Culture

Postcard from Lille, Part 34

12th October 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

As if mountaineers roped together, we troop along Euston Road in a line, making our way from Euston Station to St Pancras International with our packs and cases. My now middle-aged self leads the way, ahead of [more…]

Ben Elton

9th October 2019 Going Postal 0

I used to enjoy Ben Elton – for The Young Ones, and two of his jokes I still can remember. I even bought his first book, ‘Stark’. He’s making a comeback stand-up tour, I gather. [more…]

National Trust AGM 2019 – The Non-Woke Block Vote

8th October 2019 Going Postal 0

I can understand those who walk away from bodies like the National Trust once it become woke, yet when these things happen there is rarely enough of an exodus to drag the organisation back to [more…]

Postcard From Lille, Part 33

5th October 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

There was a game that we used to play in the office called, ‘Would / Wouldn’t’. Every adult female would be attached either of the monikers. We even had cards made that we could hold up as [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 32

28th September 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

There’s a game to be played with airline names. BA, British Airways, is re-named, ‘Bloody Awful’, Alitalia become ‘Always Late in Take-off and Landing’. And if you don’t realise SAA stands for ‘Sodding Awful Airline’ then [more…]

Three years later: Willkommenskultur revisited

24th September 2019 Guardian Council 0

It’s been over three years now that Frau Dr. Angela Merkel, German chancellor, tried to turn Germany into a Willkommensrepublik (welcoming republic). At the height of the Syrian refugee crisis, the Islamic State’s (ISIS) multinational [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 31

21st September 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

Tangled up in the Vizconde massacre investigation, I’m having to lie low in a place called Sipalay on the Island of Negros. I keep myself busy in the provincial home of an extended family, a dynasty founded by eight brothers, whose decedents include the [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 30

14th September 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

I don’t know if you’re familiar with Conrad’s ‘Heart of Darkness’? If not, as usual, put this nonsense to one side and find a copy. I realised that I wasn’t particularly well read the day I dropped the iPad in the bath. Don’t laugh, it was plugged into the [more…]

Postcard from Lille, Part 29

7th September 2019 Always Worth Saying 0

Tangled up in the Vizconce massacre investigation and having just escaped from a Filipino jail, I’m now on the run and heading south to lie low long enough to be forgotten about. I have a letter of [more…]