John Diamond (10 May 1953 – 2 March 2001) was an English journalist and broadcaster. In 1997 he was diagnosed with throat cancer, a subject he wrote about in his weekly column at ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'', as well as in two books (one published posthumously). He was married to food writer and

celebrity chef A celebrity chef is a kitchen chef who has become a celebrity. Today, chefs often become celebrities by presenting cookery advice and demonstrations, usually through the media of television and radio, or in printed publications. While television ...

Nigella Lawson Nigella Lucy Lawson (born 6 January 1960) is an English food writer and television cook. She attended Godolphin and Latymer School, London. After graduating from the University of Oxford, where she was a member of Lady Margaret Hall, Lawson st ...

from 1992 until his death in 2001, and had two children.

Education and training

Diamond was the son of a biochemist and a fashion designer, and had a secular Jewish upbringing. He grew up in

Upper Clapton Clapton is a district of East London, England, in the London Borough of Hackney. Clapton is divided into Upper Clapton, in the north, and Lower Clapton to the south. Clapton railway station lies north-east of Charing Cross. Geography and origi ...

and

Woodford Green Woodford Green is an area of Woodford in north-east London, England, within the London Borough of Redbridge. It adjoins Buckhurst Hill to the north, Woodford Bridge to the east, South Woodford to the south, and Chingford to the west. Epping F ...

, he then attended the

City of London School , established = , closed = , type = Public school Boys' independent day school , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Alan Bird , chair_label = Chair of Governors , chair = Ian Seaton , founder = John Carpenter , special ...

and trained as an English teacher at Trent Park College of Education, now part of

Middlesex University Middlesex University London (legally Middlesex University and abbreviated MDX) is a public research university in Hendon, northwest London, England. The name of the university is taken from its location within the historic county boundaries ...

. Later he taught at an all-girls secondary school, Dalston Mount Comprehensive in Hackney, London, before switching to journalism.

Journalism

Diamond wrote a regular column for the Saturday edition of ''

'' from 1992 onwards called "Something for the Weekend", and worked as a presenter on BBC radio and television. He met his second wife,

, when they were both writing for ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...

''. They married in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

in 1992 and had two children.

Illness, awards, and death

In 1997, Diamond was diagnosed with

throat cancer Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...

. He wrote about his experiences with cancer in his newspaper column, for which he won a '' What The Papers Say'' award. In 1999, he was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for his book ''C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too...''. A BBC documentary was filmed for ''Inside Story'' which followed him through treatment, and showed his frustration with his speech difficulties following throat, and later tongue, surgery. ''C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too...'' was adapted into a play by

Victoria Coren Mitchell Victoria Elizabeth Coren Mitchell (' Coren; born ) is a British writer, TV presenter and professional poker player. Coren Mitchell writes weekly columns for ''The Telegraph'' and has hosted the BBC television quiz show ''Only Connect'' since 2 ...

called ''A Lump In My Throat'', which was itself later adapted for television. Diamond's second book, ''Snake Oil and Other Preoccupations'', was edited by his brother-in-law Dominic Lawson, editor of ''

The Sunday Telegraph ''The Sunday Telegraph'' is a British broadsheet newspaper A broadsheet is the largest newspaper format and is characterized by long vertical pages, typically of . Other common newspaper formats include the smaller Berliner and tabloid ...

'', and published posthumously (with a foreword by

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ...

).Foreword reprinted in his book ''

A Devil's Chaplain ''A Devil's Chaplain: Reflections on Hope, Lies, Science, and Love'' is a 2003 book of selected essays and other writings by Richard Dawkins. Published five years after Dawkins's previous book ''Unweaving the Rainbow'', it contains essays cove ...

'' (2003). It contained the six chapters of his "uncomplimentary look at the world of complementary medicine" which he had completed before his death, and some of his columns from ''

'' and ''

The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

''. Diamond was the recipient of the HealthWatch Award for 2000.The HealthWatch Award 2000: John Diamond
– HealthWatch. Includes his full presentation, in which he tells about his encounter with a believer in

alternative medicine Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and al ...

. ''

Bandolier A bandolier or a bandoleer is a pocketed belt for holding either individual bullets, or belts of ammunition. It is usually slung sash-style over the shoulder and chest, with the ammunition pockets across the midriff and chest. Though functiona ...

'' reviewed and recommended Diamond's book ''C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too...''Book Reviews: John Diamond's C and ....
–

Publications

*John Diamond, ''C: Because Cowards Get Cancer Too...'', Vermilion, 1999 () *John Diamond,

(foreword), Dominic Lawson (editor), ''Snake Oil and Other Preoccupations'', Vintage, 2001 ().

References

External links

''The Diamond geezer''
by

Victoria Coren Victoria Elizabeth Coren Mitchell (' Coren; born ) is a British writer, TV presenter and professional poker player. Coren Mitchell writes weekly columns for '' The Telegraph'' and has hosted the BBC television quiz show ''Only Connect'' since ...

(4 March 2001) in ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...

''
''John Diamond in his own words''
(2 March 2001) from BBC News online

{{DEFAULTSORT:Diamond, John 1953 births 2001 deaths 20th-century British journalists Alumni of Middlesex University British Jewish writers British sceptics Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery Critics of alternative medicine Deaths from cancer in England Deaths from esophageal cancer English male journalists English male non-fiction writers People from Hackney Central People from Lower Clapton