Richard Morrison is chief music critic of The Times. He is a regular columnist, writing mainly on music, arts and culture en-uk Tue, 30 Oct 2007 15:37:29 GMT Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd. custserv@timesonline.co.uk http://www.timesonline.co.uk Sun, 22 Nov 2009 04:13:52 GMT Newspapers 144 21 http://www.timesonline.co.uk http://images.thetimes.co.uk/TGD/picture/0,,116979,00.gif Richard Morrison Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:06 GMT 2009-11-17T04:03:08Z Birmingham last Saturday was a tale of two cities. Much reported in Monday’s papers was the trouble at Millennium Point, where youngsters surged forward at a free council-run concert featuring the X Factor runners-up JLS. Temporary barriers proved inadequate and four people ended in hospital. But by all accounts it could have been far worse. So chaotic were the scenes that some eye-witnesses spoke of fearing a “second Hillsborough”. Richard Morrison Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:01:00 GMT 2009-11-13T01:13:46Z Some strange craving for symmetry compels us to want our heroes to rise and to fall. A simple rags-to-riches story may catch the eye at first. But ultimately the words “lived happily ever after” are not only unbelievable (does anyone live happily ever after?) but boring as well. What truly grips — in literature, films and reality, too — is a life that swoops up and down like a roller-coaster. The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune not only reveal character. They also define it. Richard Morrison Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:01:34 GMT 2009-11-11T12:02:01Z Being a garrulous and gossipy journalist I find it difficult to keep quiet for two seconds, let alone two minutes. So this week I made my act of remembrance in a rather different way. I went to the University of Essex, outside Colchester, to see an oak casket that speaks almost as profoundly of sacrifice, heroism and the anguish of war as the flag-draped coffins returning almost daily from Afghanistan. Richard Morrison Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:00:33 GMT 2009-11-03T02:53:35Z The invitation was irresistible. “Come and inspect the new Olympic Stadium — by boat!” said Tony Hales, chairman of British Waterways. So last Friday, precisely 1,001 days before the opening of the 2012 Games, I took up his offer.