18 January 2018 Truffling Thoughts Foreigners in France. By Richard Pooley One of the advantages I have as a Brit living in the Lot Department of south-west France is that I am taller than most of the locals. At any crowded event – a Saturday market in the summer, an agricultural show, or, as last… Continue reading Issue 137: 2018 01 18: Truffling Thoughts
Article Category: Comment
Issue 136:2018 01 11:Miffed by MiFID
11 January 2018 Miffed by MiFID A long list of those affected. by Frank O’Nomics It was hardly another “Big Bang”, but 3rd January saw the introduction of major new legislation for the financial services industry, snappily titled MiFID II. Most people will either never have heard of MiFID II, know that there was ever… Continue reading Issue 136:2018 01 11:Miffed by MiFID
Issue 136:2018 01 11:Nothing Changes
10 January 2017 Nothing Changes by J.R. Thomas The Shaw Sheet spares no effort in seeking anniversaries that you may miss. So prepare to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Henry Kissinger’s arrival from Germany in Britain, 1938. Admittedly, he did not stay long, moving on with his family to the United States later that year. … Continue reading Issue 136:2018 01 11:Nothing Changes
Issue 136:2018 01 11:Danger In The Sky
11 January 2018 Danger In The Sky Drones, air-rage, rogue balloons and more. By Neil Tidmarsh Don’t look up. The sky is full of danger this week. Stay indoors. Or, if you must go out, wear a helmet. But, whatever you do, don’t go Up There… From Australia comes the story of an angry bird… Continue reading Issue 136:2018 01 11:Danger In The Sky
Issue 136:2018 01 11:Black And White
11 January 2018 Black And White Should we live in the shadows? By John Watson Black and white. Night and day. Brightness and shade. Transparent and opaque. Ever since God divided light from darkness in the fourth verse of Genesis, contrasting terms have been used to separate what is open and clear from what exists… Continue reading Issue 136:2018 01 11:Black And White
Issue 136:2018 01 11:Diary of a Corbynista
11 December 2018 Diary of a Corbynista NHS in Meltdown by Don Urquhart 21 December Jeremy Hunt tells us that we must do more to safeguard the wellbeing of mothers and babies during childbirth. Maternity care services report that life-threatening incidents in their units are running at a rate of 140,000 per year and it… Continue reading Issue 136:2018 01 11:Diary of a Corbynista
Issue 136:2018 01 11:Education Re-Shuffle
11 January 2018 Education Re-Shuffle Where to now? By Lynda Goetz The Matt cartoon on the front of The Telegraph yesterday said it all, really. Underneath a sketch of a dog occupying half the sofa; Mr (standing beside the sofa) said to Mrs (already seated), ‘I’m not going to ask him to move, because when… Continue reading Issue 136:2018 01 11:Education Re-Shuffle
Issue 135: 2018 01 04: Great Rail Rip-Off
04 January 2018 The Great Rail Rip-Off Raising fares in line with RPI makes no sense. By Frank O’Nomics. Raising fares in line with RPI makes no sense. This week saw the largest increase in regulated rail fares since 2013, with price rises on average of 3.4%. For many commuters, who on average have seen… Continue reading Issue 135: 2018 01 04: Great Rail Rip-Off
Issue 135: 2018 01 04: Unrest In Iran
04 January 2018, Unrest in Iran, 1979, 2009… 2018. By Neil Tidmarsh. The news from Iran last Thursday – that women are no longer obliged by law to cover their hair in public – was surprising enough. But what has followed is even more surprising.
Issue 135: 2018 01 04: Will It Fly?
04 January 2018 Will It Fly? Can Tories survive Brexit and leftward swing? By J R Thomas It’s a brave commentator who provides any political predictions for 2018. It was with hindsight foolish indeed to attempt forecasts for what turned into the extraordinary events of 2016; even more so the sudden reversals of 2017. What… Continue reading Issue 135: 2018 01 04: Will It Fly?
Issue 135: 2018 01 04: Arts Council Funding
04 January 2018 Arts Council Funding for ‘Literary’ Fiction A Good or Bad Idea? By Lynda Goetz Shortly before Christmas Arts Council England brought out a report they had commissioned, entitled ‘Literature in the Twenty First Century – Models of Support for Literary Fiction. It is fifty-seven pages long and makes for interesting reading, although… Continue reading Issue 135: 2018 01 04: Arts Council Funding
Issue 134: 2017 12 21: Remaining, Hopefully
21 December 2017 Remaining, Hopefully Expecting the unexpected by J.R. Thomas David Lloyd George had a cruel wit: when Neville Chamberlain followed Stanley Baldwin as Prime Minister in 1937 he undermined Chamberlain’s moment of glory by saying that he had made “not a bad Lord Mayor of Birmingham in a lean year”. Oh, that the… Continue reading Issue 134: 2017 12 21: Remaining, Hopefully
Issue 134: 2017 12 21: Herr Strache’s Party
21 December 2017 Herr Strache and the Freedom Party The far-right in power in Austria. By Neil Tidmarsh I was in Vienna three weeks ago. It was the first time I’d visited the city, and I was delighted to find it as beautiful as I’d hoped. Grand imperial palaces, splendid baroque churches, intimate cobbled streets,… Continue reading Issue 134: 2017 12 21: Herr Strache’s Party
