Arts
Stir Up Sunday
The last Sunday before advent begins (22.11) is traditionally known as ‘stir up Sunday’. This is when families would come together to make the mixture for their Christmas Pudding, all taking it in turns to [more…]
Culture
Arts
Protecting The NHS, Hepatitis C, Covid-19 and The Rest. A Personal Account
Sixty nine years ago, give or take a week or so, I was delivered into this world. My mother gave birth to me in what was then known as “the huts”, a collection of prefabricated [more…]
Arts
The Swaling, Part Twenty Nine
“Do you believe any of this nonsense?” “Of course not.” “They’re not going to sign it are they?” “You’ll see.” Myself and Miss Noor of the Pakistan High Commission, are ‘enjoying’ a presentation as part [more…]
Arts
Further Childhood Holiday Memories
Dad changed jobs in early 1963 and went to work for, what was at the time, the worlds 3rd largest auction house. They were family business based in a turning off Bond Street. Dad’s new [more…]
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…]
Arts
The Swaling, Part Twenty Eight
‘Harry’ Lee Kuan Yew was born in 1923 into a comfortably off Straits family, resident in the Reservoir Road area of Singapore. His father was a Shell Oil company executive, his mother the author or [more…]
Arts
The Swaling, Part Twenty Seven
The High Commissioner’s Private Office. Upstairs. The British High Commissioner’s Residence. Eden Hall. Nassim Road. Singapore. I have let myself into the High Commissioner’s office and sat myself in the naughty corner. There are footsteps [more…]
Arts
The Year Turns, Part 1
In this series of articles, I’d like to meander through the roots of some ancient customs, beliefs and rituals that have shaped our culture. Many are still followed, though sad to say, a growing number [more…]
Arts
Death, why are we so frightened of it?
There is one thing sure, death & taxes. We are all going to die, we all know that don’t we ? There are no exceptions. It is why we have car insurance (we might crash) [more…]