Americans Are Fascinated By Their

Until Now Their Line Has Been That The Tories Are Incapable Of Doing Anything About Poverty, And Aren't Interested In Doing It In The First Place. By Contrast, Labour Says, We Are Also Incapable Of Doing Anything About Poverty, But Would Dearly Love To Do Something. If We Knew What.

I've Been Intrigued By 'le Monde' Ever Since Work Took Me To Paris Once, And I Noted That On A Day When There Was Some Huge Worldwide Story, The Paper Led Its Front Page On Some Cabinet Changes In Turkey. It Implied A Magnificent Disdain For The Quotidian Folderol Of Mere News.

I Cannot Be Alone In Being Pretty Nauseated By Red Nose Day, Or At Least Its Television Manifestation. Do I Think That Wretchedly Poor Children In Africa Should Get Food And Life-saving Drugs? Of Course. Do I Want To Be Hectored Into Contributing By Celebrities Who Earn More In A 10-minute Slot Than Many Of These Families Get In A Year? Nope.

Even I Would Find A Book About My Life Pretty Dull.

When I Was Collecting Material For A Political Gossip Column, And Someone Said Something Interesting, I Would Wait For Them To Add, "and I Don't Want To Read That In Your Magazine!" In Which Case I Wouldn't Use It. But If They Didn't Remember To Say It, I'd Nip Off To The Loo, Write The Story Up, Come Back And Change The Subject.