20th Century
A History of Pop Music – Albums 1969
Featured Album: Johnny Cash – At San Quentin This is a series of articles looking at albums from 1960 to whatever year we end up in. I will select a featured album for each year [more…]
Blog
Cooking
The secret to a decent beef stew
In these depressing and difficult times, it is sometimes beneficial to return to encouraging and positive subjects, and in my opinion, there is nothing quite as welcoming as “Comfort food”. A fellow Puffin signalled their [more…]
Arts
Always Worth Saying’s Question Time Review
Question Time 10th December 2020 Panel: Robert Buckland (Conservative) Wes Streeting (Labour) Malcolm Turnbull (Former Australian PM) Julia Hartley-Brewer (Broadcaster) Anand Menon (Politics professor) Venue: Chelmsford Firstly, your humble author your award-winning author must thank [more…]
Arts
Going Postal with Question Time
Graphic EJ – Updated by Sam. Fiona Bruce presents another hour of BBC programming from Chelmsford. Same old faces, same tired programming. On the panel are: Robert Buckland MP (CCP), justice secretary and Lord high [more…]
Arts
Postcard From Berlin, 1979
Back in the late 1970s, when we were both rising stars in IT in the Ministry of Defence, my friend was posted to Berlin to run the Army’s computer centre there. Being a good mate, [more…]
Arts
The Revelation of St Marcus
In his 7th February 1952 speech, Prime Minister Winston Churchill spoke in sorrow at the recent death of King George VI but also in optimism of the following day’s proclamation of the sovereignty of Queen [more…]
Literature
Lords and Ladies, Part Four
Boggart paced deliberately back and forth in front of ginger bigfoot, birthmark Joe and trembling Theresa, peering coldly into their eyes at each pass. Perspiration oozed from the collar of his scabious headdress as he [more…]
20th Century
The Desert War – December 1940
At the start of the last month of 1940 the Italians had been pushed out of Greece and were now under the cosh in Albania, Il Duce’s ambitions were more than his forces could handle. [more…]
20th Century
Money, Corruption and Power: The Stolen Elections of Lyndon Johnson – Part 3
“The number of votes at the patrónes’ command was not necessarily limited by the number of eligible voters. Since voters over the age of sixty were not required to pay poll taxes, and since poll [more…]