The crucial point to bear in mind is that if it was possible to eradicate the sex trade through legislation and ratcheting up social stigma, it would have disappeared long ago. Prostitution has thrived in more censorious and judgemental eras than our...

My mother seriously abused me as a child, all under the watchful eye of the social services. I can remember sitting with my social worker, covered in bruises, and trying to tell him how I felt, and him replying, with hands clasped together and a nod ...

It is the multiplicity of serious challenges that may be a defining characteristic of the region. The ability to cope with any one problem will be made more complicated by the interaction of problems. Actions taken on one will restrict opportunities ...

How else could I justify tuning into what is called – mistakenly by the way – a "reality" show, were it not for the dancing? You won't find me camping out in front of Big Brother, and there's no chance I'll ever be able to tell one bland-with-a-big-v...

Sergeant's decision to quit the Saturday night prime-time show has, once again, thrown into confusion the whole notion of viewer participation in British television. Just as after the premium rate phone-in scandals of last year, audiences have been l...

Well, perhaps, her fear of certain people and certain areas was justified as she ended up being mugged – though this violent crime is brushed over by Hanks as if it is a trivial matter (rather than a frightening and defining moment that no doubt conf...

As any ringer dedicated to questions about the quotations of Bill Shankly c.1975 - 1981 will know by rote, some people thought that football was a matter of life and death; he could assure them it was much more serious than that. But pub quizzes make...

The beauty of the sweeping ocean views in Big Sur was rivalled only by that of the looming mountains, which could easily be observed by those who weren't yet too relaxed to turn their heads away from the sea. The Post Ranch Inn, to which I had retrea...

"I don't think any artist on earth could sing with that much metal in their mouth," he gleefully announced to 30 million-odd viewers. "You have so much metal in your mouth, it's like a bridge!" Ms Goodspeed failed to see the joke, though. Last week, ...