Tony Blair

Tony Blair’s stock (reputation-wise) is deteriorating rapidly with the passage of time.

For an ex Labour prime minister who has presided over the UK’s affairs for over a decade, the scrutiny of his commercial activities leads one to believe that his greed for money seems to exceed all respectable boundaries.

That is of course discarding his warmongering disasters that cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of innocent people.

In an article in the FT today a well-known former US security adviser, Zbigniew Brzezinski, tells Edward Luce, the FT‘s chief US commentator, that Blair is a lightweight, that he does not like his political morals, and how he’s been enriching himself since leaving office.

And he concludes his assessment of Blair by saying, simply, that he has a visceral contempt for the man.

Alba Arikha

Alba Arikha is my most enchanting author.

If one was able to choose a woman for all seasons, then my choice would fall upon her without any doubt. She exudes charm and femininity in equal measure.

Her book, just reviewed in the Mail on Sunday, was deservedly given five stars. You must rush to buy a copy of her marvellous memoir, Major/Minor, which is remarkably frank as well as written with flair and an absorbing elegance.

FEMINISM? I Was A ‘Muff March’ Virgin

Camilla Long writes a most outrageously funny piece in the Sunday Times magazine. Her take on feminism and women’s obsession with their vaginas is hilariously thought-provoking.

Last month, she joined a march of fifty feminists down Harley Street in protest against labiaplasty, which is a process of surgically nipping and tucking your Violet Elizabeth – the latest in haute couture.

Among the marchers, a woman had carefully embroidered ‘Viva La Vulva’ on the underside of her skirt in sequins.

‘It is the biggest growing area of cosmetic surgery,’ she said, adding: ‘The doctors are profiting from women’s self-hatred. They are pornifying our culture.’

Camilla remarks, in her discomfort, that perhaps we are missing the point. If feminism is drowning in a sea of dubious publicity and stick-on fannies, the real issues have been obscured by a bizarre new hobby.

Would a man ever ask his woman to change her vagina? Or is it simply a new quirkiness that every so often women turn to in their quest to embellish their private parts?

I personally would opt for natural beauty without any need for change or surgical enhancement of any kind.

Any comments please…

The New Year

Although we are unlikely to mourn the passing of the year 2011, with the prophets of doom forecasting a more troublesome 2012 and little prospect of improvement, I still believe that our own immune system can withstand the next economic global turmoil.

That’s, of course, if prudence replaces short-term expediency and our politicians behave more responsibly and not use politics merely to score points against their rivals.

This year’s honours list does not augur well for those who expect a cleaning up of our political system.

In the meantime hypocrisy continues unabated.