Peter Rhodes on autism, baldness and the royal cataclysm that never really happened
Andrew Marr was one of those political pundits who reckoned the death of Queen Elizabeth II would be a “break in history,” a national trauma lasting for years. Now, he admits he was wrong. Three years after the Queen's passing, Marr writes: “Surprisingly little has changed at all.”
In fact, a great deal has changed, and isn't that the problem? The constant torrent of things happening, all reported 24/7 from all over the world, adds up to a tsunami of events, each flashing on our minds for a nano-second before being replaced by something fresh. We are drowned in information, unable to process even the greatest of events before they are swept away by new events.
An expert on the 1912 Titanic disaster once told me that, if the First and Second World Wars had never happened, the Titanic would still be a talking point today. And if you ask people what happened in New York on this day, September 11, 2001, how many would know? We are numbed by news, overwhelmed by information and even the passing of our longest-reigning queen causes barely a ripple in our national life.
It may have been a trick of the light but in a weekend photo, Boris Johnson's signature blond mop seemed to be thinning. While some celebrities resort to a comb-over or even hair transplants, the best option is the one suggested, and adopted, by the late, great Clive James – a seriously short buzz cut. Brace up, Boris. It may be time to join the Own Up Baldie Club.
I have always been a tad wary of so-called handwriting experts who analyse a writer's dots, Ts and loops and declare the author to be extrovert, introvert, a leader or a wimp. The Mail on Sunday commissioned a study of Keir Starmer's writing, as revealed in his handwritten letter of acceptance to the retiring Angela Rayner. According to this, our PM is “subject to mood swings” with “a tendency to evasiveness". But isn't everybody?
In the same way, take a pinch of salt with the new book which suggests Margaret Thatcher was autistic. Many historical figures from Albert Einstein to Isaac Newton, Michelangelo and Charles Darwin have been identified as autistic, as have thousands of British school pupils. It sometimes seems we're all somewhere on the spectrum so why leave the Iron Lady out?
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