Throw out those wide-lapelled brown shirts, floral ties and flares, because the Open University is to no longer broadcast in dead of night.  A whole section of my wardrobe shall now be featuring in a car-boot sale near you soon.  The next time you

“Sex and strong language are not something for Radio 4 to be frightened of,” says a BBC spokesman.  Having been the offspring of two parents to whom the “F” word came out like breathing, this will not cause me offence, although I hope the sw

This year’s Edinburgh Tattoo (as opposed to David Beckham’s tattoo) will possibly see the six Scottish regiments together for the last time, before their possible mergers.  Mergers are a sign of the times.  Scottish infantry regiments, Welsh ru

At the Wagner Festival at Bayreuth the other year it had got to the bit during Siegfried’s funeral when I thought, I know this bit, I’ll sing along.  Big mistake.  Leading opera divas do not like it and understandably so.  They would not have

Never mind films about “intelligences greater than man’s”, the next blockbuster film will involve thousands of penguins.  It is the latest in a series of documentary feature films following on from the box office success of Fahrenheit 9/1

Engelbert Humperdinck has been reunited with his German Shepherd dog.  Much fuss was made about the composer of Hansel und Gretel‘s temporary loss.  I am reminded of the time I spent at the British Library skimming through old copies of What’s

I was on telly once.  In 1968, when the Australians were visiting here, I was at Lord’s and was filmed watching them and was on the late, lamented programme, Sportsnight with Coleman (quite remarkable).  I never appeared again and was disappointe

After a ban of 14 years, air authorities are contemplating allowing the use of mobile phones on planes.  I fly every other week and this is 90 minutes of freedom of not knowing about someone else’s begonias not being what they were last year.  14

Yet again I have been reminded of my academic failings as, with the passing of Prime Minister and stunt double for band leader, Ted Heath, died.  But much has been made of the three-day week.  A time when Thursday, Friday, Tuesday and alternate Mon

As the unofficial book reviewer of the Epsom & Ewell Packet I was lucky enough to be with several other pseudo-literary gurus for the first-ever reading of the Thomas Hardy novel, The Mayor of Casterbridge.  I had been selected from thousands du

At Midnight, Harry Potter’s Half a Sixpence (wasn’t Tommy Steele good in that?) will be available in bookshops throughout the country.  This is the penultimate (second from last if you’re not qualified to be a judge) book in the series – con

One more O-level and its goodbye advertising, hello piece of black felt on my head.  It is being made possible for people with as little as four GCSEs to start a career in the legal profession.  I have two O-levels and one GCSE (modesty prevents me

If BBC executives get their way, the vehicle which Reg Varney drove, has finally reached the programming Cemetery Gates.  Too many sit-coms are set in middle-class suburbia, apparently.  A sad demise for one who was brought up on such British insti

We have seven years to find something quintessentially English with which we can beat the world at at the 2012 Olympics.  Seven years to hone those bar billiards skills; become expert at wooden skittles or discover an innate English talent to throw

Tonight is National Moth Night.  Lepidopterists (people with a fear of any animal with spots) will be burning in lights in 100 sites all over <country-region>Britain</country-region>.  They are hoping to attract moths not seen in this c

<span style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA">Yesterday saw the annual madness returnin

Insufficient number of roll-mop herrings for the female Finnish shot-putters was the reason Paris (not so gay today) failed by four votes not to be awarded the 2012 Olympic Games.  Christmas has come early for London, which is ironic as Santa lives

A question, unlikely to arise in the next Prime Minister’s Question time of, “why is it so many members of this house no longer suffer with headlice?”  The PM can retort with the fact that combs and brushes have been removed from the members

The French are introducing a new Olympic sport – international mudslinging.  President Chirac, the new Egon Ronay on the block, has mocked the English with its lack of cooking tradition, giving the world mad cow disease and untrustworthiness.  Th

Nasa’s years long practise of ram-raiding in the shopping precincts of Newcastle has finally paid off, smashing its copper bullet probe into a comet.  Sadly the brief was not read right as the original instructions were to smash into Comet.  Even

Science has come a long way since the wheel was invented, it was acknowledged pterodactyls would never become good pets and fire was discovered by the Welsh to discourage English settlers.  This week, the magazine which bears the name of the subject