Why does this, of a hundred unforgettable songs from the pen of Jerry Garcia, so resonate with me? It’s not that I identify with a down and out August West who, like the grey-beard loon who gate-crashed a wedding to … Read More »
I’m sorry this is such a long letter. I didn’t have time to write a shorter one. Attributed to, amongst others, Mark Twain and Blaise Pascal Years ago a friend told me, I think he meant it as a compliment, … Read More »
Five years ago I watched the Richie Mehta drama, Delhi Crime, and this week binged on it again at Netflix, devouring the dozen episodes of series 1 (with series 2 just as good) three or four at a time. I’ve … Read More »
As noted seven years ago in the fab four: a personal view, my childhood was milestoned and made bearable by the Beatles. Not far behind, however, was the arrival in early adolescence of a Cambridge outfit which first caught my … Read More »
So Bruce Springsteen – a man I’ve admired since 1978 and The Wild, The Innocent and The E-Street Shuffle – is supporting Kamala Harris. Those who follow this site will know my dismay does not arise from an equally deluded … Read More »
Years ago I featured as a masthead quote Anatole France’s dry observation that: The law, in its majestic equality, forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, to beg in the streets, and to steal their bread. It’s a … Read More »
The Telegraph yesterday, August 27: Sir Alexander McCall Smith has criticised the “censoring” of children’s books by authors such as Roald Dahl and Enid Blyton, arguing that they presented a “sanitised world view”. McCall Smith, who is best known for … Read More »
As a non-musical lover of music I’m a sucker for those who can show me, at the technical level of their construction, how the songs that move me actually work. And I’ve as big an appetite as the next guy … Read More »
Many of us ask ourselves, “what would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow south? Or apartheid? what would i do if my country was committing genocide?” Well the answer is, you’re doing it. Right … Read More »
The Starbucks on York’s Coney Street looks out over that pedestrian walkway to take in the ancient church of St Martin le Grand opposite. Beyond that runs the River Ouse. Should you be passing by, have a butcher’s. A row … Read More »