The Independent
i Newspaper
 
TheIPaper
The Independent around the web

Cooper Brown: Good times with Hugh Grant

Great to hear my old pal Hugh Grant give the tabloid red tops a hammering. The lower end of the UK press has gone a bit crazy and it needed a shining knight like Hugh to come and slay the dragons.

Cooper Brown: I need a vacation

I'm tired... so goddam tired. I need a vacation and I haven't had one in ages. The problem is that I hate going away in Europe. Europeans really annoy me with their dull little towns that are all closed by nine in the evening after they have finished patronising me with suggestions for expensive, hideous wine to wash down the various inedible cuts of meat they like to eat in their particular armpit of the continent.

Cooper Brown: Running

Cooper Brown: Obama

OhmyGod, will everybody stop whining about “whether we should have shot Osama or not…”. The guy was Public Enemy Number One, and suddenly we’re supposed to be reading him his rights and getting him a lawyer?

Cooper Brown: Filming

On the set of the movie I’m producing, watching the actors film a great scene definitely destined to become a cinema classic. I’m from the Morrissey school of expectations – the guy will only publish his autobiography if it’s a Penguin Classic.

Cooper Brown: Wild in the country

It’s all gone wild in the country. I am now up for assault on the census Nazi and, because he is some distant relative of Victoria's family, they are split down the middle in their support.

Cooper Brown: Charged

The census guy that I got into an “altercation” with has now pressed charges and the police contacted me in London asking me to come down to the country to answer some questions.

Cooper Brown: Back home

I lost it with A/C List guy. I need this movie to go big but I don’t need to be some kind of loser nanny to this idiot to get that done.

Cooper Brown: A/C list

Nursing my big Hollywood name through this movie project is starting to become a little like keeping Tiger Woods out of Hooters – it’s impossible.

Cooper Brown: The movie

Back in London, thank God. I get stir crazy if I’m in the country for too long – I need proper coffee and the smell of car exhausts to keep sane.

Cooper Brown: Limits

Mulligan called me from Scotland saying that he’d dumped the Lesbian Sticker Lady somewhere near Oban and that she had “got the message”.

Cooper Brown: Winning the War

We were up early for the second day of “Operation Lesbian Sticker Lady”. Mulligan armed the Quattroporte again. Anybody touching it would get a severe electric shock. Mulligan had shown me his hands that had been burnt raw from when he'd tested it. He now had them wrapped in bandages.

Cooper Brown: Stake out

I parked the Quattroporte on the other side of the street from the Cooperdome so that I could take advantage of the good weather to sit on the balcony and observe “Operation Lesbian Sticker Lady”.

Cooper Brown: Shock

I was finally allowed to see what Mulligan had been building to capture the Lesbian Sticker Lady. It seemed to be a series of wires with sucker pads on the end.

Cooper Brown: Losing the urge

I managed to get Mulligan out on bail after his traffic warden assault. I told the police that if they actually did something about my complaints and tried to find Lesbian Sticker Lady, I wouldn’t be employing my own vigilantes to protect my property.

Career Services

Day In a Page

Apple admits it has a human rights problem

Apple admits it has a human rights problem

After years of complaints and workers' suicides in China the technology giant faces up to the human cost of its gadgets
Peter Moore: 'I feel guilty I'm the only one alive'

Peter Moore interview

'I feel guilty I'm the only one alive'
Sellafield faces nuclear option as overspending threatens plant's future

Sellafield faces nuclear option

Overspending threatens plant's future
Israel blames Iran for embassy bomb attacks

Israel blames Iran for embassy bomb attacks

Tehran rejects Netanyahu's 'lies' after diplomats in India and Georgia targeted
Former manager enjoying Apoel crack at the big time

Tommy Cassidy interview

Former manager enjoying Apoel crack at the big time
James Lawton: Patience may not be a virtue this time, Roman – Andre Villas-Boas looks all at sea

James Lawton: AVB looks all at sea

Abramovich's visits to training reinforce the idea of a coach feeling pressure from above and below
The 10 Best sledges

The 10 Best sledges

Not all of them require snow...
Procrastination: Not now  – I'm busy

Procrastination: Not now – I'm busy

Confronting the real reasons for puttting things off can help us beat it
Fun in the sunset years

Fun in the sunset years

A new movie follows retirees moving to India for low-cost care and a culture of respect for the elderly. For many Britons, it's already a reality
Picture preview: Lucian Freud drawings

Lucian Freud drawings

Picture preview
Silent revolution at the Baftas as the French take top awards

Silent revolution at the Baftas

The Artist wins in seven categories, with Meryl Streep the other big success story
Whitney Houston: The diva who had – and lost – it all

The diva who had – and lost – it all

Nick Hasted charts the highs and lows of Whitney Houston's life
How Picasso won over (some of) the British

How Picasso won over (some of) the British

Winston Churchill and Evelyn Waugh hated his work, but Picasso provided inspiration for a whole generation of UK artists
Topshop: A Decade Of Design

Topshop: A Decade Of Design

When London Fashion Week starts on Friday, Topshop will celebrate 10 years backing its brightest young stars
John Prescott: 'My wife thought I'd just retire, but I'm not a slippers man'

'My wife thought I'd just retire, but I'm not a slippers man'

At 73, John Prescott isn't mellowing. In fact he's taking a shot at becoming a police commissioner