'Panic as Man Burns Crumpets' by Roger Lytollis

When was the last time you read a local paper?  This week?  This year?  Never?  You're not the only one.  Our habits have changed a lot in the past 20 years and most of us are now more likely to get our local news from online sources than a physical, printed newspaper.  'Panic as Man Burns Crumpets' is Roger Lytollis' entertaining story of a life in local journalism and an insider's view of how the industry has changed in recent years.

Celebrity Express

'Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen' by Greg Jenner (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2020)

A few years ago, I visited Bamburgh*, Northumberland, home of the RNLI Grace Darling Museum.  It's a small museum with an inspirational story to tell - that of a young lighthouse keeper's daughter who took part in the perilous rescue of nine wrecked passengers during a horrific storm in 1838.  Her bravery captured the Victorian imagination, and Darling became an unwilling celebrity.  One of the most interesting things I learned during the visit was that, when she died just four years later, donations flooded in from an adoring public for a magnificent Gothic memorial featuring her stone likeness.  Not only is the ostentatious tomb at odds with both Darling's modesty and the charming coastal setting, it is also empty.  Tellingly, she was actually buried alongside her beloved family elsewhere in the churchyard rather than beneath the heroic image her fans thrust upon her.  Stories like Darling's and the strange interaction between public image and personal life are just one of the many contradictory features explored in Greg Jenner's new book, 'Dead Famous: An Unexpected History of Celebrity from Bronze Age to Silver Screen'.

'Dead Famous' is a densely packed gallop through the development of 'Celebrity'.  We may all think we know what it is, but Jenner has dug deeper and separated it from similar categories like 'renown', 'fame' and 'infamy'.  He's found that the right combination of personal charisma, popular recognition and interest, media coverage and rampant profiteering puts even the most unlikely and reluctant people (and animals) on track to become 'celebrities'.  Although the process was made much easier when mass media developed in the 1700s, the concept is much older.  Jenner reaches back as far as Ancient Greece and Rome, where proto-celebrities appeared in the form of popular gladiators, but provides many examples down the ages, some names more familiar than others.  From royal courtesans to romantic writers, petulant actors to glamorous movie stars, notorious criminals to exotic animals, each offers a fascinating insight into one of the most debated but elusive concepts of the modern age.

Curiously Contrasting Cornwall

I've loved visiting Cornwall ever since I can remember.  Every year, millions of visitors are drawn to the county so picturesque it feels like it was designed by one of its many resident artisans.  But alongside beautiful countryside and charming seaside towns, there are also the rugged moors and sharpened cliffs, tearing through land and sea from unseen depths.  The contrasts in the landscape also show in the population; the fly-by-night holiday makers and weekend second homers existing alongside the tough, local fishermen, battle-hardened by decades at sea.  Looking around at the ice cream chomping, sea gull dodging holiday crowds, you can't help but start wondering where the real Cornish are.  These guys clearly have nothing to do with the boats in the harbour or the noise in the back street pubs.  It's something that must've intrigued Gavin Knight too, as he's made the natives of Cornwall's Penwith Peninsular the subject of his latest book, the engrossing and atmospheric 'The Swordfish and the Star'.

'The Swordfish and the Star'
by Gavin David
(Chatto & Windus, 2016)

'The Swordfish and the Star' lifts the lid on the Cornwall that's there all year round.  It tells stories of the people who live and work there, who are both proud of the region's popularity, but rightfully resentful of the effect it's had on life in this corner of the country.  The author has absorbed the interwoven histories of the innovative, the opportunistic, the commercial and the lost, of the dangerous, competitive and compelling draw of the sea, the age of the artists of St Ives and the hopes that technology may bring the area a future.  Through these narratives, a picture is painted that helps us look beyond the sunshine and summer clichés and start to see a community that works hard and plays hard, even if we never knew it was there.

Although I found the writing style a bit hard to get used to at first (The author reflects the staccato, plain speaking style of many of his interviewees.), I absolutely fell in love with this book.  It answered something I'd been curious about for a while and I'll never look at Cornwall, or indeed any coastal region, in the same way again.

I became absorbed in the lives of the people depicted and found myself rushing back to 'The Swordfish and the Star' at every opportunity to find out how they were getting on.  I felt like I was sitting in one of the pubs of the title, listening to the banter and soaking up the atmosphere.

It's not all fun, however.  'The Swordfish and the Star' relates many tales of the dangers of a life in a seafaring community, of horrific injuries, vicious commercial rivalries, criminality and death.  Believe me when I say you won't look at your cod and chips in the same way ever again.  And I don't think that's a bad thing.

This is a book of contrasts and Cornwall is a county that is always hustling, always looking for that next opportunity so it can keep its head above water and stop its young people from ebbing away as they have to find work elsewhere.  As well as tales of the risks and rewards offered by a career in the fishing industry, Mr Knight explores the potential provided by innovative companies and new technologies that are opening up a virtual world of possibilities.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed 'The Swordfish and the Star'.  It rescues Cornwall from its Brigadoon-esque role - there during the summer months, then out of sight and out of mind the rest of the year except in memory and literature.  If you're the curious sort who has also wondered what goes on when the tourists have left, then I reckon you will enjoy this book too.

Dolly Folly

I felt I needed a bit of a challenge when I last went to my shelves, so decided on something I hoped would be interesting and thought provoking.  That something was 'Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism' by Natasha Walter.

'Living Dolls: The Return of Sexism'
by Natasha Walter
(Virago, 2010/11)

First published five years ago, 'Living Dolls' explores two key issues in modern feminism; The hypersexualisation of western culture and the resurgence of biological determinism as the answer to everything.  Modern western women have more freedoms than ever before, so why is our culture increasingly dominated by a vision of femininity that forces females into an unrealistic, doll-shaped coffin?  Is the rise of raunch, lads mags and the acceptance of pole dancing, pornography and prostitution into mainstream culture really about choice and empowerment?  Should we really just lie back and let it happen because it's in our DNA?

I love a book that makes me think and this certainly did.  It was a lot less intimidating than some books on feminism because it was relatively short at 238 pages, but there were enough fireworks in every chapter to make it more than explosive.

I have to admit that I found the first half, The New Sexism, much easier to read than the second, The New Determinism.  It had a more journalistic style, featuring stories and quotes from various people that were very interesting and gave a range of perspectives.  The second part dealt with more scientific data and experiments, so took more concentration, but I'm grateful to Ms Walter for lifting the lid on a shocking and dangerous perversion of the spirit of enquiry that science represents.  I will never read about scientific research in the popular media in the same way again.

In particular, I found the observations on motherhood and the pattern of behaviour and prejudice created by current maternity/paternity rules fascinating.  I hope a few of our politicians read this book and see the far reaching consequences of legislation based on a traditional picture of family life that is artificially perpetuated rather than natural.  How many glass obstacles could be smashed with a simple change to these rules.

Although I felt that the length of this book was about right for me, I would've liked to explore two things further.  The experiences of men are touched on, but I would've liked to have known more about whether they feel as uncomfortable with the hypersexualisation of our culture.  After all, it ignores their intelligence and treats them like they're only interested in sex.  Isn't that insulting to them too?   It also seems to me that men are also beginning to come under pressure to have the perfect, Ken doll body - I mean, seriously, even Poldark has a six pack in 2015! I think I would've been interested to know more about this too.  (And by 'this' I mean the pressure on men to look a certain way, not Poldark's six pack.  Prince Charming reads this blog for crying out loud!)

Admittedly, women have a bigger job on their hands, trying to tackle thousands of years of ingrained oppression and stereotyping, but it's interesting to look at all the consequences of sexism, not just for women.  Once it's shown to be bad for everyone, it should become impossible to deny the need for change.