View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
16 February 2007

Telling tales out of school…

A plea from Notting Hill plus the demands of kinky youth

By Marina Pepper

Dear Marina

I’ve been accused of something one may or may not have got up to at Eton but I’m blowed if I’m going to engage in a debate on the rights and wrongs of nipping off for a quick toke on a schoolmate’s ganja!

If I got an eighth of the coverage for my obvious green credentials I wouldn’t be feeling so blue. I’m convinced a Liberal gal like you – and one with a past – understands one’s predicament. How can one shut up those Fleet Street chavs and get them to concentrate on important issues like law and order?

DC, Notting Hill

It makes for a mind blowing departure from tradition, but have you considered coming clean?

It’s a cracking idea. The hacks would be killing each other for your personal views on, say, the economic impact of white collar drug use in The City, the need for a Royal Commission on drugs, rehabilitation investment, alcohol abuse – a greater threat, prison overcrowding and class inequality in the criminal justice system.

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

If you want to take it higher, deal them a Proustian puff piece on the damaging effects of drug-use on memory and how confused the narrative strands of “before” and “after” can appear.

March to it boy. There’s no time like the present.

Dear Marina,

I’m a 50-year-old and I’ve recently started dating a girl half my age. The other night, whilst in the throes of passion, she suggestively whispered in my ear that we should spice things up by experimenting with kinky games. The thing is, this isn’t something that I’ve engaged in before and don’t really know what she is expecting – I’m afraid to ask her because I don’t want her to think that I’m unschooled in the art of bedroom mischief. I’m planning to get a whip and some rubber gloves. What else can you suggest?

Philosophiser, Cambridge

Are you serious? Whips and rubber gloves sound so Oxford.
Ask the young lady (over dinner) what she means by kinky.
Always best to know in advance if there’s an outside chance you could end up trussed in the wardrobe dressed as Batman.

You never know, she might settle for a go on top.

Content from our partners
Can Britain quit smoking for good? - with Philip Morris International
What is the UK’s vision for its tech sector?
Inside the UK's enduring love for chocolate

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how Progressive Media Investments may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU