Violence, cruelty and sexual confusion are as much a part of boarding school literature as japes, cricket and a cast of swots, cads and cowards. Alex Renton traces a troubled genre from Rudyard Kipling to JK Rowling 8 April 2017, The Guardian “Michael was ordered to take down his trousers and kneel on the … Continue reading Flogging vice out, virtue in
Category: Uncategorized
Fear, lies and abuse: the private school cover-up
A longer version of my article published in The Times, 3 April 2017 It is, they say, good to tell the story. Let it out: nightmares are best cured by daylight. But what do you do next? Three years ago I decided to come out as a survivor of abuse, physical and psychological, at boarding … Continue reading Fear, lies and abuse: the private school cover-up
Enable children to talk and then listen to them – the only solution
"Cover-up is a British institutional tradition" 4 December 2016 for The Observer: Breaking the silence is immensely powerful and it is good medicine. But speaking up is hard. The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children has data that suggests one out of three people abused as a child has not disclosed the abuse … Continue reading Enable children to talk and then listen to them – the only solution
The free-from-fear diet
23 November 2015 for the Observer as "What is Healthy Eating?": It’s easy to develop a case of the latest psychiatrically acknowledged eating disorder, orthorexia nervosa – an obsession with avoiding foods perceived to be unhealthy. I got one for just £65. That’s the price of an introductory session at London’s Hale Clinic, an alternative therapy … Continue reading The free-from-fear diet
A story for immigrants: the tragic fate of the Anglo-Italians in the Second World War
ON 2 July 1940 the SS Arandora Star was torpedoed off north-west Ireland. The liner was carrying civilian "enemy aliens" from Britain to internment camps in Canada. Nearly 800 of them drowned. Some were German Jews, but most were Italians: grocers, ice-cream vendors, waiters and chefs, many of whom had lived all their lives in Britain. Their families survived, but … Continue reading A story for immigrants: the tragic fate of the Anglo-Italians in the Second World War
3x awards listings this month…
Long-listed – One World news award, for Fishing under Fire in Gaza published in The Observer Magazine. Short-listed - Fortnum & Mason awards, for work in Intelligent Life and Inside the Meat Lab in The Observer Magazine. Short-listed - Derek Cooper Award for Campaigning & Investigative Food Writing, Guild of Food Writers Awards, for work in The Times, The Guardian … Continue reading 3x awards listings this month…
Don't eat crap. Three times a day.
6 April 2014: Published in the Observer, my piece on the "5 a day" debate got an amazing 900+ comments. Some of them quite well-tempered (must be something in the diet). So now it's seven a day? Here's my easy alternative: just stop eating rubbish Nanny Britain's fruit and veg regime will never work … Continue reading Don't eat crap. Three times a day.
Whisky Galore
Boycott the bullying whisky barons
Update, 1 May 2014. The booze giants won a ruling yesterday allowing them to take their challenge over minimum pricing to the European Court. It's now 13 months since the law passed by the Scottish parliament should have come into effect, and started saving lives and livers. Latest briefingfrom Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems here . The challenge will … Continue reading Boycott the bullying whisky barons
Are "superfruits" a scam? A potato might do the same job at a tenth the price…
30 December 2013: fruit sold on health promises, my story published in the UK's Daily Mail. Believe the hype and they’ll solve all your health issues. They are the natural solution for everything from cancer, heart disease and dementia through to ageing skin, poor eyesight and interrupted sleep. No wonder “superfruits” now pop up everywhere: in cereal, desserts, … Continue reading Are "superfruits" a scam? A potato might do the same job at a tenth the price…
