Written by me

Willie Sutton, the famous American bank robber in the 1930s who kept robbing banks, going to jail, coming out, robbing more banks, was once greeted by the usual pack of reporters and cameramen when he left prison again. "Willie!" a reporter shouted. "Why do you…

The attack on the Cereal Killer café in the East End a few weeks ago - I assume the anti-gentrification mob attacked at breakfast time - reminded me of those 5.30am walks in the 1950s with my grandfather, from Aldgate East tube past the Whitechapel…

Do you know any 14-16- year-olds who have after-school jobs these days? When I was a teenager in the 1960s everybody had one. Health and Safety must have put a stop to them - the risks are just too great. They could be radicalised by…

Towards the end of June, I got an email inviting me to give a speech in Fiji. It took me less than a second to accept the invitation. "Did you know the JC was big in Fiji," I asked the editor. "No," he said. "I…

On Tuesday afternoon, I went for my annual Harley Street medical check up. I took a very small lift to the fourth floor, face to face with a very large lady in a very large hat with fruit on it: I was tempted to eat…

"You're the third Klaureen I've met this week," I said. She looked shocked. "Must be April's hot name," I told her. The first lady with the badge spelling "Klaureen", behind the counter at the Passport Office said: "Sorry, you're smile's too big," as she looked…

The phone rang at midnight on Sunday; my good friend Lev, was calling from Montreal. "Hey man… It's dad's Yahrzeit tomorrow. You coming?" It's minus 33 degrees in Montreal, I might have just about made it back home to London alive - as a human…

Peter Rosengard (second left) with dignitaries including Boris Johnson and Simon Schama as the sculpture went on view at the Olympic Park A monument commemorating the 9/11 tragedy was unveiled this week, after a five-year search to find it a permanent home. Mayor Boris Johnson,…

The phone rang in my hotel room in Montego Bay; it was Shirleen the laundry supervisor. "Mr Rosengard? We're waving your underpants!" "That's wonderful news Shirleen." I said. "It must be a Jamaican New Year's custom I thought- 'Wave the Underpants Day!' She rang back;…

I'm not a shopper - only for one reason: I hate shopping. For one thing, it would interfere with my obsession for news. I love news -24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If it's happened anywhere in the world, I need to know…