o9 July 2015 Fading Icons – Stop the Clocks by J R Thomas “Stop all the clocks” said W H Auden in his much-quoted elegy. That advice seems to have been taken very much to heart in the modern municipal centres of the UK. At one time, within reasonably recent living memory, there was barely a… Continue reading Issue 10: 2015 07 09: Fading Icons – Stop the Clocks
Author: Neil Tidmarsh
Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Send and Unsend
02 July 2015 Send and Unsend By Chin Chin It was all very well for Edith Piaf to sing “Je ne regrette rien” but for most of us reality is rather different. The thoughtless word that gives too much away, the bon mot that turns out not to be so bon after all, that order… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Send and Unsend
Issue 9: 2015 07 02: UK News
02 July 2015 Week in Brief: UK NEWS SCOTTISH FUNDING FOR QUEEN: Following a period of misunderstanding by palace officials, the SNP has confirmed that it has no intention of cutting Scotland’s contribution to the costs of funding the monarchy. The contribution to the sovereign grant is paid out of the revenues of the Scottish part… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02: UK News
Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Opening Your Oyster
02 July 2015 Opening Your Oyster by John Watson Got a degree? Now get the job! So here you are. The exam results are through and at last, after long hard years, the education system has finally spat you out. You have achieved the degree you had hoped for and the horizon should be aglow… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Opening Your Oyster
Issue 9: 2015 07 02: The Referendum Card
02 July 2015 The Referendum Card by John Watson With all eyes on Greece and the prospect of a referendum, it is easy to forget that something not entirely dissimilar is going on on this side of the English Channel. Of course the political background is very different indeed. Britain is committed to austerity and… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02: The Referendum Card
Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Dress For Work
02 July 2015 Dress for Work by J R Thomas Sometimes, when reading the popular prints, one’s eye glides half-seeing over a piece… then, like something glimpsed from a fast car, some rare tree or ancient Bentley behind a gate, one has to back up and have another look. That happened this morning as I… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Dress For Work
Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Fading Icons: Digging the National Parks
02 July 2015 Fading Icons: Digging the National Parks by J R Thomas Big ideas often take a remarkably long time to come to fruition in British politics. In the USA of the 1860’s, even before the West was finally won, the American federal government began to take public ownership of great swathes of the… Continue reading Issue 9: 2015 07 02: Fading Icons: Digging the National Parks
Issue 8: 2015 06 25: The Threat From Outside the Bubble
25 June 2015 The threat from outside the Bubble by John Watson In my next life I think I would like to work at the EU Commission. That is not because I love Brussels, although to be fair the chocolate there is excellent. Nor is it the stimulating company; I am sure there are lots… Continue reading Issue 8: 2015 06 25: The Threat From Outside the Bubble
Issue 8: 2015 06 25: Anniversaries as Dates
25 June 2015 Anniversaries as Dates by Chin Chin As anniversary years go, 2015 is something of a vintage. We have just had Magna Carta and Waterloo, both duly celebrated by solemn ceremonies and supplements in the press. In September there is the 700th anniversary of Agincourt. No doubt that will be celebrated too –… Continue reading Issue 8: 2015 06 25: Anniversaries as Dates
Issue 8: 2015 06 25: UK News
25 June 2015 Week in Brief: UK NEWS WAGES: According to figures published by the Office of National Statistics, the rate of increase in wages has now climbed to 2.7% per annum, the highest level since 2007. Private sector wages are rising at 3.3% and wages in the public sector are rising at 0.3%. Although unemployment… Continue reading Issue 8: 2015 06 25: UK News
Issue 8: 2015 06 25: End Austerity Now!
25 June 2015 End Austerity Now! by J R Thomas Last Saturday was a day to enjoy one of the great British ceremonial traditions. Ranked alongside Trooping the Colour and the State Opening of Parliament, this was that great and enduring ritual of March Against [Insert Cause Here] to Parliament. The chosen cause this… Continue reading Issue 8: 2015 06 25: End Austerity Now!
Issue 8: 2015 06 25: Trouble in the Glens
25 June 2015 Trouble in the Glens by J R Thomas Scotland may still not be independent, but the Scottish National Party (“SNP”) controlled Scottish Parliament is already flexing its muscles and starting to use the additional powers promised to it in the run-up to the referendum last year. The call for independence was… Continue reading Issue 8: 2015 06 25: Trouble in the Glens
Issue 7: 2015 06 18: Waterloo – a different perspective
18 June 2015 Waterloo – a different perspective by Chin Chin Spot the odd one out: “My true glory will reside in my Civil Code, which will never be forgotten.” “Publish and be damned.” “Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever.” “My rule always was to do the business of the day in the day.”… Continue reading Issue 7: 2015 06 18: Waterloo – a different perspective
