Latest from Coffee House

As part of its rather odd Call Yourself British campaign The Daily Telegraph has sent the novelist Andrew O’Hagan to tour the country and take its temperature. There’ll be plenty to say about this over the next few days. But, beginning in Edinburgh, O’Hagan writes: Despite the work of centuries, an intellectual Enlightenment, an Industrial Revolution, the formation and decline of Empire, and two world wars, Scotland still feels nervous of its relationship with England, the same nervousness that Defoe objected to and hoped might     have come to an end as he walked up the High Street in the 1720s. But to make that journey today is to

Not to intrude into private grief or anything, but how can you children not be amused by this? Croatia rose to the occasion in their crucial Euro 2008 defeat of England – after an apparent X-rated gaffe by an English opera singer at Wembley. Tony Henry belted out a version of the Croat anthem before the 80,000 crowd, but made a blunder at the end. He should have sung ‘Mila kuda si planina’ (which roughly means ‘You know my dear how we love your mountains’). But he instead sang ‘Mila kura si planina’ which can be interpreted as ‘My dear, my penis is a mountain.’ UPDATE: Commenter Damir suggests a

Appropriately enough – this being Halloween don’t you know- Slate has this week been running a series of dispatches from my own native heath (Part 1 here, Part 2 here and Part 3 here). Kate Bolick asks, essentially, why are there so many haunted castles and ghostly apparitions in Scotland? Think what you want. I’m not here to convert you. Either you believe in ghosts or you don’t, and if you don’t—well, it’s probably because you haven’t seen one. They say the best believers are those who began as skeptics. Take Bella Beck (not her real name; she asked that I not use it), a suitably matter-of-fact academic at the

“For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die.”

Yes, I’d noticed this part of Cameron’s speech too: And those changes have brought us success, in local elections we have taken Plymouth, we have taken Lincoln, we took Chester, we took the council right here in Blackpool and as William reminded us in that great speech on Sunday we are back in the North of England, a force to be reckoned with in every part of our country. Daniel Larison raises an eyebrow and asks: Except Scotland.  Or maybe this was an intentional oversight? My sense is that it was an unintentional slip. It’s true that neither Scotland nor the Union were mentioned in Cameron’s speech but that’s understandable

Oh great. Who knows, perhaps this is even true. I blame Glaswegians. Obesity levels in Scotland are the second highest in the developed world behind the USA, new statistics have revealed. The figures were published as the Scottish Government announced plans to  remove sweets and fizzy drinks from schools. Under new rules, the amount of chips served in school meals will also be cut and more fruit and vegetables provided. Children’s Minister Adam Ingram said he wanted to change young people’s habits. The figures , released by ISD Scotland, the statistical wing of the NHS, said the “obesity epidemic” in Scotland must be addressed and outlines the extent of the

Sunday’s New York Times travel section has a 36-hour guide to what to do and see in Edinburgh. Unfortunately it’s terrible, listing rotten pubs and feeble restaurants. Though it’s a) questionable how much attention people pay to this sort of mini-guide anyway and b) I can’t hope to defeat the NYT,  let me say that I’ll provide a much better personalised weekend guide to Auld Reekie to any reader who happens to be visiting the city this summer/fall/winter.  Can’t say fairer than that, can you? PS: The NYT opens its guide to the city thus: EVERY August, the global theatrical community — well, at least the part that is drawn