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Welcome to my new website

Many of us over 60 are counted out when part-time jobs come up despite our collective wisdom and abilities.

To counter some of this prejudice I have dispensed with sending my CV and have instead created The Complete Picture, an animated ninety second overview of my life to date @ https://vimeo.com/223960456.

 

 

 

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27
MAR
I went to a Labour Party dinner at The Coniston Hotel last night. Over ten years ago, out of the blue, the Government announced the hotel was going to be an asylum reception centre - an appalling idea. Eventually, we stopped the centre (see www.derekwyatt.exmp.co.uk) but by then the hotel had closed. Just under a year ago, a re-fashioned, much improved hotel was opened and judging by last night's evidence it is doing very well. 
27
MAR
I travelled down to Sittingbourne last night for the CLP dinner to launch their county council candidates (I am President of the CLP). I was the warm act to Andy Sawford our newly elected MP for Corby. A joke going the rounds was: If Louise Mensch had been a bar of chocolate she'd have eaten herself a long time ago.  (Credited to an 87 year old local).  
24
MAR
I went to hear Evengy Morozov's talk at the RSA on Thursday lunchtime. It was called: Big Data Small Government and he drew much of it from his new book To Save Everything, Click Here. He covered off the new rage of spectacles and watches about to hit our stores from Google and Samsung (has Apple peaked?) which will track, rather frighteningly, all we do without any of us really knowing. They they'll sell it on. I asked him a question about when we were we going to be compensated for...
24
MAR
Social Networking 13 18-24 March 2013 Monday Names Not Numbers@Aldeburgh Bump Hannah Rothschild, author Charlie Leadbeater, author Martin Davidson, CEO, British Council Alice Sherwood, King's College Judy Piatkus Sophie Radice, author Robert Phillips Suzanna Taverne, BBC Trust Alice Sherwood, King's College Jonathan Reekie, Snape Maltings Sarah-Jayne Blakemore Lucy Prebble, Playwright Tommy Helsby Liz Cobbold, Adnams Maxine Taylor, King's College Tuesday Names Not...
24
MAR
My reading table is beginning to groan:  Divided Nations by Ian Goldin* Networks of Outrage & Hope by Manuel Castells* The Baroness by Hannah Rothschild*   To Save Everything Click Here by Evgeny Morozov*  The Victory Lab by Sasha Issenberg Big Data by Mayer-Schonberger* & Cukier * Attended talk or lecture at Names Not Numbers, RSA or OII
24
MAR
I had supper with Dennis MacShane and Callum Macdonald earlier in the week and I dug out a bottle of Chinese Cabernet 1992 given to me as a gift when I was in Beijing in 2009. It had the name: Baiyanghe on its label. I'm not sure how professional the Chinese wine market was in 1992....and though it didn't rattle my fillings it certainly hadn't benefitted from being kept.......
21
MAR
I was back at the RSA last night for a second helping but this time the lecturer was the Manuel Castells now at USC and Berkeley in California. He was here to promote his book: Networks of Outrage and Hope and that was the scope of his lecture. He talked for just under an hour on "Outrage" the public non-violent protests which started in Iceland and spread to America and across mainland Europe and then moved on to "Hope" about the Arab Spring and its consequences. It was a tour de force the...
21
MAR
The first job of any Chancellor of The Exchequer is to reform the tax system from top to bottom. When thousands of lawyers are in league with thousands of accountants to make sure their clients pay no tax or move it abroad with impunity or invest in forests or whatever, something is sick in the system. The rich become richer because they can afford a bevy of advisers which tell them to set up Trusts and the like. At HMR&C there are simply not enough staff with the expertise to track...
20
MAR
I went this morning to the RSA in John Adam Street to the launch of Peter Bazalgette's "The Grand Tour in the new Grand Partnership" inaugural lecture as the new (six weeks) chairman of the Arts Council. You can access it at www.thersa.org . He spoke for 25 minutes and then took questions. I asked the first one: Would he create a joint venture between the Arts Council and the RSA to bring forward ArtsBank - the first crowdsourcing arts bank in the world? Afterwards he said he...
20
MAR
We held our fifth UK Names Not Numbers symposium but for the first time at Aldeburgh. After our first one in 2009 at Portmeirion (which took six hours by coach) I did suggest to Julia H that we considered Aldeburgh......anyway we made it..... It is quite thrilling to be involved in a NNN event and this year was no exception where there were some quite sensational events, talks, discussions and lectures. You can follow it at www.namenotnumbers.com
20
MAR
I was at two grammar schools - Westcliff CHS in Southend (1961-66) and then Colchester RGS (1966-68). It would be fair to conclude that I was not as studious in the classroom as I was on the playing fields. Anyway, I have been trying to find a way to say thank you to one of them - Colchester - and especially to the late Jack Elam. my wonderful head teacher.   For the next ten years, I have agreed to fund an annual travel bursary award of £500, for Years 11, 12...
20
MAR
Social Networking 12 11th-17th March 2013 Monday James Garvey & Anne Hooper @ Trinity Hospice www.trinityhospice.org.uk   Digital Photography @ Pimlico Adult Education Centre Tuesday Blood @ Vincent Square David Spruce (QBE) @ Cork & Bottle www.qbe.com Agnes Venema & Megg Munn MP@ Parliamentarian Network for Conflict Prevention, Brussels Bump Frank Doran MP Julian Brazier MP Frank Field MP Tom Bradby ITN www.pncp.net Daniel Libeskind @...
20
MAR
I caught Side Effects thanks to a tip from Jack, my son.   I thought the ending surreal but for 85% of the time this was a gripping tale with a great performance from Jude Law. Go see.
20
MAR
In the first DCMS Select Committee Report on the Press (especially intrusion) back in the early noughties I said at the press conference to launch it that if a newspaper continually transgressed we should consider a yellow and a red card scenario. A journalist from the Daily Mirror then asked me if a red card meant that a paper would be stopped from publishing and I said it would. Howls of protest went up and under pressure I withdrew my remarks. That afternoon the Mirror (Editor:...
14
MAR
Yesterday, I attended the joint European Internet Foundation/Digital Policy Alliance conference held at Europe House in Smith Square (the old Tory party's HQ). The main theme was to examine "Perspectives for Mobile & Broadband in the UK by 2020" and we had  a number of speakers including Neelie Kroes, a EC VP who is responsible for the Digital Agenda in Europe. This cannot often be said but Europe is so far ahead of the UK government on digital policy that it is...
14
MAR
I joined Table 10 last night made up largely of friends from Bath or Ireland. Quentin Letts was our speaker and jolly good he was too. The Long Room has so much cricket history but whoever commissioned the more recent portraits of our England cricketers clearly knows little about the genre. It mattered not a jot as we retired late into the night to the Danubius Hotel.
13
MAR
I was a guest of RIBA last night for the BBC World Service interview (conducted by Razia Iqba)l with the great Daniel Libeskind whose work is nothing short of genius..... Consider: Jewish Museum, Berlin Imperial War Museum North Royal Ontario Museum The Bord Gais Energy Theatre, Dublin Dresden Museum of Military History Keppel Bay, Singapore and Zlota 44, Warsaw Plus of course his work at Ground Zero, NY He gave an extraordinary rich interview last night which...
13
MAR
I had a lovely lunch at the Cork & Bottle with David Spruce of QBE - sponsor the Autumn internationals at Twickenham.
13
MAR
I went to the UK Parliament yesterday to attend a meeting of the PNfCP - www.pncp.net. Meg Munn MP was the only member present. PNfCP is funded by the East-West Institute in NY.
12
MAR
I bumped into Tom Bradby, ITN's Political Correspsondent in Parliament and we never mentioned the Huhne-Pryce fiasco........
10
MAR
With Jilly I went to see La Boheme at the ROH last night.  What makes an opera work? ** the acting? * the opera singers? ** um, the music? * the sets?  * the occasion? ** the service of the opera house staff? ** all of the above? Well, it was simply wonderful last night and when I returned home I sat for a couple of hours just wallowing in what an amazing experience the evening had been. The ROH itself is such a great centre of excellence.  
10
MAR
I went to watch Richmond play Macclesfield yesterday. It was bitty match but with five minutes to go Richmond were leading 15-10 but they were not home by any means. They were awarded a penalty to the right hand side of the posts about 30m out and instead of going for goal which might have taken them to 18-11 - but anyway would have eaten up some time - they opted to kick for touch and then lost the subsequent line out.  Somehow Macclesfield then found themselves camped on the...
10
MAR
I went with Jilly, Jack, Daisy, Charlie and Rupert to David Gay's 65th birthday party held in the sexiest car park at Twickenham known as the North...... As he is learning the saxophone, I bought him three cds from the finest players in the world - Charlie Parker, Sonny Rollins and John Coltrane and for good measure: Miles Davis's Kind of Blue. As for the game itself frankly England were lucky to come away with a win.  
9
MAR
Social Networking 10 25th Feb - 3rd March 2013 Monday Shelly Bancroft@Pimlico Christianne Wolff@BodyRescue Digital Photography@Pimlico AEC Tuesday Denise Westbury-Haines, BT @ Portcullis House Bump Jack Dromey MP Stephen Pound MP  Stephen Twigg MP John Mann MP  Dr Brand @ Vincent Square Medical Centre Katie Lockett @ Parkfield Ian Pearson@The Orange, Pimlico Wednesday Dele @ Caffe Nero, Pimlico Thursday Live Radio 2 Pilot Comedy Show @ Ronnie...
9
MAR
Martin Short and I have been executive members of CAABU but both of us are standing down at the next AGM (shortly). We had an enjoyable supper at Thomas Cubitt earlier in the week to talk about Palestine.
9
MAR
When I joined Bedford RUFC, now called the Bedford Blues, in 1973 Clive Hooker was first choice second row with Bob Wilkinson. He used to drive from 15 miles south of Oxford to Bedford two or three times a week whilst I was driving a similar distance from Ipswich. I left Bedford in 1978 for Bath as I had moved jobs and our friendship suffered. Over the years we have met at dinners and anniversaries but we have never sat down and had a goodly yarn. On Thursday, we had a very long,
9
MAR
On Friday, I had lunch at The Athenaeum (again) this time with Ian Pearson and Ayan Mitra (www.CrowdBnk.com) and then went on to meet Dele Atanda, CEO, of Digitteria Ltd. I am helping both companies raise funding.
6
MAR
I joined Richard Gorman, Jimmy Hibberd, Peter Winterbottom and Mike Gore to discuss our Melbourne to Sydney cycle ride during the British Lions tour. 
6
MAR
I had lunch today at The Garrick with David Hooper who I have known for over 25 years. He was our lawyer when we published Spycatcher. 
5
MAR
I had catch up meeting with Ronnie Lamb yesterday morning at the RAC Club in Pall Mall. Ronnie chairs both OURFC and Stanley's committees.
5
MAR
Yesterday late afternoon, I had an early glass of wine with Jonathan Price (CEO: Gifted) and Philip Bernie (BBC Sport) and we discussed - well here's a surprise - sport......
3
MAR
I went to see the Lichtenstein Retrospective at Tate Modern this morning. Even at 12 noon there was a healthy crowd in the galleries.  I liked his sculptures in Room 6 which came as a surprise and showed his debt to the Art Deco movement. I still think his houses at The Met in NY are his best work but there is an extraordinary range of material on show here.  I love his work and thoroughly enjoyed this exhibition: a definite must-see. 
2
MAR
Social Networking 9 18th-25th February 2013 Monday Christianne Wolf @ BodyRescue Tuesday AQONTWF Wednesday Richard Gorman & Peter Winterbottom@ Ride of the Lions Sam @ Dress 2 Kill Thursday Anna Yallop & Mark Malloch Brown@ The American Bar Daisy @ Smollensky's Friday Sue, Sally & Hester @ Trinity Hospice Saturday England v France @ Twickenham Bump Bill Treadwell Mike & Anna Rafter Simon Halliday Bob Hiller Paul Simpson Brian...
2
MAR
I wrote a piece about the RFU - see below - and my editor asked the RFU for a photo to accompany it but they said they didn't like the article and wouldn't help us. Dear me. Article for Kensington & Chelsea Today   English Rugby: Back and in Better Spirit by Derek Wyatt   Fifteen months ago, the English rugby union known more quaintly as the Rugby Football Union (RFU) was in freefall. At the 2011 rugby world cup in New Zealand, some of its senior players misbehaved
1
MAR
I met Bruce Reynolds a couple of times in 1990-91 usually with Laurie Taylor at a hotel in Sloane Street. I was trying to persuade them to work together to write Reynolds' autobiography but my recollection is that they wanted north of £10k and I wasn't sure that it was worth that......eventually An Autobiography of a Thief was published in 1995 by Transworld. 
1
MAR
Only The Times managed to have the result and comment on its front page this morning so well done them.  I always thought the Lib Dems would win but was still a little surprised that the Tories were third and maybe that's because their candidate wasn't really up to it. Nonetheless, the UKIP vote is worrying. What do they stand for other than to pull out of Europe? Labour may have made a mistake picking some one not local. 
1
MAR
I joined Ian Pearson at the Athenaeum for lunch today with Nick Butler who used to work at No.10. We found it hard not to talk about the implications of the Eastleigh by-election.  
1
MAR
I went to a pilot yesterday at Ronnie's put together by Joe Stilgoe (son of Richard) which included a host of stars just under the radar including Heather Headley and Tim Minchin. The show lasted 90 minutes but with editing would make quite a slick one hour topical show. Let's hope One Night Stand is commissioned as it had us laughing in the aisles. 
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