Richard Whiteley

Richard Whiteley needs to be acknowledged. There are few enough Christ's alumni in the public eye and now we've lost another. This, of course, is because Christ's people are humble, hard-working, and don't covet the limelight. With, of course, the possible exception of Sacha Baron-Cohen

However, what someone said the other day about the BBC News site becoming tabloidy may have some truth in it. Specifically, do we really need 'tributes' and 'opinions' from every reader who cares to espouse some platitudes in public? I am of course aware of the irony of my bitching about unimportant people publishing their inconsequential opinions on the web for all to read, but at least I'm keeping off the BBC site. There's something rather disagreeable about this tendency to encourage the ill-informed, uninteresting or just plain unimportant to 'have their say' about everything. Can't we all just 'have our say' amongst ourselves? Or are we all too wired in to the web to talk to each other in real life any more? I suppose I'm guilty of that, particularly as I keep wanting to refer people here rather than repeat myself to them in person...! I'm wondering how I'll manage away from the net if I ever go on holiday...