I’m sitting in a concert hall listening to the pre-match ritual. Harpist is tuning. Trumpeter is checking some corners. One of my fellow horn players is alone up at the […]
“If all else fails, I drink half a bottle of rum and play a Handel oratorio on the gramophone. This generally produces an uncontrollable gush of copy.” A brilliant letter […]
I’m a huge fan of the vintage ad illustrations and editorial copy-writing of the 1930s: the prose has the style and flair of the tailoring. Here’s a classic! Esquire, […]
One of the unusual literary things everyone should do at least once is to read the Bond novels in their original form. Ian Fleming was at times a fairly awful […]
If you haven’t had chance to see the Storyville documentary about the New York Times on BBC4, I’d recommend it. Journalists are a unique bunch. I’ve worked with them all […]
In speaking for the nation, President Obama has reclaimed religion from the right. And America is better for it. The president is the voice of a nation. No words can […]