18 February 2016 Macbeth The Bason Botanical Gardens, Wanganui Reviewed by John Watson Many years ago I was chatting over lunch to a very low church Christian and describing the Easter service at Saint Bartholomew the Great in London. Saint Bartholomew’s is not low church at all and he listened quietly to what I said… Continue reading Issue 41: 2016 02 18: Macbeth (John Watson)
Author: Neil Tidmarsh
Issue 41: 2016 02 18: The Curse of the Pharaohs (Chin Chin)
18 February 2016 The Curse of the Pharaohs How many will die this time? By Chin Chin Curses come in different shapes and sizes. At the top end of the scale there is the “full pharaonic,” visited on Lord Carnarvon and others shortly after the opening of the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1923. A quality… Continue reading Issue 41: 2016 02 18: The Curse of the Pharaohs (Chin Chin)
Issue 40: 2016 02 11: The Ngawala Cup, Part I (Nimmo)
11 February 2016 The Ngalawa Cup (Part One) A sailing adventure in the Indian Ocean. by Alexander Nimmo Like so many great ideas, this one began in the pub. My friend Rory and I had both recently decided to leave our jobs and take some time off. Over a drink he got out his phone,… Continue reading Issue 40: 2016 02 11: The Ngawala Cup, Part I (Nimmo)
Issue 40: 2016 02 11: Do Multinationals Pay Enough Tax? (John Watson)
11 February 2016 Do Multinationals Pay Enough Tax? The Shaw Sheet’s litmus test. by John Watson If you read bed-time stories to young children you will have discovered that they like to hear the same tale over and over again. It doesn’t matter that they know the ending. Their minds are locked onto a particular… Continue reading Issue 40: 2016 02 11: Do Multinationals Pay Enough Tax? (John Watson)
Issue 40: 2016 02 11: Drums (Chin Chin)
11 February 2016 Drums Keep on a roll! By Chin Chin “Boom, Boom, Boom-de-boom, Rat-a-tat-tat, Boom”. The sound is all too familiar to any parent of a teenage boy. Why is it that they all want drum kits and not flutes or violins? Because the drums are a sight easier to play, that is why;… Continue reading Issue 40: 2016 02 11: Drums (Chin Chin)
Issue 40: 2016 02 11: Week in Brief: UK
11 February 2016 Week in Brief: UK EU NEGOTIATIONS: Debate has begun over the terms which David Cameron has negotiated with the EU. However, the terms are still only in draft form and may not represent the final conditions which EU institutions and countries will be prepared to agree. The draft has already sparked debate… Continue reading Issue 40: 2016 02 11: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 39: 2016 02 04: The New Courtesy (Chin Chin)
04 February 2016 The New Courtesy Is the masking of the Italian statues the start of a trend? By Chin Chin Hospitality has always been at the heart of civilisation and by covering their statues to welcome President Rouhani of Iran the Italians have truly set a new benchmark. No matter that, as a sophisticated… Continue reading Issue 39: 2016 02 04: The New Courtesy (Chin Chin)
Issue 39: 2016 02 04: Lynching Google (John Watson)
04 February 2016 Lynching Google Analysis of a tax witch-hunt. By John Watson What are the ingredients of a witch-hunt? No, put down that recipe book, I am not talking about a new form of gateaux but rather the sort of thing that went on in mediaeval England with ducking stools, ostracism, stocks, lynchings and… Continue reading Issue 39: 2016 02 04: Lynching Google (John Watson)
Issue 39: 2016 02 04: Week in Brief: UK
04 February 2016 Week in Brief: UK GOOGLE TAX: The Government and HMRC have come under fire for agreeing a tax deal with Google which means the company will pay £130 million back tax over ten years. It is thought that the amount of corporation tax paid is equivalent to a rate of 3%. Criticism… Continue reading Issue 39: 2016 02 04: Week in Brief: UK
Issue 39: 2016 02 04: What does ‘entrepreneur’ mean to the French? (Richard Pooley)
04 February 2014 What does entrepreneur mean to the French? by Richard Pooley Former US President George W Bush was reputed to have told Tony Blair: “The trouble with the French is that they don’t have a word for ‘entrepreneur’.” Oh, how we mocked him. But it turns out that George W was more of… Continue reading Issue 39: 2016 02 04: What does ‘entrepreneur’ mean to the French? (Richard Pooley)
Issue 38: 2016 01 28: Labour’s Lessons From Defeat (John Watson)
28 January 2016 Labour’s Lessons from Defeat What we expect from Mr Corbyn. By John Watson The closure of Kellingley colliery may represent the end of deep mining for coal in the UK but the reader certainly has to do a lot of digging to extract from Margaret Beckett’s report “Learning the Lessons from Defeat”… Continue reading Issue 38: 2016 01 28: Labour’s Lessons From Defeat (John Watson)
Issue 38: 2016 01 28: Geneva (Chin Chin)
28 January 2016 Geneva A seating plan for peace. By Chin Chin If there is one thing which permeates the Christmas holiday it is seating plans. It may be a season for goodwill but if you put Great Aunt Margaret next to her sister-in-law at lunch you will discover that the only references to charity… Continue reading Issue 38: 2016 01 28: Geneva (Chin Chin)
Issue 38: 2016 01 28: Week in Brief: UK
28 January 2016 Week in Brief: UK MI5 LGBT: In an announcement which some may find surprising, the Security Service (MI5) has been described by Stonewall, the gay rights group, as the best employer of people who are in the LGBT category. RUSSIAN ESPIONAGE: A Russian commentator has estimated that the number of intelligence officers… Continue reading Issue 38: 2016 01 28: Week in Brief: UK
