15 minute read
Piers Morgan
WAKE UP…
and listen to Piers!
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It’s time to set our alarms, open our eyes and ‘Wake Up’. Piers Morgan tells us why he ‘woke’ sit still until we’ve cancelled the cancel culture and got back some much needed common sense
The world needs your book – do you think people WILL wake up and listen? I hope so. We’ve all been given the biggest wake up call of our lives with this pandemic and it’s an opportunity for all of us to take a good long hard look at ourselves and decide what kind of society we want to be when we come out of it. The crisis has brought out the best and worst in people – we need to see more of the former and less of the latter going forward.
Why have we lost our common sense and can we get the “Great” back into Britain? I think social media is mostly to blame – it’s made people very tribal and allergic to proper debate where you listen to opposing views, respect them, and perhaps adjust yours accordingly. Now the ‘cancel culture’ is so insidious and widespread that people are terrified of expressing opinions for fear of the backlash from the woke outrage machine. It’s absurd and dangerous for free speech.
Do you think the snowflake generation is self-perpetuating? It will be if we don’t get a grip of the way we teach young people and encourage them to be more resilient and less ‘anxious’ about everything. I blame participation prizes in school sport – it makes kids think life is never about losing when of course, it is.
Piers admiring his ‘greatest moment as an Editor’ on the wall at his beloved Arsenal FC, with co-host Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain. As a society how can we inspire the next generation to dig deep, stand up and speak their minds? We need to teach it at schools, like we teach them everything else, and stop wrapping kids in cotton wool. And we need to encourage them to have their own opinions, not run with the crowd because that’s easier.
As parents and educationalists, what can we do to reverse the ‘woke’ mentality? We need to stop cow-towing to it, and make a stand. Just because a bunch of shrieking wokies on Twitter say something or someone has to be ‘cancelled’ because they don’t like it, doesn’t mean they’re right or that anyone has to act on the hysteria.
What would be your political utopia? A return to old fashioned liberal democracy where we can argue respectfully with each other but remain friends.
How did you get into journalism? I went to a journalism college in Harlow Essex, and then onto local papers in South London. I put the hard yards in and learned my trade properly. It helped that I always wanted to be a journalist. I’ve always been addicted to news.
Did school impact on your career choice? Not really, I knew from the age of six what I wanted to be.
What advice can you give to the younger generation thinking about a career within the media industry? I’d say only go into it if you’re really passionate about it, because without the passion you won’t put the hard work and dedication in that you need to be successful in a very competitive industry. To be a good journalist you need to be endlessly curious, endlessly questioning about people in power, and endlessly charming to get people to tell you what they may not want to tell you!
Most inspiring interview to date? Professor Stephen Hawking gave me his last TV interview before he died and the morning I spent with him in Cambridge was unbelievably inspiring. What a man, what a mind… and not a trace of self-pity despite his very debilitating condition.
Most challenging? I once interviewed President Ahmadinejad of Iran when he was running the country and he had about 30 henchmen in the room all staring at me very intently throughout. That was a tad disconcerting!
Who did you interview who was a surprise? When I did Sir Michael Parkinson for Life Stories he suddenly broke down and wept about his dad who had died 50 years ago. I was stunned, because he’d never cried on TV before and I had no idea that this would make him so upset.
Enjoying a pint with the late great Professor Stephen Hawking in Cambridge.
Are you scared of anyone? Only the Grim Reaper – and even with him, I intend putting up one hell of a fight.
Who would you most like to interview? Jack Nicholson – he hasn’t given a TV interview for over 40 years, believing rightly that it dents the movie star mystique.
What was your most exciting scoop? I think getting the first UK interview with President Trump after he won the election. Everyone wanted that one, and I got it because we’d been friends for years.
What do you see as your main objective on Good Morning Britain? To wake everyone up!
Which 5 people (dead or alive) would you invite to dinner? WG Grace, Winston Churchill, The Queen, Marilyn Monroe and Dennis Bergkamp.
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Above: American President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania with Piers during their state visit to the UK in 2019.
What three things would you take to a desert island? My phone, my laptop and an endless supply of Ambrosia creamed rice.
Are you as confrontational away from the spotlight? Not really, though friends will attest it doesn’t take much to turn on my GMB persona if the wine’s flowing at a dinner party and someone starts spouting woke nonsense…
When did your love of Arsenal materialise? I fell in love with them when they won the League/Cup Double in 1971 when I was six, and they’ve been the one constant love of my life ever since. How do you keep fit? At the moment, not easily because I broke my ankle several months ago. But usually, by swimming and cycling on my Peloton bike.
What do you do to relax? I watch a lot of sport and binge-watch good dramas.
Biggest regrets? I don’t have any. I’ve learned as much from disasters as triumphs.
Motto for life? My late, great grandmother Margot always told me: ‘Remember darling, one day you’re cock of the walk, the next a feather duster.’
Wake Up is Piers’ rallying cry for a united future in which we reconsider what really matters in life. It is a plea for the return of true liberalism, where freedom of speech is king. Most of all, it is a powerful account of how the world finally started to wake up, and why it mustn’t go back to sleep again. Out now (HarperNonFiction, £20) amazon.co.uk
JOSH WOOD’S
Mid-life hair MASTERCLASS
"How to deal with hair when you're not in your 20s anymore" Josh Wood talks to beauty guru Lucia Ferrari
As one of the world’s most sought after hair colourists, Josh Wood has styled everyone from Victoria Beckham, the Royal family to Elle Macpherson. He became even more of a hair colour legend during lockdown earlier this year when his home hair colour kits offered some much needed help in our own bathrooms. His Root Smudgers, Crayons, Glosses and full on hair dye kits (with thankfully online consultations and virtual hand holding with someone from his Holland Park Atelier) meant that lots of us could have a bit of the “Josh Wood effect” at home when we couldn’t get to a salon.
The second lockdown has also got lots of us reaching for one of his Root Smudgers (I know I find it invaluable for covering stray greys) but he’s done it again and this time has brought out (after three years of research) a revolutionary conditioning system called Miracle Shot, which will condition and strengthen the hair (while the
hair is being coloured).
Being put into lockdown again is inevitably harder for hair salons and much of his time currently is planning the very best way to reopen and making sure all his team are OK. It’s a stressful time for anyone in this industry but so far Zoom yoga, mega-walking his rescue dog Gandalf (“Gandalf now asks to go in rather than go out”) and making sourdough bread are keeping Josh on track. He’s also on the board of the British Beauty Council who have been in discussions with the government how best to support the British Beauty Industry. And that’s before all of his on-going product development.
So I’m grateful he can spare some time to catch up with me on Zoom from his cottage in Oxford to offer some advice on a subject I always want to discuss – how to deal with mid-life hair. Or as he more kindly puts it, “How to deal with hair when you’re not in your 20’s anymore”. Read on for Josh's tips…
Top left down: Prepping hair for the catwalk, his dog Gandalf, the infamous Root Smudger, a stunning redhead creation, Holland Park Atelier, revolutionary new product Miracle Shot and behind the scenes at Matty Bovan, London fashion week
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“Generally it’s at the life-changing moments like having a baby, a big birthday that it’s a good time to have a pause and reassess your hair. Statistics show that most of us want to cling on to the hairstyle we had when we fell in love. This can be absolutely fine, but clever tweaks can make all the difference. It’s a total myth that your hair has to go shorter as you get older. Lots of people do this for maintenance but there may be other ways around it. You just need the right advice. This is the starting process for the magic to happen.”
Thinning Hair
“Thinning can begin in pre-menopausal hair and the effects can be really devastating. You may notice your ponytail isn’t as thick as it used to be, or more hair left at the bottom of the shower. Either way it’s important to be kinder to the hair at this stage. Treating the scalp is key – with specific products or even a five minute daily scalp massage can help (I’ve got a lovely client who has just trained her young daughter to do this in lockdown!). Invest in a few new tools too. I love Aquis towels and turbans which are much gentler for drying hair than a normal towel and use silk scrunchies for ponytails instead of anything more harsh which can cause the hair to break.”
Going Grey
“Generally blondes will want to stay blonde – which is a good idea. Blonde highlights are very forgiving especially when you begin to go grey. It’s important not to go too cool or ashy. The tone is important. Your eye colour, skintone and whether you have a tan or not all have a role to play when choosing the right tone. Brunettes may choose to go a shade lighter brown and add some balyage or a face frame of highlights which can be really flattering. Ultimately it’s back to that all important consultation.”
MALE COVER UPS
“It’s fascinating how there is still a stigma about men dying their hair. Probably because we can all think of a shocker when it doesn’t look realistic! The key to getting it right is NOT to do a blanket change. It’s so important to leave some grey to make it look realistic. It’s more about managing and controlling the greys - you basically want to look the best version of yourself not a ginger fox.”
The Darker Root
“The root shadow can look very flattering and contemporary. It’s flattering basically to have the root and the eyebrows working in a relationship. It looks very real. But if you’ve got greys coming through it’s obviously not a low maintenance option as the greys will be more visible on a brunette root so you may want to just stick with full blonde highlights.”
Josh Wood consultations and products are available from joshwoodcolour.com
CHANGES IN TEXTURE
“As the hair goes grey it can become more wiry and frizzy. Generally speaking this isn’t the kindest thing to the complexion which is why so many people end up dying their hair. Invest in a good hair mask at least once a week to help with the texture. Try my Everything Mask which is specifically designed for grey, coloured hair."
EVERYTHING MASK £19, JOSH WOOD COLOUR
Dryness
“Hair definitely becomes dryer as we get older (and colour our hair) but know the difference between dehydrated hair and brittle hair and tailor your products accordingly. During a hot summer holiday, the hair will be more dehydrated so look for conditioning products for this type of hair. After a skiing holiday, hair is more brittle, so use products which will work to strengthen the hair.”
UPLIFTING CONDITIONER £10, JOSH WOOD COLOUR
With over 25 years’ experience as a beauty journalist working for titles including, the Daily Mail, Harpers Bazaar and London’s ES magazine, Lucia is the go-to beauty guru. Passionate about skincare, makeup and the latest tweakments, her many Insta followers love her honest, knowledgeable and of the moment beauty posts and videos. @luciaferraribeauty
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