16 June 2022 No Man Is An Island The Inner Hebrides by J.R. Thomas Firstly, in the spirit of the age, let us make clear that when we say that men are not islands, we naturally include women, persons of dual gender, of none, and of variable and fluctuating choices. But what we are setting… Continue reading No Man Is An Island
Article Category: Features
Elizabeth II
16 June 2022 Elizabeth II Prankster. By Robert Kilconner The Queen has had her fair share of compliments in this her Jubilee year but the assertion that she is “a better prankster than Minnie” is one of the odder ones. It is from the Beano of course, where the Jubilee issue included a six page… Continue reading Elizabeth II
Ou Phrontis
2 June 2022 OU PHRONTIS by J.R.Thomas If you read a newspaper, watch the TV news, or participate in social media, you will worry; guaranteed. The government is collapsing; wokeism is sending us mad; war will soon enter a nuclear phase (with the Chinese version over Taiwan following along shortly); the planet is burning up;… Continue reading Ou Phrontis
Getting There
2 June 2022 Getting There Crossrail & Elizabeth Line. By Neil Tidmarsh So the Elizabeth Line / Crossrail is up and running at last. Massive new stations, massively rebuilt old stations, longer platforms, bigger trains, faster trains, central London to Heathrow in a heart-beat, east of London to west of London in the blink of… Continue reading Getting There
In Praise of Organisers
12 May 2022 In Praise of Organisers Three cheers for volunteers. By Lynda Goetz I’ve been on committees, of course I have. It started at school; there was the School Council, the Debating Society, the House entertainment competitions and of course the school magazine; at university there was the squash team to be organised, although… Continue reading In Praise of Organisers
Tempus Fugit
7 April 2022 Tempus Fugit But which way? By Robert Kilconner His cows didn’t like it. That was one of the shots fired by a farmer in the perennial battle over whether or not the clocks should move forwards and backwards in spring and autumn or whether we should remain locked in perpetual summer time.… Continue reading Tempus Fugit
Betting on 2022
7 April 2022 Betting on 2022 Preliminary Results by John Watson We had hoped to award the prize for our New Year quiz this week but the two leading runners are only half a point apart and the figure for the CPI for March is not yet available, the latter being published on 13 April.… Continue reading Betting on 2022
Old Dog, New Tricks
24 March 2022 Old Dog, New Tricks by J.R. Thomas It is true what they say about the British. To stir things up you have to be controversial about dogs; that really gets the fingers tapping on keyboards. It certainly did about last week’s piece, on The Power of The Dog – and that only… Continue reading Old Dog, New Tricks
Latour Released
Why keep fine wine in your cellar if your tastebuds can’t tell the difference? An ageist view.
Brave New World
3 March 2022 Brave new world By Paul Branch Whilst attempting to look away from the horrors unfolding to the East, let’s instead try to put a brave face on it by contemplating the future, assuming of course we have one. Picture the scenario: you’re riding along in your automobile, your robot beside you at… Continue reading Brave New World
The Gentle Brute
24 February 2022 The Gentle Brute by J.R. Thomas The amusing happenings at the O2 Centre last Friday, as parts of its roof vanished down the Thames, made the Shaw Sheet realise that we had failed to commemorate the passing, on 18th December last year, of that distinguished but controversial figure Richard Rogers, or as… Continue reading The Gentle Brute
Bath in Winter
24 February 2022 Bath in Winter And an exhibition. By Lynda Goetz Bath is undoubtedly a lovely city. I am not sure though that February is the best time to see it. To be fair, it was certainly no worse than much of the English countryside in the middle of a series of innocuously named… Continue reading Bath in Winter
Issue 304: 2021 12 09: Half Bottles
9 December 2021 Half Bottles A product of divine mercy. By Robert Kilconner Glass half full; glass half empty? He is a half glass full kind of guy. That doesn’t mean that he would welcome a half-full bottle of wine in his Christmas stocking. Try that and you will discover what half empty is all… Continue reading Issue 304: 2021 12 09: Half Bottles
