David Quantick's "Quantick's World" column in Select was pretty good, mostly. Actually, they brought it back again last month, and he did a nice piece about Magazine.

Did he really? Is it still available? Was he kind about them?

Enough questions, now onto statements.

'Quantick's World' was much more vicious on 'Collins and Maconie's Hit Parade' - although that was an entirely different thing with the same title.

'The Spectator' has many good writers. Except for most of the columnists. I'd forgotten all about Taki - once vilified in the Eye - until I bought this week's issue (America Special).

>Did he really? Is it still available? Was he kind about them?
>
Available till the end of the month - i think he liked them.

Well he would do. Quantick's good like that.

Peter Baynham and Mark Radcliffe's respective columns in the short-lived Comedy Review were excellent, especially Peter Baynham's rant about anti-Welsh racism. Also, the mighty Duncan MacDonald's 'Mr Cursor' columns in early PC Zone. Or indeed, the whole of 'Yikes' in Zero magazine. Anyone know of an online archive?

Chris Morris - not just Geefe, but the stuff he did for other papers back in the "On The Hour" days

>Chris Morris - not just Geefe, but the stuff he did for other papers back in the "On The Hour" days

What was that, TJ? I know he did a few columns in the Evening Standard round about '94, but didn't know there was anything else.

btw Did you know that Morris's radio work for the BBC also included a week in July 1992 when he sat in for Danny Baker on Radio 5's breakfast show Morning Edition? The content was more GLR than Radio 1, but it was quite a beautiful thing to hear first thing in the morning. I have a highlights tape - it's jolly good.

Graham Linehan's Good Ideas in Select (1993ish)

Jon Ronson, any paper.

Justin - any chance of a copy of that tape???

>Justin - any chance of a copy of that tape???

Certainly can - can you e-mail me your address again, TJ?

Dave Barry and chairs : yes, he had that effect on me too. Used to read his stuff via newsgroups in 1992/1993. After a while you spot the style of writing and his stuff gets a bit predictable, but I enjoyed it at the time. Oddly, a few years later I found a Dave Barry book in the UK and, upon flicking through it, found it poor and lifeless.

The opposite to Bill Bryson perhaps? Bryson has written marvellous books (tho getting poorer the more he writes - for best humour read "The Lost Continent") but his newspaper columns tediously follow a clearly defined start middle and end.

>Dave Barry and chairs : yes, he had that effect on me too. Used to read his stuff via newsgroups in 1992/1993. After a while you spot the style of writing and his stuff gets a bit predictable, but I enjoyed it at the time. Oddly, a few years later I found a Dave Barry book in the UK and, upon flicking through it, found it poor and lifeless.
>
Am currently reading "Big Trouble", Barry's first foray into fiction. It's ok, not brilliant, reads like a film script a lot of the time. And guess what....? It's going to be one too.

>Graham Linehan's Good Ideas in Select (1993ish)

Also Linehan's column in Neon - can't remember the name, but his stuff on Hitchcock and Titanic had me in tears.

Quantick's Magazine article - precisely the article I always wanted to write about Devoto. He is more succinct than ever.

"'The Spectator' has many good writers. Except for most of the columnists. I'd forgotten all about Taki - once vilified in the Eye - until I bought this week's issue (America Special)."

I once had a letter printed in The Spectator.

The thing about Taki is that he has done time for being found smuggling coke through customs. Which is why I find his rants about the moral turpitude of Clinton/Blair/anyone on the left unintentionally hilarious.

I have a soft spot for Julie Burchill. While she may be mad as a wall, her writing is always entertaining. Her bit in the Guardian recently slagging off Madonna was good fun, even if I didn't necessarily agree with every word.

Julie Burchill is only entertaining in the sense that banging your head repeatedly against a hard surface is entertaining. I hate her - she represents all that is worst about the British media. A jumped up, sixth-form controversialist who labours under the misapprehension that her life, and her tedious contrived opinions are of any interest. And of course - she cannot write.

"Julie Burchill is only entertaining in the sense that banging your head repeatedly against a hard surface is entertaining."

You mean, in the sense that jumping off a tall building is a form of underground transport?

Bryson's my saviour. Though yes, his columns are about as entertaining as warm spit, the books are fantastic.

Of course, my mind took "lost continent", transposed it to "last continent" and now I can't stop thinking about bloody Rincewind. Gah.

Give up on Pratchett's cliched writing and try Robert Rankin instead - especially The Brentford Trilogy.

I found Bryson's writing less funny for every new book he releases, though he does still write well. Walk in the Woods was quite interesting, though not very funny. Lost Continent is definately the best.

Kerry Shale's reading of said book on Radio 4, and subsequently re-recorded and released on audio tape, is excellent. Kerry Shale *is* the radio voice of Bryson.

No political columnists mentioned yet - so I'd like to nominate Andrew Rawnsley. His article in the Observer today about the furore over his new book is simply superb. He writes clearly, with style and wit. His articles and columns are always structured and intelligent and he uses language beautifully.

Frank Johnson (Telegraph, Spectator) used to be good, but he's gone a bit predictable and a bit formulaic if you ask me. Still better value than anyone else, mind.

He coined the phrase "chattering clases", in 1981 (he claims).

>Give up on Pratchett's cliched writing and try Robert Rankin instead - especially The Brentford Trilogy.

Aiee, that's like telling a mime to speak up. Pratchett fan right here. I can't seem to branch out, because even Tom Holt - despite being called "astoundingly funny" fails to raise a grin. I like to be amused and they don't do it for me, though I'll check out your suggestion and see if I've been missing something.

I was put off Terence Pratchett within about 4 pages of the first book of his I read cos he'd blatantly ripped off the Woody Allen joke about 'not fearing death, just not wanting to be there when it happened". He's a slaggy fourth-rate Douglas Adams for plebs.

Julie Burchill may be all those things you accuse her of, Al, but she's still entertaining, despite (or maybe even because of) it.

Good Omens was good. How much you want to attribute to Gaiman's input it up to you, I suppose.

I like him. There's still snide allusions I'm picking up on each time I read something, which makes me feel smart.

[I'm sure Rodney Marsh has some obligatory comment to insert here. The prick.]

baaa