If you saw the fixed grins of those in the audience who didn’t win Oscars last weekend, you’ll get the picture. ’Colleagues’ with social media pseudonyms such as ‘Old Nick’ and ‘Cynical Adviser’ went online to say, basically, that those who pay most get most reviews and so most awards. I let it wash over me….for several minutes, before replying that they should try getting off their (probably very) fat backsides and asking 235 of their clients to review them. If they dare. Or can be bothered. Then I had a glass of wine.
Making a difference?
The ’70s were for my coming-of-age time, as they were for Stuart Maconie, author of ‘The Nanny State Made Me’. It’s when I took my 0 and A Levels, went to uni and started my first job. My view of the decade will always be rose-tinted, I’ll remember the music, discos, student grants (wouldn’t have known what a tuition fee was) and monthly inflationary pay rises negotiated by unions of which I was not a member. The strikes, high taxes and IRA bombs were background noise to me and, yes, I was the first in my family to go to university and, yes, despite everything, felt more secure with a nanny state in charge than at any time since. I’d happily pay more tax to give my kids and grandkids the same.
