BY STEPHEN PAX LEONARD Some years ago, a colleague of mine was interviewing prospective undergraduates for entrance to Cambridge. He had just finished the interviews for ASNC (Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic) – yes, there is such a subject – when the telephone rang. It was the Admissions Tutor at one of the most prestigious, ancient Colleges that make up the University of Cambridge: “We need … Continue reading Good or Evil
BY STEPHEN PAX LEONARD Mr Ambiguous-de-Spode sat in the Fellows’ Common Room at All Souls College or The Warden and the College of the Souls of all Faithful People deceased in the University of Oxford for short, browsing the photographs of the Country Life débutantes, feeling rather pleased and upbeat about things. He was trying to bring to an end an extended coffee break after … Continue reading The Speech Code That Aims To Silence Us
BY STEPHEN PAX LEONARD It was the spring of 2003. Amidst a vortex of gorging humanity, the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad was being ripped off its plinth by excitable vandals. Many western television viewers sympathised with these young men dressed in thawbs who were celebrating the end of decades of repression and dictatorship. For the majority of Britons watching very similar events unfurl … Continue reading Descent into Cultural Nihilism
