The ObserverMonarchyDanny Boy favourite to oust Queen
The future of the monarchy: special report'God Save the Queen', already under heavy attack as a sporting anthem, now faces the axe at Windsor Park, Northern Ireland's cauldron of loyalist football passion. 'Danny Boy', the bittersweet, non-sectarian song of the homesick Irish exile, is favourite to replace it.
As disclosed in The Observer last week, the national anthem's use by the English football and rugby teams has come under increasing criticism in the age of devolution because it celebrates the British state. Read More...
ExperienceDomestic violence'I felt scared and ashamed of what I'd done. I apologised and thought it was a one-off, but it was a pattern that would carry on for the next 10 years'The first time I struck him was during an argument over money. He'd decided to pay off a loan without telling me and we'd gone overdrawn. I was worried and tried to discuss it with him, at which point he left the room. Read More...
US televisionObituaryJan-Michael Vincent obituaryAmerican actor who found fame in Big Wednesday, Airwolf and The Winds of WarThe actor Jan-Michael Vincent, who has died aged 73 of cardiac arrest, had the formidable, sun-bleached good looks and strapping physique to be a successful leading man, but only some of the talent required and precious little of the wisdom or luck.
His most notable work was as one of a trio of blond Malibu surfer buddies in John Milius’s mythic and highly regarded coming-of-age drama Big Wednesday (1978). Read More...