16 May 2019 It looks as if the birds are on their own The cat menace Simon Baseley “Estimates of how many creatures are killed by cats each year vary significantly”. That statement appears on the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) website, immediately below the question: “Are cats causing bird decline?” To… Continue reading Issue 202: 2019 05 16: Birds
Article Category: Features
Issue 199: 2019 04 25: Once Upon a Time
25 April 2019 Once Upon A Time in the West by J.R. Thomas Enough! It is Easter, the spring is magnificently sprung, and we need a rest from all the nonsense which pervades the world of politics, and will no doubt continue far into the summer. Let us look back fifty years, to the time… Continue reading Issue 199: 2019 04 25: Once Upon a Time
Issue 198: 2019 04 18: France’s Heritage
18 April 2019 Saving France’s Heritage A forgotten story, a forgotten hero. By Richard Pooley There wasn’t the usual levity when I walked into my French village’s southern boulangerie early on Tuesday morning. The queue was quiet, the mood sombre. We live 500 km south of Paris but the sudden destruction of the roof and… Continue reading Issue 198: 2019 04 18: France’s Heritage
Issue 195: 2019 03 28: The Sackler Effect
28 March 2018 The Future of Philanthropy The Sackler Effect By Lynda Goetz Nan Goldin, American activist and photographer, has an exhibition coming up in London in October. It will take place at the Goodman Gallery, as Marian Goodman has taken over Goldin’s representation. There was to have been an exhibition at the National Portrait… Continue reading Issue 195: 2019 03 28: The Sackler Effect
Issue 190: 2019 02 21: Two Tartuffes
21 February 2019 A tale of two Tartuffes by Adam McCormack Seeing the same play twice within a week might seem a little strange or indulgent. However, when the two versions are so different – and have widely different levels of success – it makes for an interesting examination of why some theatre works and… Continue reading Issue 190: 2019 02 21: Two Tartuffes
Issue 187: 2019 01 31: No Ds in January
31 January 2019 No Depressing Ds in January Time to be upbeat. By Lynda Goetz January in the UK is undoubtedly Dull and frequently Damp, but why do we seem to want also to make it Depressing? Why on earth would you choose this time of year to start a Diet or go Dry? Granted… Continue reading Issue 187: 2019 01 31: No Ds in January
Issue 184: 2019 01 10: Not My Favourite
10 January 2019 Not My Favourite Movies, misery and sexual politics. By Neil Tidmarsh Fancy two hours of misery? No? Don’t go to see The Favourite, then. Here, a deeply unhappy Queen Anne, a bullying Sarah Duchess of Marlborough and her ruthlessly ambitious cousin Abigail are a selfish, irresponsible and petty trio – poisonous, poisoning… Continue reading Issue 184: 2019 01 10: Not My Favourite
Issue 183: 2018 12 20: What’s the Message?
20 December 2018 What’s The Message? By Richard Pooley Will you be going to church this Christmas? A carol service, Midnight Mass or a celebration on Christmas Day itself? I will be, even though I’m an atheist. I was baptised in a Hampshire church and used to trudge to and from the same church every… Continue reading Issue 183: 2018 12 20: What’s the Message?
Issue 183: 2018 12 20: Christmas Cards
20 December 2018 Christmas Cards What’s in a name? By Chin Chin In they come in their twos and threes, this year’s crop of Christmas cards. They look very nice too, once they have been arranged along our mantelpiece, a friendly reminder that the twenty-fifth is only just over a week away. They are not,… Continue reading Issue 183: 2018 12 20: Christmas Cards
Issue 182: 2018 12 13: Cheat the Guillotine!
13 December 2018 Cheat the Guillotine! Save Macron! By Chin Chin It was the little flower which did it. There it was, engraved on the ring which fell out of the Christmas present drawer. Its significance didn’t strike me at first but then I remembered. Wasn’t it a ring like that which alerted Lady Blakeney… Continue reading Issue 182: 2018 12 13: Cheat the Guillotine!
Issue 181: 2018 12 06: A Modern Christmas
06 December 2018 A Modern Christmas In a digital age. By Chin Chin “Christmas comes but once a year” and that’s quite enough in my book. Yes, I can see that it was fun in Victorian times, sitting there in front of a roaring fire, glass in hand, attentive females listening admiringly to one’s reading… Continue reading Issue 181: 2018 12 06: A Modern Christmas
Issue 180: 2018 11 29: I Am Africa!
29 November 2018 I am Africa! Introducing yourself. By Richard Pooley “What do you do?” you are asked by the person you’ve just met. How do you answer? Does it depend on who is asking? Perhaps a person you want to impress… or seduce. Do you take note of how they ask it? Or when? … Continue reading Issue 180: 2018 11 29: I Am Africa!
Issue 180: 2018 11 29: “Snowflake” Rock ‘n’ Roll
29 November 2018 It’s Only “Snowflake” Rock ‘n’ Roll But I like it. By Frank O’Nomics Dark ceilings with walls seemingly running with sweat – this was surely back to the gigs of my youth. I was thinking Dr. Feelgood at the De Montfort Hall or Dire Straits at the Leicester Poly. Those 1970’s references… Continue reading Issue 180: 2018 11 29: “Snowflake” Rock ‘n’ Roll
