Later this week, a supposedly unforgettable, magical, vast, breathtaking and captivating cultural event is coming to Liverpool. It’s called La Machine and it’s a large-scale art project created by French artist François Delarozière.
I use the word “supposedly” because nobody can truly know whether it will live up to the various adjectives used above (which, like [...]

The proposed Manchester congestion charge and the £3bn Transport Innovation Fund that the city is bidding for has created a turf war between two rival business lobbying groups in which few people - other than the odd business hack - seem to be interested.
For those who may have missed it, one group, called United City (geddit?), is in favour of the TIF funding package [...]

ABC presenter and former Michael Jackson/Princess Di botherer Martin Bashir is said to “bitterly regret” a jokey confession that he was turned on by “Asian babes” in a speech to Asian-American journalists last month. Channel Four News featured some video of the incident tonight, which should be viewable on their site but which I [...]

I can’t work out whether Christopher Hitchens‘ decision to undergo waterboarding for a piece in Vanity Fair is (a) brave and vital or (b) self-serving and pointless.
On the whole, I’m not sure the sight of Hitchens flailing around with dribble down his front adds any level of enlightenment to the “debate” about this method of [...]

Now I wasn’t there and so I probably have no right to comment on the subject. But isn’t the purpose of a blog to prattle amateurishly about subjects one has no right to prattle amateurishly about? Well, exactly.
To this end, I feel I must take issue with renowned man of letters Gordon Smart and his [...]

Look, it’s Sky News’ most fragrant anchorwoman, Kay Burley (aka the Wigan Strangler), throttling a PA photographer. This all happened last week outside the Magistrates’ court where Naomi Campbell was appearing but has become a talking point among columnists over the weekend. The Daily Mail has pictures.
 

 
All of which raises the important question: Is Kay Burley a psychopath? Think about [...]

The Daily Mail apparently wants to charge freelance journalists to write for its newspapers. Yes, that’s right: the Mail thinks freelancers should pay £175 in order to be added to a list that will permit them to supply work. After that, a simple brown envelope containing £120 will suffice each year thereafter in order for the freelancer to remain on “the list”.
This comes from a [...]

David Cameron is such a man of the people. The Sunday Times reports that earlier this week
the Conservative leader hosted a champagne and lychee juice reception for City donors in the back garden of his North Kensington home.
Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? If Dave ever becomes PM, we can presumably expect pomegranate juice cocktails and [...]

To Liverpool, where today’s Daily Post seems to have missed a football story of some minor European importance.

EVERTON youngsters are celebrating a fine tournament success after winning the under-13s girls Premier League Schools Tournament.
Represented by a six-a-side Broughton Hall High School from West Derby, Everton overcame Liverpool 2-0 in the final at the Madjeski Stadium.
More [...]

I was unfortunate enough to pick up a copy of the Mail on Sunday supplement Live from the seat of a train yesterday. I instantly regretted the act because it caused me to stumble across two of Britain’s smuggest men engaging in a feast of political name-dropping.
In the inside back cover is Piers Morgan, “Columnist [...]