Adventures in the Gardens of Democracy

Kevin d’Arcy worked freelance for many of Fleet Street’s best-known titles, as well as doing stints at the Economist and Tatler and radio programmes and interviews for the BBC and CBC. So he has been, if not exactly at the heart of events in Britain and the wider world, at least in one of the inner circles. I first met him through the Association of European Journalists (AEJ), of which he was Executive Secretary of the British Section for many years, organising briefings from the great and good from UK and European politics and beyond. But it turned out that we were — and indeed, still are — neighbours, in the borough of Tower Hamlets, where he has put in sterling service as a Chair of School Governors and related activities. Freelancers never truly retire, of course, but now that he has a somewhat less hectic lifestyle, and has notched three exotic marriages on his belt, he has taken to writing books, the latest of which, Reflections in the Gardens of Democracy (Rajah Books, £11), is a pot pourri of journalistic memories and political musings, on everything from working with the late, great Alastair Burnet, to speculating why the EU Referendum was so imperfect in formulation, let alone in outcome. Many of the chapters are short and are rather like listening the the author reminiscing over a glass of wine on a sunny afternoon in Bow — and nothing wrong with that. His style is both slick and engaging. AEJ members and other journalistic colleagues will find many tidbits of gossip. But anyone with an interest in politics and the media should also find something to amuse, if only the roll-call of famous hacks and politicos, past and present.

London’s 2nd City

From my front room window I can see Canary Wharf, which is how most of us East Enders refer (incorrectly) to Canada Tower on the Isle of Dogs, constructed to be the symbol of London’s second City or financial centre, but with a nod to the Elizabeth Tower of the Houses of Parliament (equally incorrectly generally known as Big Ben). Canary Wharf is actually the central ensemble of the audacious development in the old Docklands. This is now the subject of a short but insightful volume by Bow writer and journalist Kevin d’Arcy, London’s 2nd City*. In brief, snappy chapters Kevin introduces many of the main characters in the drama of the Canary Wharf area’s conception and birth, from Michael Heseltine and the megarich Reichmann brothers to the Liberal duo Eric Flounders and Brian Williams, who gave local leadership and vision in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Even as someone who has been around the wholetime, I learnt a lot from this book, including the reason (or at least, a reason) why the shoppping arcades at Canary Wharf are underground: the developers cut their teeth in Toronto, Canada, where such tunneled emporia are a haven in bitter mid-winter. The whole enterprise had its ups and downs and all these are charted, but in a way that steers clear of libelling anybody. It’s an attractive little book, written very much in journalistic not academic style, though alas, as so often with self-published works, there are some glaring errors; the Coalition Government was elected in 2010, not 2009, and there could not possibly have been 3.5 million homes destroyed in London during the War, as none would have been left. Such gripes aside, a worthwhile read.

£9.99 from Rajah Books, 40 Bruce Road, London E3 3HL

The Voice of the Brain of Britain: Radio 4

Though BBC Radio 4 has never been my major client, I’ve enjoyed working for that station perhaps more than for any other media outlet. For a dozen years, I contributed regularly to ‘Thought for the Day’ on the ‘Today’ programme and more recently have filed pieces for ‘From Our Own Correspondent’. But my satisfaction is also because I am a Radio 4 sort of person, I guess, as I realised when reading Kevin D’Arcy’s entertaining book, The Voice of the Brain of Britain: A Portrait of Radio 4 (Rajah Books, 2007, £12.99). Kevin kindly gave me a copy when the book came out, but shamefully I’ve only just got round to reading it, but I can thoroughly recommend it as an informal but well informed analysis of what makes Radio 4 so special, in content and in concept. The ‘Today’ programme of course sets the political and news agenda for much of the thinking nation (especially those of us who live in London), but as Kevin rightly points out, it is so much more than just news and current affairs, embracing educative and entertaining material, including cutting edge comedy. Lord Reith might turn over in his grave because of some of the things that go out on the airwaves these days, but in general Radio 4 sets a standard that is unparalleled, as home or abroad.