’ anguishing about being sent home from school, cut off from their friends (as if online social networking was not already their prime form of socialising), and deprived of the chance to take … [Read on]
In church this morning, looking around at the frail and elderly in the congregation, who inevitably make up the majority, I wondered how many would survive the coronavirus epidemic soon to be upon us. Sadly, refraining from dipping their wafer in the communion wine (as advised by the Church of England) is unlikely to save them. Naturally, one wonders whether … [Read on]
Travelling back from London with my eldest child on the tube today, I enjoyed one of those moments in which we enjoy ‘the pleasure of recognition’. I could tell that the girl sitting opposite me, whose gaze lingered fractionally longer on me than on the others in the carriage, was thinking the same thought: ‘Someone else in this carriage is … [Read on]
What a depressing night. Apparently, people are turning out in record numbers to vote. I can’t imagine why. In days past, exercising one’s democratic right lifted one’s spirits. There was something distinctly moving about the sight of ordinary people turning up calmly to vote in a new government. Generations of Englishman had bequeathed this precious right. Millions round the world … [Read on]
Out on the road this morning, my heart was lifted by the sight of a posse of Vespas, the lead one carrying a flag bearing a poppy emblazoned on a white background. They deserved a salute at the very least. But wait. Our diversity commissars must find the scene disturbing to say the least. The microaggressions were legion. The red … [Read on]
Many will have shocked at Baroness Doreen Lawrence’s accusation last week that firefighters tackling the Grenfell Tower blaze were racist. In an interview with Channel 4 News she claimed, ‘Had that been a block full of white people, they’d have done everything to get them out as fast as possible.’ Her remarks have been roundly condemned, including by Karen Bell, … [Read on]
Many years ago, I was walking through a suburb of Prague on the way to visit a friend, and witnessed a child aged nine or ten push his friend off his bike. The bike came crashing down and the victim howled. I had no idea what the provocation was, but I did not like the way the aggressor strutted away … [Read on]
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