This is how the old year dies; a ragged dictator swinging from the rope of days and weeks and months let go in the midst of prayers in a flood of abuse before the past can break from its cage. All the weddings and divorces, the extravagant moments of fake joy; all the tabloid exclusives,…
Having watched “Some Like It Hot” over the Christmas holiday, I was reminded of the controversy between Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis. Image wise, Monroe did very well from this film, but Tony Curtis’ publicist put a different spin on things. He reported that Curtis had said kissing Monroe in “Some Like It Hot” was…
Charlie Drake made most of his money in the autumn of his career in seaside shows and pantomimes. His luck held until the Christmas of 1974, when he was starring in Jack and the Beanstalk at Bradford. As a publicity stunt, he auditioned local girls for one of the parts and Sue Moody, a 22-year-old…
“Yesterday the Liberal Democrats cemented their reputation as a party struggling to be taken seriously after Lembit Opik, MP announced that he had split with his television weather forecaster fiancee and was dating one half of the kitsch pop duo the Cheeky Girls.” The Guardian, 18/12/06. The Borkowski poet in residence considers what Tony Blair…
The Bishop of Southwark faced his congregation recently sporting a black eye after admitting that he could not remember being “mugged” following a drinks reception at the Irish embassy. Witnesses, however, say he clambered into a stranger’s Mercedes and started throwing toys on to the road. When asked what he was doing by the car’s…
“Tony Blair yesterday became the first serving prime minister to be interviewed as part of a criminal investigation when Scotland Yard officers running the “cash for peerages” inquiry questioned him for two hours in Downing Street… They stressed they had not chosen the timing of the interview with Mr Blair, leaving No 10 open to…
“Just when we thought we’d waved goodbye to the denim-clad ghost of the 1990s boyband phenomenon, Take That have begun their second ascent to pop stardom… But comebacks are not always so smooth. Ask All Saints. Just a few weeks in, the reunion of the whinging foursome is already being talked about as a flop:…
“In hell, nothing you have done will not be watched.” From Household Gods by Anne Stevenson. In hell, your every indiscretion will be picked over endlessly on freeze frame repeat and your life will be condensed into daily half hour slots of pain. In hell you will live forever and learn how to attract flies….
“David Cameron’s call yesterday for the Conservative party to build its foundations on the centre ground was badly jolted on the opening day of the Tory conference when he faced a growing grassroots revolt demanding tax cuts.” The Guardian, Monday, October 2 Give me web cameras or give me death give me a home in…
I have had a flurry of emails from folk interested in debating some of the issues I wrote about yesterday. One of the key points I was asked to expand upon was the subject of the mortally wounded publicist. I don’t know where to start, but when researching my book in Los Angeles, I met…