Urban myths
By Tony Watts - Editor - 06/10/2008
I love the way that jokes somehow make their way into the national consciousness as ‘facts’. This is usually because jokes are overheard in pubs (where alcohol has a way of dimming one’s judgement) or relayed by minicab drivers (say no more).
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Ageism: now let’s finish the job
In August, Mike O’Brien, Minister of State for Pensions Reform set out the Government’s position on ageism. Fine words, says Kate Jopling, Head of Public Affairs at Help the Aged. But there is still a lot more to be done to eradicate discrimination.
What’s it worth?
I’m writing this having taken a call from a radio station. They want someone to go on air and defend retaining our post offices. Someone, somewhere, I suppose, will be brought on to say: ”Yes, closing them is a sad but necessary thing”.
I’ll stoutly say they’re a jolly good thing. And no doubt we’ll have a brisk on air discussion with listeners ringing in. But I think there’s a bigger argument here than just post offices. One that has its roots in the very way we choose to run our lives.
Stop electoral register being used by junk mail companies!
Very few people escape the modern trend of junk mail Give your address to a company, or buy a product - and suddenly there are so- called 'unbeatable offers' flooding through your front door every week. More recycling. But now a new survey has shown overwhelming support for a change in the law to ban junk mail companies from gaining access to voters’ details through the electoral register.
To BOGOF or not to BOGOF? That is the question
The mushrooming of large supermarket chains has changed the face of shopping for ever, causing the decline or even extinction of many small local shops. But how has it affected those on fixed incomes such as pensioners, and the millions who live alone. Jayne Warren wonders why everything - including the shelves - are stacked against them.
Madonna hits 50 - but what does that say about the rest of us?
Passing the 50 mark is always a significant moment in our lives. We're currently watching Madonna go through that stage - in her own way. But what does it mean for the rest of us? Baby boomer marketing expert Judith Cork has her own take on life after 50.
A taste of their own medicine
The idea of giving people in positions of power a “taste of their own medicine” has such huge appeal that we should, I think, extend it says Mature Times editor Tony Watts.
It's good news week!
... occasionally you get the good news pieces in the papers: new treatment hope for cancer, a rare victory in sport for one of our national teams, or Elvis being spotted eating sausage and chips in a café on the A1. But they are few and far between ...
Mature Times editor Tony Watts tries to buck the trend and look on the bright side.
What the Romans did for David Davis
"The prospect of catching murderers, rapists and terrorists before they strike again makes it, to me at least, a price worth paying." Was David Davis right to stand on a platform of civil liberties that would make life easier for the criminal? Mature Times editor Tony Watts doesn't think so ... and neither, it seems from your response to date, do our readers.
What a racket
Why, asks Mature Times editor Tony Watts, do some tennis players need to make such a racket when they hit the ball? And MT readers give their views too ...
It's official: the world has gone mad
We can conclusively confirm that the world has taken leave of whatever senses it started with. How do we know? Because Manchester Police have diverted their attention from stemming the rising tide of gun and knife crime in their city to send five of their finest officers to tackle a criminal they feel comfortable in arresting: a 54 year old man with a heart condition, accused of dropping an apple core
Energy bill shocker - but has it happened to you too?
We received our electricity bill recently. Nothing odd with that, you might think. Except the first thing to hit my wife as she opened the envelope were the words, in very large print: “Your account balance is £1,713.33 in debit”.
What has wealth got to do with happiness?
Gross national product "does not allow for the health of our families, the quality of their education or the joy of their play". Bobby Kennedy's words, 40 years on. But are they still relevant today?
Oh, the injustice of it all!
Of all the things that irk, injustice rankles most of all. Our sense of what's fair and unfair cuts in at an early age and it stays with you throughout life when you see dishonest people prosper or decent people cut down by illness.
Play up and play the game
"Respect" for referees is a hot topic in football at the moment. But its social significance goes well beyond keeping control over a bunch of over-coiffured prima donnas, says MT editor Tony Watts.
