Category: “Charity”

One of the downsides (or should that be upsides?) of being moderately well known, and very accessible via social media, is that you get bombarded with people asking for time, money, contacts, ideas and expertise for their (invariably) good causes. On twitter, there is rarely a day, and some days rarely an hour, that there’s [...]

I’ve been back from holiday for a few days, but am still not back in the swing of things, so apologies to anyone who has missed my political and other musings. Thought I would ease myself back in with a guest blog from Labour councillor Sarah Hayward. It is worth a read. It is how [...]

After yesterday’s guest blog on happiness, today I turn to the subject of madness, more specifically my own. I was approached a few months ago and asked to write a poem for a book being prepared by Bovington Middle School in Dorset, to raise money both for the school’s English deparment and for Help for [...]

A break from politics and the press today, and instead three of my other interests – football, mental illness and plugging books. No, not my own books, though these are available here here here here here and the latest one, Power and Responsibility, here. Oh, and you can pre-order the next one, The Burden of [...]

I’m just back from the London Bikeathon, another 52 miles in the legs, and a dose of sunburn on the neck. But, as ever, it was a terrific way to spend the morning, with 5000 other cyclists raising money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago I [...]

With his Big Society still no clearer now than it was when he first coined the phrase to distance himself from Mrs Thatcher, with his NHS reforms now so confused that he may have to start the legislative process all over again, David Cameron continues to do a good job at keeping secret from people [...]

Someone calling himself James Hacker asked me on twitter this morning if I was more obsessed about politics or sport. It’s a close call. I’m certainly having a sporty week so far. Last night cricket. Shortly heading to the Emirates for a speech. Tonight the Sport Industry Awards, as a member of the judging panel. [...]

The Guardian asked me for a piece yesterday on the news that Catherine Zeta-Jones was being treated for bipolar disorder. Here is the piece I wrote for them. In an ideal world, it would not take a film star to get the media focused on mental illness. But we don’t live in an ideal world, [...]

Ten days ago I posted this blog about two young men from Northern Ireland setting out on a remarkable challenge to raise money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. Jez Davison and Gareth Crockett had lost a close friend, John Erwin, to leukaemia and the Beldon Challenge was their way of trying to raise £10,000 in [...]

There has been a touch of the ‘I had that David Cameron in the back of my cab’ to the Prime Minister this week. Street parties for the Royal Wedding … all them Labour councils (allegedly) stopping people having fun, elf’n’safety blahdiblah … then he takes on the issue of the lack of black students [...]