The Oldie
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The Oldie is a monthly magazine launched in 1992 by Richard Ingrams, who for 23 years was the editor of Private Eye. It carries general interest articles, humour and cartoons, and has an eclectic list of contributors, including Miles Kington, Ned Sherrin (who reviewed memorial services before his own death), Beryl Bainbridge, Rosie Boycott, Thomas Stuttaford, John Michell and Edward Enfield. It is sometimes regarded as a haven for 'grumpy old men and women' – an image it has played up to over the years with such slogans as 'The Oldie: Buy it before you snuff it', and its lampooning of 'yoof' culture and the absurdities of modern life (even though it has for many years had its own internet column, by "Webster"). Many regard it to be the spiritual successor to Punch magazine.[citation needed]
Despite being called 'The Oldie', the magazine often stresses that it is not an age-specific publication, and does seem to have many readers in their 20s, 30s and 40s. It has similarities to Punch, Viz, The Spectator, Private Eye, and The New Yorker.
Richard Ingrams writes: ‘After editing Private Eye for over twenty years, I decided in 1992, along with a group of friends (Auberon Waugh, Alexander Chancellor and Stephen Glover), to launch The Oldie. The aim was to produce an antidote to youth culture but, more importantly, a magazine with emphasis on good writing, humour and quality illustration. Sixteen years later, The Oldie can well claim to be a success story, attracting some of our best writers, illustrators and cartoonists... We provide all you should expect from a quality monthly magazine – reviews of arts and books, great features, independent opinions – as well as some things you might not expect, such as our I Once Met column, where readers write about their encounters with the famous or infamous, Still With Us, which catches up with people you might have thought were dead, and our World’s Worst Dumps slot, where readers reveal their most horrific travel tales.’ The Independent on Sunday recently said this about it: 'The most original magazine in the country... The Oldie's eclectic embrace of human variety is a monthly rebuke to the formulaic, celebrity-led concept of features in our newspapers and magazines.'
Its eclectic nature is helped by the fact that some of the features are submitted by readers: the magazine's 'I Once Met' slot features tales by readers who have met the famous and the infamous. These have included Nelson Mandela, Chuck Berry and John Christie. It also has a regular 'Anorak' slot, with each month a self-confessed 'geek'.
[edit] Oldie of The Year Awards
The Oldie of the Year Awards is the magazine's annual awards ceremony, hosted by Terry Wogan. The awards celebrate lifetime achievement, as well as 'oldie' achievements and/or notoriety over the previous year, although the whole ceremony is very much tongue-in-cheek. The 2008 winner was Ian Paisley and awards were given to David Hockney, Eileen Atkins, Stanley Baxter and Moira Stewart. At the magazine's 2006 awards, the Duchess of Cornwall was awarded 'Spouse of the Year' – she sent a personal acceptance speech that was read out by Jilly Cooper. Walter Wolfgang, the peace activist who was forcibly ejected from the 2005 Labour Party Conference after shouting 'nonsense' during Jack Straw's speech about Iraq, was made 'Heckler of the Year'.
Their monthly Literary Lunches are held in London (at Simpson's-in-the-Strand) and elsewhere; guests over the years have included Michael Palin, Clive James, Maureen Lipman, Colin Dexter, and P. D. James.
Until 2007, The Oldie was owned by the Wisden Group.
[edit] Writers for The Oldie Magazine
Richard Ingrams - Editor
Rosie Boycott - Travel Editor
Malcolm Gluck - Wine Columnist
Edward Enfield - The World According to Enfield Snr
Candida Lycett Green - Unwrecked England
John Michell - Columnist, An Orthodox Voice
Virginia Ironside - Granny Annexe
Mavis Nicholson - Agony Aunt
