Chas Newkey-Burden is co-author, with Julie Burchill, of Not In My Name: A Compendium of Modern Hypocrisy. He also wrote Running: Cheaper Than Therapy and The Runner's Code (Bloomsbury)
We Brits used to rub along pretty well with seagulls. Their distinctive call conjured memories of happy days out at the seaside and it was strangely hypnotic to watch them circle above the waters as we breathed in the salty air. But now they’re in danger of becoming public enemy number one as the tabloids
Britain can sometimes feel like it’s no country for old men. Our elderly folk get a hard time; they’re blamed for society’s woes, accused of messing up the planet for younger people and hogging houses which families struggling to get on the ladder could never afford. How is Attenborough, who joined the BBC in the
It’s going to be a scorcher in Britain today, with temperatures forecast to hit 29c. Naturally, lots of people will be throwing open their doors to bask in the warmth and sunshine, loving every moment of this summery spell. Lots of people, but not all people. Some of us don’t enjoy hot weather, so we
Everyone knows that running a marathon can be painful. The worst part is the final 6.2 miles of the course, as your body runs out of glycogen stores, your legs turn to jelly, and your sweat-drenched head begins to thud. Every step can feel like a mile. Another challenge comes during the week before the
When I heard that WH Smith was going to disappear from our high streets, I became a nostalgic mess. I was transported back to childhood trips to buy pencil cases before each school year began, weekend visits to browse football magazines, some of which I even bought, and those late December expeditions, feeling loaded as
Reports of rats in Birmingham that are ‘bigger than cats’ are now making international headlines. The New York Times, NBC News and CNN have all weighed in on the city’s rodent problem, as the strike action by bin workers rolls on. Rat panic seems to be setting in. An MP said the rodents are ‘dancing
Britain prides itself on being a nation of dog lovers – but is this true? Animal rights campaigners have targeted a leading dog show, accusing the event of promoting ‘deformed’ breeds such as pugs and bulldogs. Peta wants the Scottish Kennel Club to disqualify brachycephalic dogs, which have shortened noses and flat faces. These dogs
Keir Starmer has welcomed Netflix’s decision to make Adolescence available to screen for free in secondary schools. The Prime Minister, who watched the show with his teenage children, said he found it ‘harrowing’ and ‘really hard to watch’. I wonder how his kids found the experience because watching upsetting television during formative years can have a lasting effect,
Five years ago tonight, Boris Johnson told us we were going into lockdown. In the run-up to the anniversary of that historic moment, lots of people have shuddered as they remembered the boredom, frustration and horror of that strange time when we were only allowed to leave the house once a day. Me? I’ve been
An American influencer called Sam Jones has been roundly denounced after she posted a video of her snatching a wild baby wombat from its distressed mother in Australia. The video, since deleted, showed Jones picking up a joey by the road and running with it to a car, while its poor mother ran after them.
For me, even the thought of running late for a flight is absolutely blood-curdling. The prospect of sweating it out in the back of a cab, with red traffic lights and zebra crossings conspiring against me as the clock ticks down, seems like torture. I’d rather miss a bin collection day. Thanks to TikTok, people
An animal rights activist has exposed extreme cruelty at a slaughterhouse in Arley, Warwickshire. Joey Carbstrong’s secretly recorded footage shows staff slamming sheep hard onto concrete floors, dismembering sheep while they are still alive and playing recordings of wolves to the terrified animals as they were dying. The shock here is not just the cruelty itself: repeated
We all know the nursery rhyme about “this little piggy”: one little piggy went to market, one little piggy stayed home and so on. A modern rewrite could also include the little piggy that got injected into a rich man’s body. The “super-rich” are using pigs brains to try and “biohack their way to immortality,”
Ask anyone if they think that cruelty to animals is OK and they’ll say no – but are they being truthful? If they eat meat, they’ll insist that the meat they eat is ‘high-welfare’, but 85 per cent of the UK’s farmed animals endured their shortened lives on brutal factory farms, so nearly everyone who
How do you know a politician is lying? Their lips are moving. We’ve all heard the joke. Even in these horribly divided times, there’s one belief that still unites the fractured British public: politicians can’t be trusted. So a plan hatched in Wales last summer to make lying in politics a criminal offence has proved
Is the vegan revolution over? An “anti-vegan backlash” has “made Britain fall back in love with meat,” according to the Daily Telegraph. Studies have found that 18-24 year olds in the UK increased their meat intake in 2024, sales of fake meats are falling and vegan restaurants are closing their doors. It’s not just about putting
Soap bombshells are nothing new, but the land of light TV entertainment was rocked by some real-life drama this week: ITV announced that Coronation Street and Emmerdale will be cutting back on episodes permanently next year. It was also revealed that viewing figures for EastEnders have plummeted from 30 million at its 1980s peak, to just four million. As one of
In the 1930s, Sir John Betjeman wrote a poem calling for bombs to fall on it, in 2001 David Brent poked fun at it in The Office and in 2024, the Telegraph named it the UK’s ‘ugliest town’. Now, it’s been branded as ‘the unhappiest place to live’ on Rightmove. Times change and public attitudes evolve, but everyone seems to
I’ll always remember a conversation I had with someone just after I’d interviewed the footballer Frank Lampard. ‘What was he like? I bet he was as thick as mince,’ they said. The reality was rather different: the former Chelsea captain was a thoughtful, intelligent and beautifully well-mannered man. Footballers: ‘super clever’? This will shock some,
Starbucks has announced that it is reversing its rule that allowed people to hang round in cafés in the United States even if they’d not bought anything. From 27 January, Americans will have to buy something or leave. Some people think that’s a bit harsh but it doesn’t go far enough: there are also plenty
