Category Archives: Society
The wild and wonderful voice of community pride
This piece is full of prejudices and preconceptions – mostly mine. I first saw Charly in a photo, standing next to a policeman and an 80-year-old woman on an estate in Brighton. Nothing unusual in that, except that Charly’s hair … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
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Society now accepts gay men as equals. So why on earth do so many continue to behave like teenagers?
In just one hour I get to burn every bridge in the gay world I’ve got. I’ll become the whipping boy of the more extreme political factions of the gay world, and also of the hedonists who drink and drug … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
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Brutal lessons that offer fresh hope to failing kids
My friend, John, says he first met Kamal Ahmed in 1976 when he was a rather fat 11 year old. Kamal lived a life of violence. Not that he fought very much. He was more beaten up than beating. A … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
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Why schools need ground control to launch reforms
This is not a remarkable story about an extraordinary man. It’s a bog-standard story about a good man. Terry Creissen has three sons, a wife and a mortgage. He also has passion. In the stilted language of an Ofsted compliment, … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Society, The Guardian
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Lives beset by drama need the simplest forms of help
Rama was born in Mogadishu in 1982. She is Somalian – except it’s not that simple. There is a widespread perception that the Somalis are monocultural and monolingual, but they’re not. Rama belongs to the Benadiri people, who speak the … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
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Flipping heck, we’re all at it now
The editor of the new Lonely Planet guide to London has warned visitors to be prepared to have their sensitivities assaulted. We’re all swearing like troopers. We’re dumbstruck without the F-word, she says. And she’s right. Swearing in public is … Continue reading
Posted in Manners, Society, The Guardian
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Language of survival is what refugees need most
Luljeta arrived in Britain in 1999. She came via Italy and France, and it cost her and her husband £8,000. But she didn’t fly in first-class. She arrived in Portsmouth in the back of a truck with 50 other people … Continue reading
Posted in Education, Society, The Guardian
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Brotherly love
Brotherly love As simpering, senseless queens go, Craig in Big Brother comes a close second to a gay man’s worst nightmare. As he dotes doggedly on his (apparently) straight housemate Anthony, he seems to take gay rights back about 30 … Continue reading
Posted in Society, The Guardian
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How do you chew?
How do you chew? A finger-licking, record-breaking 1,671 people complained about a KFC advert that showed women in a call centre eating with their mouths open. It’s the highest number of complaints ever received by the Advertising Standards Authority and, … Continue reading
Posted in Manners, Society, The Guardian
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The itch to get involved
No stranger to civic duty, Simon Fanshawe often steps in to chair his local groups of activists. Here, he explains why, despite bouts of doubt and eczema, he just just can’t leave things to those in charge There are moments … Continue reading
Posted in Manners, Society, The Guardian
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