Three years ago almost to the day, I referred to a writer called Anand Giridharadas (http://capeldunn.blogspot.fr/2009/04/here-and-there.html) who contributes articles to the New York Times. I can think of no columnist who better understands what is happening to America today, and who writes about it in such a dispassionate and yet sympathetic way.
Here he is on the USA in the wake of the death of Osama bin Laden:
http://anand.ly/articles/still-sometimes-a-great-nation
Here he is on the USA in the wake of the death of Osama bin Laden:
http://anand.ly/articles/still-sometimes-a-great-nation
Greetings again from sunny Wangaratta. My late father was the son, and later a brother, of a Sunderland GP and Dux of the Glasgow Academy. He met my late beautiful mother who was born in Burma on a train on their way to an Officer's wedding in Jaipur.
ReplyDeleteHis favourite quotes about America were Wilde's barbarism to decadence without passing through civilisation one, and another, possibly by Adlai Stevenson, that once a man receives a nomination for President he ceases to be worthy of the office.
That quote from Adlai Stevenson was new to me!
ReplyDeleteThat quote from Adlai Stevenson was new to me!
ReplyDeleteThat quote from Adlai Stevenson was new to me!
ReplyDeleteI've not been able to find it either but somebody else told me it was the sort of thing Stevenson might have said.
ReplyDeleteThanks to google for the triple affirmation.
I feel we toady to the Americans in Australia, I "attended" as Barry Humphries might say, Rokeby in Kingston-upon-Thames until I was 9 and we came to Australia in 1970. Mark and Sturt Urban were both there. There's a fascinating documentary directed by Stuart about their father Garri on YouTube.
I "attended" Xavier College in Kew which was the only school to offer Ancient Greek which I passed in 1978.
Failed English though!
Well, I "attended" Beaumont College where I also "studied" Ancient Greek. I think I passed it but can't be sure. I wonder if there is a way of checking these things?
ReplyDeleteIt was the only school in Victoria "offering" Ancient Greek and I think still is. I also "attended" Kostka Hall in Brighton one of the junior schools to Xavier. Stanislaus Kostka "draws a mention" as the Aussies might say in the Wikipedia article on Beaumont.
ReplyDeleteMy brothers both over ten years older than me spent several years at St. Josephs Birkfield with the mad monks. Fortunately we had fled England before the same fate "claimed" me.
Humphries' schooling was extremely priviliged, hence his ability to slip into the condescending role of Edna Everage. Scotch College and Melbourne Grammar are considered the Eton and Harrow of Melbourne schools.