20th Century
Childhood Memories
At the end of August 1939 my maternal grandmother took the decision that her children would not be evacuated because of the war. My grandfather had little say in the matter and accepted that if [more…]
Blog
America
Questionable Ethics, Philosophical Guidelines, and the Art of Profiting from Instability (Part 6)
In 1988, George Soros deftly manoeuvered through the stock holdings of Société Générale, France’s banking titan, executing trades that yielded a modest $2.2 million profit. The transaction, unremarkable at the time, scarcely rippled the financial [more…]
19th Century
George Airy: The Man Who Filed the Universe
George Biddell Airy was Astronomer Royal for 46 years. He drew the line the whole world sets its clocks by, weighed the Earth from the bottom of a coal pit in South Shields and never, [more…]
Economics
Feelz and Squealz
Watching Bodybags making his first speech at Conference as leader I was reminded of a famous quote attributed to George Burns. “Acting is all about honesty. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made”. [more…]
Fiction
Némésis Ch 5
Northern Iraq and the Syrian Governorate of Al Hasakha, December 2017 Ripley lay in the tarpaulin hammock, underneath an overhead poncho they had used to keep the sun out of her eyes. They were sensitive [more…]
Animals
Larry’s Diary, Week Three Hundred And Forty-Four
Monday Good morning, my happy readers. Brighter this morning and quite a decent day out there. It looks like it’s going to be a decent week here in Downing Street, as Mascara Man is off [more…]
Democracy
New Realities in Old Holborn
Old Holborn Between 1983 and 2015, the Labour MP for Holborn and St Pancras was northerner Frank Dobson. A railwayman’s son from York, Dobson was a grammar school boy and economics graduate. After leaving the [more…]
Fiction
Bombs and Betrayal, Chapter Twenty
At 17:00 he was phoned with the time, 03:30 with entry into the building around 04:00. The location of the meeting point was written down. He walked along to Jane’s office. “We have a time, [more…]
Arts
Fabulously Flamboyant Fridays – Confessions Of A Knob Botherer Part 1
Welcome back my friends to the flamboyance that never ends! Greetings pop pickers and please be welcome to another edition of Fabulously Flamboyant Friday – our occasional Campari and soda-drenched probe into the rainbow and [more…]