Robert Crampton Explained

Robert Crampton
Birth Date:1964 8, df=yes
Birth Place:Blackpool, England
Education:Wolfreton School
Wadham College, Oxford
Occupation:Journalist
Spouse:Nicola Almond
Children:Sam, Rachel
Relatives:Peter Crampton (father)
Credits:Beta Male, The Times

Robert Crampton (born 10 August 1964) is an English journalist. He is also the son of Peter Crampton, former Member of the European Parliament for Humberside.

Early life

Crampton was born in Blackpool[1] in 1964.[2] His family lived in Solihull for a while[3] before moving to Hull in 1970,[4] where he grew up in an affluent suburb.[5] He has an older brother, David, born in 1962. Their parents were active in politics locally;[4] Peter Crampton was a teacher and lecturer in geography[6] and later a United Kingdom member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 1999,[7] [8] representing the Humberside constituency for the Labour Party. Robert's mother came from London and was a geography teacher.[1] [3]

Crampton attended St Andrews County Primary School, then Wolfreton School, a local comprehensive school.[9] At this time, he was heavily involved in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.[10] When he was 18, he was convicted of a breach of the peace, and fined £20 for his part in a political demonstration.[11]

After leaving school he retook his A-levels,[12] and then went on to Wadham College, Oxford,[13] in 1986.[9] Later, he attended the City University Journalism Department at City University, London.

Career

He joined The Times as a columnist in 1991.[14] He writes Beta Male, a regular weekly column in The Times Saturday magazine. In 2008 he used the column to advertise his wish to gain practice in public speaking, "not because I was any good, but because I wasn't and wanted to be...At the risk of humiliationI want to come to talk to your school, business, darts team, whatever. I do not require, nor indeed do I merit, any payment." He received more than 400 requests.[10] He subsequently described his experiences of speaking at Caistor Grammar School in Lincolnshire, Highbury Grove School in North London, a training day in Bath, aRotary Club, a women's group, a prison, a church sermon, as a best man at a wedding and delivering a eulogy at a family funeral.[10]

He also writes features and interviews in the newspaper itself. In February 2008 he exclusively previewed the new Wii Fit computer game.[15]

His past interviewees include Tony Blair,[16] David Cameron,[17] Paul McCartney,[18] Kate Winslet,[19] Kelly Brook,[20] Alex Ferguson,[21] David Walliams,[22] Liam Gallagher,[23] Sienna Miller,[24] and John Terry.[25]

In 1999 he signed a deal with a publisher to write a book, tracking down his old O-Level classmates. The book was given the working title "Whatever happened to...?" and even issued with an ISBN, but Crampton got bored with the project and never finished it.[26]

Critical reception

The author and journalist Bryan Appleyard described his Beta Male column as "light in tone, insightful but unpretentious, and above all, just the right length. I always enjoy Crampton – a naturally funny, likeable columnist. He's the kind of fellow you'd like to go for beer with, so he'd make a good US President. It's a real drag when he's away and a substitute fills in for him.[27] "

Nigel Williams has praised his interviews: "Robert Crampton's work I really like. Somehow, he combines showmanship with something like self-effacement in a very entertaining way. To me he sounds like he's telling the truth, which is one of the most difficult things to pull off in journalism. His opinions sound hard-won and thought through, and that's to do with his prose style, which puts me in mind of what Orwell said about good prose being like a window[28] ".

Awards

Personal life

He met his future wife Nicola Almond when at school aged 12 in 1977, but only started going out with her thirteen years later.[32] They married on 2 May 1998 in the City of London.[33] They live in Hackney, London,[10] [34] with their children Sam and Rachel.[35] They own a second home at Kingsdown Park near Deal, Kent.[34]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Beta male . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 10 November 2007 . 22 May 2010.
  2. News: Beta male . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 6 October 2007 . 22 May 2010.
  3. News: Beta male . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 4 November 2006 . 22 May 2010.
  4. News: To Hull and back changing times but no Broken Britain . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 2 January 2010 . 22 May 2010.
  5. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0385601891
  6. News: Beta male . Jun 15, 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110615153701/http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/article789132.ece . London . The Times . Anushka . Asthana . Anushka Asthana. Jill . Sherman.
  7. Web site: University Library . 19 March 2010 . 31 August 2010 . https://web.archive.org/web/20100831020709/http://www.hull.ac.uk/arc/undergraduate/30039politics.html . dead .
  8. Web site: Archived copy . 2010-03-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090325013535/http://aei.pitt.edu/5174/01/000469_1.pdf . 25 March 2009 . dmy-all .
  9. News: Beta+male . The Times . London . 22 May 2010 . Robert . Crampton.
  10. News: My year of public speaking . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 26 December 2009 . 22 May 2010.
  11. News: Beta male . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 3 May 2008 . 22 May 2010.
  12. News: Comprehensively shafted how the Labour Party failed my generation . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 22 May 2006 . 22 May 2010.
  13. News: My Oxford interview meltdown. Crampton. Robert.
  14. News: Robert Crampton . The Times . London . 22 May 2010 . David . Charter . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090515122453/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/robert_crampton/ . 15 May 2009.
  15. News: We test the Nintendo Wii Fit . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 16 February 2008 . 22 May 2010.
  16. News: The Main Man Tony Blair interview . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 30 April 2005 . 22 May 2010.
  17. News: Tackle a hoody like Dave doesn t . The Times . London . 29 March 2007 . 22 May 2010 . Robert . Crampton.
  18. News: Paul McCartney in love and back on the road . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 5 December 2009 . 22 May 2010.
  19. Web site: Just an old-fashioned girl . www.discoverkate.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100107014820/http://www.discoverkate.com/Articles/features/19990123_times-magazine.html . 7 January 2010.
  20. News: Kelly Brook . The Times . London . 21 January 2006 . 22 May 2010 . Anushka . Asthana . Anushka Asthana. Jill . Sherman.
  21. News: Eriksson shook hands on Old Trafford job offer . The Times . London . 21 February 2003 . 22 May 2010 . Matt . Dickinson.
  22. News: David Walliams on women dressing up and Mr Stink . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 26 September 2009 . 22 May 2010.
  23. News: Liam Gallagher on celebrity fatherhood and hating Coldplay . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 9 August 2008 . 22 May 2010.
  24. News: Sienna Miller talks love peoplepleasing nesting and niceness . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 2 February 2008 . 22 May 2010.
  25. News: The rise and fall of John Terry . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 13 February 2010 . 22 May 2010.
  26. News: Beta male . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 31 January 2009 . 22 May 2010.
  27. http://www.bryanappleyard.com/blog/2008/10/robert-crampton-great-wakering-and-fan.php{{Dead link|date=February 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
  28. News: An alternative view of tonight's British Press Awards . The Independent . London . 26 March 2007 . 22 May 2010.
  29. News: British Press Awards shortlist . The Guardian . London . 14 February 2002 . 22 May 2010.
  30. News: British Press Awards: full list of winners . The Guardian . London . 17 March 2004 . 22 May 2010.
  31. News: British Press Awards 2007 shortlists . The Guardian . London . 27 February 2007 . 22 May 2010.
  32. News: Beta male . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 9 January 2010 . 22 May 2010.
  33. News: Am I the only man in Britain who actually likes politicians . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 4 May 2010 . 22 May 2010.
  34. News: The rise of readymade holiday villages . The Times . London . Jonathan . Margolis . 30 August 2008 . 22 May 2010.
  35. News: California campervan . The Times . London . Robert . Crampton . 25 May 2007 . 22 May 2010.

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