John Walsh

Prolific writer and commentator John Walsh contributes two weekly columns to the paper, Tales of the City and BTW, as well as writing features, interviews and restaurant reviews. He has been editor of The Independent Magazine, literary editor of the Sunday Times and features editor of the London Evening Standard. His latest novel, Sunday at the Cross Bones, was published in 2007.

John Walsh: Farewell then, Larry, king of the gaffes

By the way...

Recently by John Walsh

John Walsh: Barbarians at the library gates

Thursday, 16 December 2010

A scandal of monumental proportions is about to erupt in the university world. A terrible injustice is about to be done, in the name of money. The high ideal of free enlightenment for all is being sidelined by claims of financial necessity? But no, I’m not talking about the increase in student fees. I’m talking about the imminent dismantling of the Warburg Library.

John Walsh: Don't mention the war (on a weather show)

Friday, 10 December 2010

Viewers who tuned into the BBC's South West region website this week in search of a weather update were surprised to find documentary footage of Nazi troops marching through the Channel Islands. Had some modern, neo-fascist organisation taken over the offshore tax haven?

John Walsh: Season's greetings have turned nasty

Thursday, 9 December 2010

Well, that's charming, I must say. I've just been shopping for Christmas cards – nothing fancy, neither too holy-baby-with-manger-and-Wise-Men, nor too aggressively stagecoach-trapped-in-the-snow-with-expiring-robin Dickensian, just some cheery Yuletide sentiments – and I confess I'm a quandary about what to buy.

John Walsh: BTW (03/12/10)

Friday, 3 December 2010

It's enough to push drinkers over the limit

John Walsh: Festive mice are not a pagan plot

Thursday, 2 December 2010

Will you be wearing a crucifix to work this morning? Have you pinned your "Not Ashamed" badge to your lapel to show the world you're proud to be a Christian? Have you noticed the concerted campaign of anti-Christian bias all over the nation?

John Walsh: BTW (26/11/10)

Friday, 26 November 2010

Festive foodies bring out my inner Scrooge

John Walsh: Make my day, punk: don't touch my junk

Thursday, 25 November 2010

Today is Thanksgiving in the US, but there's been a distinct absence of gratitude from American travellers about the increasingly rude tactics of the Transportation Security Administration, the federal body which oversees the scanning at airports. It's not just the new X-ray machinery that's causing the indignation. It's the alternative – the so-called "pat-down."

John Walsh: BTW (19/11/10)

Friday, 19 November 2010

The next big thing in publishing

John Walsh: Obama's book is an exercise in vanity

Thursday, 18 November 2010

Heroism is in the news, in the graceful person of Aung Sun Suu Kyi, released from house arrest and immediately calling, with virtually her first breath of freedom, for a peaceful revolution in Burma. It was as if her 20-odd years of incarceration had been a mere detail, a hiccup, a weekend mini-break.

Royal Wedding: A day to remember

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

Three decades ago, a bride and her prince charmed the nation. Since then, scandal, sell-outs and cynicism have changed our attitudes to Royal weddings. So, asks John Walsh, will we raise the bunting this time?

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