Massingberd

I was sad to hear of the death of Hugh Massingberd who was, above all, the former obituary writer of The Daily Telegraph. Massingberd raised the status of the written obituary by making it more honest and, particularly, fun. His use of understatement and innuendo, very much in the style of one of his heroes, PG Wodehouse, not only made a good read, but also influenced how other newspapers approached the genre.
The irreverential style he introduced now differentiates the British obit from most of those written in America and Europe. It was Massingberd who wrote the famous Phrase "Liberace was unmarried", after the performer had sued over suggestions he was gay.
As a writer of broadcast obits, I share Hugh Massingberd's gallows humour, and envy the space he had to indulge the English language so ably.

Two Faces of Tolerance

Many of those who supported the right of David Irving, the Holocaust denier, to speak at the Oxford Union the other night, argued that however abhorrent his views one should negate them by debate rather than by banning him. It seems to me, though, that debate is alright when you're arguing about interpretation. However, debating against a Holocaust denier whose views are shaped by a not-so-hidden agenda and are based on the premise that a clear fact does not exist, is a waste of time and effort. Anyone with a real interest in Irving's views could read the account of the libel trial he lost in London a few years ago in which his case was completely dismantled by "proper" historians. Debating against Irving is a bit like a scientist trying to argue against a creationist.

This brings me on to the savaging by the Roman Catholic Church in America of the Golden Compass, the new film of Philip Pullman's novel The Northern Lights. At least the American Catholics haven't, as far as I know, called for the film to be banned, only boycotted. I know that the number of Catholics is falling in the world, yet, even so, it is extraordinarily defensive of them to worry about a movie that doesn't attack Catholicism directly. Yes, there's a layer of the books (toned down in the movie) that attacks the authoritarianism of religion and the abuse of power, doubtless with Catholicism in mind. It seems that in America, religion has become so politicised in a way that's alien to the UK. It's akin to the Muslim fundamentalists that they're the firstto attack. To the religious right, atheists are the equivalent of what Communists were a few decades ago. The Communists banned religion. The Catholic Church and the Communist Parties are both heavily centralised institutions. Yet where's the Christian tolerance here? Philip Pullman is not denying "facts" and does not possess a pernicious doctrine. I didn't notice atheist groups mobilising for boycotts of the movies of CS Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, another children's book but with an avowedly Christian message. Different religions are, anyway, interpretations of various scriptures. An Oxford Union debate about whether organised religion is a good or bad thing would have been far more interesting than whether or not the Holocaust existed.

Cancer

Yesterday I was enjoying a glass of a not inexpensive Rioja while reading the newspaper. The headline screamed at me that my chances of getting cancer will increase if I drink alcohol and don't eat enough fruit. It just so happened that the tasting notes of the wine I was drinking were near at hand. They declared that my wine's flavour was full of blackcurrant and gooseberry. The thought occurred to me that I could both live longer and grow richer by foregoing the wine and eating blackcurrants and gooseberries instead. The thought didn't last long and I had another glass.

Customs

When I walk through the Nothing to Declare channel at airports, I often find a complete absence of any customs officials. I've always put this down to the fact that they're busy in the Red Channel or that they simply don't have the capacity to be there all the time. How naive have I been! I discover that all major airports have a system of two-way mirrors and close-circuit TV which enable the custome people to monitor passengers even when they're still in the baggage hall. I've never smuggled anything in my life, save perhaps for a bottle of spirits more than my quota. Nevertheless, for some reason I always feel guilty as I walk past the customs officers and try to feign indifference. Won't need to anymore.

Inflation

I happened to be passing an old friend's former family home in Summertown, Oxford, the other day. This was a house in which I'd spent many a night while I was at school. A For Sale sign notice was outside it and I wandered over to the estate agents opposite and saw it in the window going for £695,000.

I telephoned Jim who told me that his parents had bought the house in 1967 for £7,500.

That means that in 40 years, the house has increased by roughly 10,000%. Staggering!

Acid House

Heard an interesting Radio 4 programme today on the Acid House/rave culture of the late 1980s, presented by Miranda Sawyer. It told of how it led to a relaxation of British culture. Taking the example of the Manchester music scene around Tony Wilson's Hacienda club that began in an almost derelict area of the city with homegrown music talent such as Happy Mondays et al, it explained how the "sitting around nursing a pint until 10.30pm scene" transformed itself into the ecstacy-fuelled 24-hour party people culture. It was a reaction to the sense of personal pigeonholing engendered by the Thatcher years. Its ultimate manifestation was at the mass raves held in large fields around the country.
Youths felt, however naively, that they were changing the world. Once people started making money out of it, however, the merchandisers moved in and the whole scene became commercialised and lost its sense of spontaneity.
It reminded me of just how cyclical such movements can be. The so-called hippie movement with its much overblown flower power began in the mid-1960s as a reaction to the straightjacketing conservative society, and the military-industrial complex that both the then superpowers had created as a result of the Cold War. This had led to America's disastrous involvement in Vietnam. The hippies were offering an alternative lifestyle based on human values such as peace and love and concern for the environment.
Just like the Acid House scene, the '60s youth movement was played out against a background of an energised music scene stimulated by a drug culture. And, in the same way, got crassly commercialised.
And just as many of the organisers of the rave culture became very successful entrepreneurs, so too did many of the '60s figures. They moved from San Francisco's Haight Ashbury to fuel the engine of technological change in Silicon Valley.

Silence

Adieu Marcel Marceau,
You were a mime artist extraordinaire.
Your catchphrase was .................
Andy says the French nation should offer up a minute's silence.
I'm speechless.
So were you.

Blue Murder

Farewell Jose,
Your catchphrase was "I'm the Special One".
Keith's Mum says you walk on water,
And that you were crucified by a Roman,
And that you will rise again.
I say, "yeah, hopefully in Blue Square Conference North."