Richard Boston
Encyclopedia
Richard Boston was an English journalist and author, he was a rigorous dissenter and a belligerent pacifist. An anarchist
, toper, raconteur, marathon runner and practical joker, he described his pastimes as "soothsaying, shelling peas and embroidery" and argued that Adam and Eve were the first anarchists "God gave them only one order and they promptly broke it".
, Regent Street Polytechnic
and King's College, Cambridge
. During the early 1960s he taught abroad in Sweden, Sicily and Paris. In 1966, towards the end of his period in France he worked, as a film extra, acting as a longshot standin for Jacques Tati
in his film Playtime
.
, New Society (since subsumed into the New Statesman
) and the Times Literary Supplement
(TLS), and he became known for an oddball but passionate take on the passing scene. From 1972 Boston was a freelance columnist, features and editorial writer on The Guardian
.
Soon after starting, Boston, together with Michael McNay, came up the idea of a column about beer. Keg beers such as Watneys Red Barrel and Ind Coope Double Diamond were being pushed on the unsuspecting beer drinker with widespread distribution and high advertising budgets. These bland, sterile and gassy beers provided Aunt Sallies for his regular Saturday column in The Guardian, "Boston on Beer", which started shortly after the launch of the Campaign for Real Ale
(CAMRA). Some regular readers might have been disappointed to hear that: "Despite all the talk of real ale, I have to say that, if ever I saw Richard in the village pub, he was usually drinking something stronger." .
In 1977 he founded the environmentalist
magazine Vole
.
Anarchism
Anarchism is generally defined as the political philosophy which holds the state to be undesirable, unnecessary, and harmful, or alternatively as opposing authority in the conduct of human relations...
, toper, raconteur, marathon runner and practical joker, he described his pastimes as "soothsaying, shelling peas and embroidery" and argued that Adam and Eve were the first anarchists "God gave them only one order and they promptly broke it".
Early life
Richard Boston was born in London and brought up on a Kent farm. He was educated at Stowe SchoolStowe School
Stowe School is an independent school in Stowe, Buckinghamshire. It was founded on 11 May 1923 by J. F. Roxburgh, initially with 99 male pupils. It is a member of the Rugby Group and Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference. The school is also a member of the G20 Schools Group...
, Regent Street Polytechnic
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
. During the early 1960s he taught abroad in Sweden, Sicily and Paris. In 1966, towards the end of his period in France he worked, as a film extra, acting as a longshot standin for Jacques Tati
Jacques Tati
Jacques Tati was a French filmmaker, working as a comedic actor, writer and director. In a poll conducted by Entertainment Weekly of the Greatest Movie Directors Tati was voted the 46th greatest of all time...
in his film Playtime
Playtime
Play Time is French director Jacques Tati's fourth major film, and generally considered to be his most daring film. It was shot in 1964 through 1967 and released in 1967. In Play Time, Tati again plays Monsieur Hulot, a character who had appeared in some of his earlier films, including Mon Oncle...
.
Journalism
For more than 30 years Boston contributed to a range of newspapers, magazines and broadcast programmes. Initially, staff jobs included Peace NewsPeace News
Peace News is a pacifist magazine first published on 6 June 1936 to serve the peace movement in the United Kingdom. From later in 1936 to April 1961 it was the official paper of the Peace Pledge Union , and from 1990 to 2004 was co-published with War Resisters' International.-History:Peace News was...
, New Society (since subsumed into the New Statesman
New Statesman
New Statesman is a British centre-left political and cultural magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s....
) and the Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement is a weekly literary review published in London by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation.-History:...
(TLS), and he became known for an oddball but passionate take on the passing scene. From 1972 Boston was a freelance columnist, features and editorial writer on The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
.
Soon after starting, Boston, together with Michael McNay, came up the idea of a column about beer. Keg beers such as Watneys Red Barrel and Ind Coope Double Diamond were being pushed on the unsuspecting beer drinker with widespread distribution and high advertising budgets. These bland, sterile and gassy beers provided Aunt Sallies for his regular Saturday column in The Guardian, "Boston on Beer", which started shortly after the launch of the Campaign for Real Ale
Campaign for Real Ale
The Campaign for Real Ale is an independent voluntary consumer organisation based in St Albans, England, whose main aims are promoting real ale, real cider and the traditional British pub...
(CAMRA). Some regular readers might have been disappointed to hear that: "Despite all the talk of real ale, I have to say that, if ever I saw Richard in the village pub, he was usually drinking something stronger." .
In 1977 he founded the environmentalist
Environmentalist
An environmentalist broadly supports the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that seeks to improve and protect the quality of the natural environment through changes to environmentally harmful human activities"...
magazine Vole
Vole (magazine)
Vole was a British environmentalist magazine published between 1977 and 1980. The magazine was intended to have a more light-hearted tone than the other countryside and ecology magazines of the time: the founders' working title for the magazine was "The Questing Vole", from a nature column...
.
By Richard Boston
- On his candidature in the 1994 European elections: It's a big trough and I want to get my nose in it.
- On beer:
- Beer horrible stuff, mine's a pink gin. .
- Can't stand the stuff!
- On Watership DownWatership DownWatership Down is a classic heroic fantasy novel, written by English author Richard Adams, about a small group of rabbits. Although the animals in the story live in their natural environment, they are anthropomorphised, possessing their own culture, language , proverbs, poetry, and mythology...
when re-examining some well known books: the rabbits upheld the public school virtues of 'getting up early, having cold showers, and going on very long runs. - On Adam and EveAdam and EveAdam and Eve were, according to the Genesis creation narratives, the first human couple to inhabit Earth, created by YHWH, the God of the ancient Hebrews...
: [They] were the first anarchists, God gave them only one order and they promptly broke it.
By others
- John Falcke, the painter: Above everything, I admired his moral courage in standing by his principles in everything he did.
- Alan RusbridgerAlan RusbridgerAlan Charles Rusbridger is the editor of the British newspaper The Guardian. He has also been a reporter and a columnist.-Early life:...
, journalist: Richard Boston was incapable of being serious about anything for very long. His love of literary practical jokes and puns concealed both an acute and erudite mind and a personality given to prolonged periods of melancholy. - Anne Boston: He was a free thinker, a true independent who tenaciously tracked his train of thought into unexpected territory, sometimes surprising himself as much as others.