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The Independent - John Walsh RSS Feed http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/?service=Rss John Walsh: Tales of the City http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/john-walsh-tales-of-the-city-915615.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/john-walsh-tales-of-the-city-915615.html Have you heard of Helensburgh? Scottish seaside town on the Firth of Clyde near Glasgow, pop 15,000, built in 1770s by Sir Ian Somebody, a clever spa impresario who named the place after his wife Helen. Sailing club, golf club, slightly grim seafront with pointy obelisk thing. British nuclear deterrent fleet of submarines moored nearby at Faslane naval base. And, er... that's all there is to say about Helensburgh – except that it's "Britain's most talented town" according to the weekend newspapers. John Walsh Tue, 02 Sep 2008 00:00:01 +0100 John Walsh: Cut with Gordon's sharp tongue, a protégé escapes hell's kitchen http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/john-walsh-cut-with-gordons-sharp-tongue-a-protg-escapes-hells-kitchen-910767.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/john-walsh-cut-with-gordons-sharp-tongue-a-protg-escapes-hells-kitchen-910767.html There's something Oedipal, even Shakespearean, about Marcus Wareing's eclipsing of his former mentor and boss, Gordon Ramsay, in the hierarchy of top London restaurants. It's part of a syndrome in which a former protégé rises to match, then overtake, his beloved master. It happened with Gordon Ramsay who, after enduring years of training, abuse and belittling by Marco Pierre White, left him to go it alone, and comprehensively outclassed him in stars and media recognition. John Walsh Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:00:01 +0100 John Walsh: Tales of the City http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/john-walsh-tales-of-the-city-908378.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/john-walsh-tales-of-the-city-908378.html I had a shocking crush on a nun when I was 12. She was a friend of my mother's, Sister Martina, and she had china-blue eyes, peach-pink cheeks and an astonishingly pouty upper lip. You could see no more of her physical attributes than that, because of her pre-Vatican II full-body habit, but it was enough. She radiated sweetness and kindness. Her eyes would brim with tears at the smallest evidence of human – or animal – injustice anywhere in the world. She seemed too sensitive to be heading into the jungles of Malawi to join the missions. ("Off to help the little black babies, John," she would say, her red lips trembling.) I thought she lacked the toughness for dealing with dictators, tribesmen and brigands, and told my mother so in the strongest terms. It was, I harrumphed, ridiculous to send such a lovely young girl among savages. John Walsh Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:01 +0100 John Walsh: Tales of the City http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/john-walsh-tales-of-the-city-901657.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/columnists/john-walsh/john-walsh-tales-of-the-city-901657.html It was clear to me that something was wrong. I've been on some dodgy holidays and I have a quivering antenna about these things. John Walsh Tue, 19 Aug 2008 00:00:01 +0100