Arts
A New Dark Age
I have been struggling for a reasonable historical analogy to illustrate where the western democracies are going today. As we have clearly entered a new dark age I do not intend to hypothesise when exactly [more…]
Blog
Hobbies
Shunting in a new direction
As the nights draw in and the lockdowns only get more stringent, thoughts run to more positive times. Nostalgia is a powerful thing, particularly at the moment as everyone loves to think back to happier [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – November 1940
More of the same is the best description of November. The Italians got their butts kicked both in and finally out of Greece resulting in the Duce eventually having to grovel to the Führer and [more…]
20th Century
Illustrating the Apocalypse: Goodbye Old Man
With all the fuss surrounding the marking of the centenary of the End of War to end all Wars, one name was sadly missing from most reports. Step forward one Fortunio Matania. Who he? Draw [more…]
Biography
Sailing my life away, part 2
It may interest some readers who commented on my first article to know that I was very conscious of Coleridge’s poem when choosing my pen-name because a few years after the events described here, whilst [more…]
Authoritarianism
Lockdown Mark 2
What the bloody hell are the motives behind the second lockdown? Given that the official line seems to hold less and less water, it’s no surprise people are coming up with crazy sounding theories. Even [more…]
20th Century
Operation Teapot
In the current extremely uncertain days, I don’t know about you, but my thoughts have been regularly wandering off into ‘what if’ territory. I’ve been pondering what ‘might’ happen, what is important to me, and [more…]
America
Voter Fraud in Pennsylvania
As a young boy, I lived in the colonies. Peaceful if not idyllic to start with, things began to run out of control. The flames were fanned by ancient tribal hostilities and anti-British sentiment. The [more…]
Democracy
A particularly insidious form of evil
There are moments in life when one remembers exactly where they were when a particular event occurs. The death of JFK, the moon landings, Hillsborough, the death of Diana, 9/11. For all these events I [more…]