Rather like Joy Division, the mythology overtakes the rather more prosaic history. I read Gabrielle Drake’s book and it offers up the perspective from the family. It’s terribly sad. Privileged background, des […]

Cheers Clive, I do know of a few extreme adherents who take that stance, but yeah, for the most part, it doesn’t seem to be the case, luckily. I used to cover art in Dubai, and the arguments about figuration, well […]

Well, your comment “I don’t think they do get targeted enough” – how’s about that for starters? Would you say that of Jews, women, black people etc?

I do find the casual Islamophobia that pops up here every now and again, rather boring. I am from a Muslim background and altho not religious, find some of the comments pretty nasty

Clive, where is music banned in Islam? Apart from the nutters on the fringes who’d ban their own bollocks if they could, but you imply this is a “key tenet”. As a Muslim born chap myself, I’d be terribly grateful […]

It’s not as if she’s chopped a limb off and is pogo-ing on top of the Houses of Parliament singing “I’m A Little Teacup” or something. Maybe she finds some solace in Islam? Some people do. And I’m mystified as to […]

I don’t think you can be educated to find anything funny. You either like it or not. I personally love PGW’s Jeeves stories. Beautiful language, simile and satire. But then Monty Python, say, for instance, or […]

And Part 2 is out now! (Lots of Biff Rose chat in this one)

Definitive Rolling Stones? You could try Philip Norman’s book or Christopher Sandford’s, or for more colour, “STP”, covering the 1972 tour is brilliant. Bowie, try Paul Trynka’s “Starman” or David Buckley’s […]

Bob for SotS! The campaign starts here

After a few minutes of portentous finger-wagging in ‘Love You To’, George finally relents and wearily acquiesces to the listener: “I’ll make love to you. If you want me to.”

Yeah I get this whenever I sign in on Firefox. No security!

Going by the tabloid pics of jolly folk in festive Union Jack attire, cheery of smile and doughty of temperament, camped out at Windsor, preparing for the recent Eugenie nuptials with 5am Thermos and sandwiches, […]

I’ll give this a go, thanks for the review Bargepole! I really enjoyed all three (well, the second and third tbh) volumes of the Alan Clark diaries. Wonderfully written, and the final chapters in which the […]

Oh that’s Kontor Ojo de Agua! It is a fantastic restaurant, a bit pricy. I met DM in Basel once, he was incredibly friendly and patient as I babbled incoherently at him. A lovely chap

‘If some cunt can fuck something up, that cunt will pick the worst possible time to fucking fuck up because that cunt’s a cunt’ – Malcolm Tucker

I used to work in a bar many years ago and the amount of time I was told to “bloody smile, mate” or “Faakin ell, it might never happen” etc. That was less my resting bitch face and more having to deal with coked […]

I prefer cricket

Years ago, when I was working in Dubai I had an accident. I tripped over some wire on a building site and smashed my face in on a pile of bricks. I had stitches in my nose, lip and eyebrow. The resultant mess of […]

“GLW”, “FPO” – ghastly Alan Partridge-esque phrases, the sort of thing Jeremy Clarkson would say. The term, as someone here once pointed out, resembles a fart in the golf club bar