Alex James



Profile:


Full name: Steven Alexander James

Area of interest: Lifestyle, farming and countryside

Journals: The Independent

Email: [mailto:a.james@independent.co.uk a.james@independent.co.uk]

Website:

Blog: Guardian.co: cheesediaries (VIDEO)

Agent:

Networks:



Biography:
Education: Bournemouth School, Charminster; Goldsmiths College, London: French

Career: former musician in pop grup Blur
 * see Wikipedia biography


 * "Recovered rock’n’roller Alex James has left his Blur days behind and now lives on a farm with his wife, their three children, some sheep and a lot of cheese. His autobiography of rock excess, Bit of a Blur, was published in 2007." (source: The Independent)

Current position/role: Columnist


 * also writes/written for: Q magazine, The Idler

Other roles:

Other activities: Farmer, Musician

Disclosures:

Viewpoints/Insight: How Alex James became a very big cheese in the country Observer Food Monthly, 19th Novemeber, 2006 (Polly Vernon finds out why Blur's baddest boy has relinquished a life of wine, women and narcotic-fuelled benders at The Groucho Club for cheese-making in the Cotswolds) Observer Food Monthly

TV/Radio:
 * IMDb

Controversy/Criticism:

Awards/Honours:

Scoops:

Other:



Books & Debate:

 * Bit of a blur (2007) OCLC 84150817

Latest work:

Speaking/Appearances:

Current debate: 

The Independent: 'Rural Notebook'
Column remit: Lifestyle, farming and countryside (column was previously called 'The Great Escape')

Section:

Role: Columnist

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:a.james@independent.co.uk a.james@independent.co.uk]

Website: Independent.co / Alex James

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Wednesday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format:

Average length:



Articles: 2010

 * 'Star Wars', hello, Florence'' - 2nd September
 * to do when confronted by a bull'' - 26th August
 * a shame to miss bat man's visit'' - 18th August
 * cheese and matters of taste'' - 11th August
 * ways to enjoy the summer'' - 28th July
 * trips to make the perfect summer'' - 21st July
 * I long to be beside the sea'' - 14th July
 * perfection, here I come'' - 16th June
 * rape of England'' - 9th June
 * irrational fear of the woods at night'' - 2nd June
 * run a mile from doing a marathon'' - 28th April
 * football, but don't watch it'' - 21st April
 * chase leads to a wild swim adventure'' - 14th April
 * longer any need to emigrate to Provence'' - 7th April
 * want to grow my own pizza'' - 24th March
 * feel drawn like a moth to a flame'' - 17th March
 * with one bound I was free'' - 11th March
 * find worthy of the investment'' - 3rd March
 * here, done that. And very nice too'' - 24th February
 * pizza farm – with all the toppings'' - 17th February
 * kings of the Welsh mountains'' - 10th February
 * bananas for a polytunnel'' - 3rd February
 * in the woods has its ups and downs'' - 27th January
 * Chef said he loved my cheese...'' - 20th January
 * beauty of this frozen landscape'' - 13th January



Articles: 2009

 * a whole new perspective on life'' - 23rd December
 * to earth, with a bump'' - 16th December
 * 15ft whopper – Christmas on a stick'' - 9th December
 * perfect as the season turns'' - 2nd December
 * with the life sucked out of it'' - 25th November
 * heart was singing in the rain'' - 18th November
 * woke up, and it was a different world'' - 11th November
 * the fun of the fair – the travellers' way'' - 4th November
 * tree provides summer's last show'' - 21st October
 * October of sunny kisses and cute chicks'' - 14th October
 * biodynamic lesson from Lincolnshire'' - 7th October
 * timeless treasure buried in the woods'' - 30th September
 * dedicated follower of farmyard fashion'' - 23rd September
 * go at it all guns blazing'' - 16th September
 * assignment for a special agent'' - 9th September
 * of the countryside gets lost in translation'' - 2nd September
 * bumpy landing... and then calm'' - 26th August
 * to wrap up under starry skies'' - 19th August
 * down-to-earth break with the Baron'' - 12th August
 * quad bike, my dog and a very lucky deer'' - 29th July
 * is a luxury, pure and simple'' - 22nd July
 * Danes can be proud of hot dogs'' - 15th July
 * knees and a sweet solution'' - There were bees turning up everywhere: in cupboards, in curtains, in clusters - 8th July
 * going to take my cheese underground'' - 1st July
 * nice to rock back and smell the roses'' - 24th June
 * drunk in the summer moonlight'' - 17th June
 * hear it for the cheese supergroup'' - 10th June
 * magic in the Daylesford deli'' - 3rd June
 * risk causing bulls any trouble'' - 27th May
 * will take anything – even sheep'' - 20th May
 * no need to bone up on chickens'' - 13th May
 * business of the miraculous mower'' - 6th May
 * fourth law: country life takes ages'' - 29th April
 * bakers and beautiful Burford'' - 22nd April
 * perfect meal in paradise'' - 15th April
 * could please me more'' - Recently I've grown to appreciate the little pauses - 8th April
 * no rush to beat this addiction'' - Green shoots, they're everywhere, no word of a lie - 1st April
 * home in the strangest of places'' - 25th March
 * awe of the eternal music of spring'' - 18th March
 * ought to keep chickens'' - 11th March
 * season bursting with potential'' - 4th March
 * are lawyers all over my fields'' - 25th February
 * how does my garden grow? Badly'' - 18th February
 * reveals my flock's true colours'' - 11th February
 * a way we lead the world'' - 4th February
 * so busy I forget how much I love it'' - 28th January
 * Mayfair packs a Wallop'' - 21st January
 * distance left to run in the country'' - 14th January
 * opportunity to walk on water'' - 7th January



Articles: 2008

 * weightless joy of a divine descant'' - 31st December 2008
 * of nowhere: the best place to be'' - 24th December 2008
 * means a heating headache'' - 17th December 2008
 * park life, but not as you'd imagine it'' - 10th December 2008
 * welcome fog'' - 3rd December 2008
 * hearty meal beats death warmed up'' - 26th November 2008
 * are cooler than aeroplanes'' - 19th November 2008
 * in for one cosy, muddy winter'' - 12th November 2008
 * this the shape of farming to come?'' - 5th November 2008
 * by my bird's eye view'' - 29th October 2008
 * Daphne's, with all guns blazing'' - 22nd October 2008
 * visit to a farm in the fast lane'' - 15th October 2008
 * bee experience with a sting in tale'' - 8th October 2008
 * of Aberdeenshire – broccoli all in a row'' - 1st October 2008
 * cow, pouncing tiger'' - 24th September 2008
 * a pizza the action from a master'' - 17th September 2008
 * wouldn't give a fig for any other month'' - 10th September 2008
 * as a pig in a good pair of wellies'' - 3rd September 2008
 * messing around with the river, please'' - 27th August 2008
 * as a button, beak like a dagger'' - 20th August 2008
 * nice to dog-trade with rich people'' - 13th August 2008
 * Modern farmers are really just playing the stock market - Hi-tech farming to match Formula One - 6th August 2008
 * The heat is on (but are sheep cool?) - 30th July 2008
 * Winning urban hearts with trees and fields - 23rd July 2008
 * We were hosts to the British Cheese Awards on Friday… - 16th July 2008
 * Round here, a farm is way down the housing scale - 9th July 2008
 * I was driving back from Scotland on Saturday night when the headline act at Glastonbury came out shouting and swearing...  - 2nd July 2008
 * I hadn't really planned a holiday this summer. I'm a barnacle. All farmers are, I think. - 25th June 2008
 * The outdoor shower exploded today. It suddenly became a fountain… - 18th June 2008
 * I keep getting arrested – by details. Maybe it's because I'm listening to so much Beethoven that everything seems irresistibly interesting - 11th June 2008
 * It's the British cheese awards next month... - 4th June 2008
 * There were life forms in the towels, but I'd go back - 28th May 2008
 * First we stopped at the carnivorous plants, utterly fantastic - 21st May 2008
 * "What are they singing about?" I asked the interpreter... - 14th May 2008
 * I was facing a whole day of interminable terminals – airports... - 7th May 2008
 * The second cup of coffee and the second cigarette are the best of the day... - 30th April 2008
 * I'd never been this far up the other end of a bacon sandwich before... - 23rd April 2008
 * It was about 15 years ago. I was tearing around Manhattan in the middle of the night... - 16th April 2008
 * I think what makes farms so compulsive, once you start getting involved, is that they are dynamic systems - 9th April 2008
 * There's a rumour going around that a passion fruit vine would work on a south facing Oxfordshire wall - 2nd April 2008
 * I remember the trees were just coming into blossom and there were gypsies camping on the roadside... - 26th March 2008
 * Something strange and wonderful seems to be happening. A cappuccino stand has appeared... - 19th March 2008
 * When this farm was built in the 1800s, agriculture was lucrative, booming like the music business of the 1980s - 12th March 2008
 * I've learnt about farming the same way that I learnt about music: by jumping in and doing it - 5th March 2008
 * I do occasionally wonder if we should retire and move to the real country... - 27th February 2008
 * There was a forgotten half-cup of espresso frozen solid on the well when I first stepped outside at sunrise - 20th February 2008
 * At this time of year, sunset can spin forever. On Monday it lingered large like a massive yawn - 13th February 2008
 * I wouldn't like to start working out how much these eggs cost to produce... - 6th February 2008
 * I crossed the Cotswolds to Bisley in Stroud, Laurie Lee country - 30th January 2008
 * We were lucky to inherit sheep when we moved to the farm. They look nice - 23rd January 2008
 * Weather is incompatible with modern life - 16th January 2008
 * That was Epiphany Sunday, that last one. What a good time to have it, just when the fun has run out - 9th January 2008
 * Christmas was excellent but not as serene as I'd anticipated - Friday 4th January 2008



Links:

 * Wikipedia bio