Ponyatna

….which means ‘I understand’. I say it a lot, especially when I don’t understand what someone is saying as it’s a good way to shoo them away before they ask me a question… Read More →

Moscow: An Island?

That’s how a Reuters journalist, who was kind enough to take me out for some drinks last night, described the city which I’m slowly starting to get my head around. That observation surprised… Read More →

First impressions

After a long journey – which probably seems a little longer because of the 4 hour jump ahead – I’ve arrived at the hostel I’ll be staying at for the next three weeks.… Read More →

Is it worth it?

It’s the question you’ve got to ask, sitting in a dreary travelodge on a dreary evening with only the buzz of Boeing 747s to keep me company. To be fair it’s not at… Read More →

Nick Robinson: Live From Downing Street

I’ve just finished Live From Downing Street, a political history-cum-biography, with a fat dollop of polemical musing, from BBC Political Editor Nick Robinson. What to make of it? In short: a Very Good Book,… Read More →

Julian Assange at the Oxford Union

http://www.cherwell.org/news/world/2013/01/11/assange-invite-sparks-protest http://www.cherwell.org/news/world/2013/01/24/union-opens-its-doors-to-assange?track_similar=14813 These are two links to Cherwell news articles (both with a video report) about Julian Assange’s talk at the Oxford Union, and the opposition from some in the Oxford community.

The Politics of Privilege: an interview with Lord Strathclyde

The Politics of Privilege This is an interview with Lord Strathclyde, whom I interviewed a month before he resigned from Cabinet (it was published in Cherwell a few days after he did).

‘Why the heck would you want to do that?’

‘I’m running a marathon’   ‘Right’ ‘No really’ ‘Why the heck would you want to do that?’ ‘Well I watched that film, you know the one with Jim Carey’ ‘Bruce Almighty?’ ‘No! The… Read More →

How To Lose Friends and Educate People

This is an interview with Toby Young, reproduced from Cherwell. Toby had a series of (pretty impressive) jobs in media as a young man, though he claims they often ended in him getting… Read More →

Interview: Hazel Blears

This is an interview I did with Hazel Blears, New Labour-ite and former Cabinet Minister, some months ago for Cherwell. I talked to her about the murky world of internships. The first thing… Read More →