Columnist Lesley Brain ponders unpleasantness in the media

BEAUTY, they say, is in the eye of the beholder.

As usual they lie. It's certainly not in the eye of the media. At a time when some hard-copy newspapers are at risk of extinction, you might reasonably expect them to pay particular attention to appearance.

It works for Helen Mirren. Instead, a glance along the newspapers and magazine racks is a sight to make the eyes sore.

A recent correspondent castigated me for name-calling Trump (bullying, she called it. Timely, I called it), but I do not hesitate here to call the front covers of newspapers 'ugly'.

So, too is Trump, but that is repetition.

If the news itself were not largely awful then how it is presented adds to the feeling of despair. Ugliness is all around us, I don't need to buy it.

Most papers have revelled in the fight of modern feminists to ban anything exploitative by printing as many silly photos of equally silly women wearing fancy dress at car races, thereby titillating and avoiding any serious discussion.

As ever. There are notable exceptions. When we lived abroad we had two publications sent out each week. Private Eye and Country Life. Both are long running weeklies, differing in content and objectives. Yet put together they covered everything news-worthy that we needed.

Plus, they are both stylish and elegant (yes, Private Eye) in presentation.

We are surrounded by so many lovely places, sights and people.

There are ugly things going on and I do not choose always to wear rose-tinted specs, but positivity helps.

This week I was treated to a session at Mayfair and Grace in Tetbury, a newly opened one-stop salon that can turn even the most care-worn of us into a creature of lovely thoughts.

The building is gorgeous, everything about it shines and sparkles with hope and ambition.

Patsy Robertson and Nick Good have put everything into turning a derelict bank into a magic land which can only benefit anyone who enters.

You can go there for an inexpensive but luxurious gift, or an experience which will transform and delight. I wish them huge success.

A few rotten apples

THE Oxfam scandal has shaken our faith in charities.

We give huge sums of money, via government and as individuals, and we give it in good faith. We expect it to be used for what it says on the tin. Legally, morally and sensibly.

What do you do when you find that money has been misused and, worse in many ways, power disgracefully abused?

Cutting back on funding is a natural knee-jerk reaction. Especially as we know that 'heads must roll' rarely results in head rolling.

I had cause some time ago to contact the Charity Commission and found to my surprise that it, like so much, barely exists due to cutbacks.

If laws have been broken then there must be energetic action. If financial misdemeanours have occurred then

we have the rules already in place to make sure there is proper accountability.

Often we rely on the press to 'expose' and uncover, but it should not be left with them to be judge and jury.

And since when did actors become the sole occupants of the seat on the high horse?

It is down to the government to take strong action here.

To press hard for answers, to see that there is no fudging, and that complex issues of how best to help are in safe hands. We should, however, continue to be generous.

What is certain is that only one group will suffer as a result of withdrawing funds and that is the people who most need the help.

Remember when our columnist gave all her clothes to a charity shop?