Even in his lifetime the work of John Williams Waterhouse rarely made much of a stir in the art world. He is often classed as a pre-Raphaelite although he was painting his scenes of Arthurian chic long after the brotherhood were fashionable. Nobody would have noticed the sudden removal from display of his work Hylas…
Pinned under the duvet; smothered with decongestant, comforted by the warm embrace of Night Nurse; I’ve suffered a rather tedious week. Although I’ve been struck down by a particularly nasty, industrial strength man flu virus, I’ve had sometime, to catch up on a couple of interesting talking points. Firstly the Ad Contrarium is an important…
The Presidents Club ball narrative, fittingly, is still high on the news agenda. Hourly, we hear many correctly de-cry the event as appalling, shameful, disgusting and deplorable. Great Ormond Street Hospital, which received £530,000 from the Presidents Club between 2009 and 2016, said it will return the donations. The “most read” story in The Financial…
You might have missed the kerfuffle recently between the highly respected theatre critic, Lyn Gardner and Cirque Du Soleil. There was much debate about the Circus taking steps to stop the critic reviewing their new production. Evidently Ms Gardner found out she was uninvited from a press night. She had been approved to review the…
Speed kills. This week the velocity of the news agenda has been shaped by various narratives driven by the telegraph wire of Twitter. From Logan Paul to Toby Young, the week’s anguish proves that it’s a deafening noise that drowns out something more profound and enlightened, ideas and insight. Each incident provoked angst, each instance…
1. Real News will strike back in 2018 and is already doing so. The New York Times, The Economist and Wall Street Journal are all now making real money digitally and print circulations remain significant. The same goes for titles ranging from the i to Private Eye and a resurgent, Jeff-Bezos-owned Washington Post. The Times…
So the world is talking about a cheeky Poundland Elf tea bagging Barbie. Well I say the world, or at least 8.6 million Twitter users in the UK, anyway the filter bubble is frothing and jumping up and down. Perhaps we shouldn’t forget the UK population is 66+ million – by my estimate thats still…
For all those venturing out this Christmas to see Hugh Jackman’s “The Greatest Showman” here is my view on the real Phineas Emperor of Hype I’ve often been asked about my fantasy dinner party guests from history. It’s a fluctuating list, but one man always comes out on top; the great American Showman PT Barnum….
We all knew Meghan Markle was coming and that she was going to be news. But as Prince Harry’s new fianceé admitted herself in that joyful interview, even she didn’t quite realise how huge. If ever a news story coincided with the zeitgeist and had a perfect symbol, Meghan is it. Her official arrival this…
Of course, my filter bubble matters. Some argue it’s a world that matters most to me and it’s true that it shifts daily, shaping my views and an ethereal existence in my head. The barrage of information I consume is vast and instant. Nevertheless, I constantly check to consider how it shapes my perception and experience…