Arts
(A Little) Off the Beaten Track in Rome and some Rugby Thing
Mr A and I had been to Rome to watch the 6 nations match, England versus Italy, 2 years before and enjoyed it so much we wanted to go again. Last time we visited all [more…]
History
20th Century
Tanker Wars
All has changed. Or has it? We have been here before, literally. The Puffin is a well-travelled bird with a good memory and can recall rolling dunes, desert villages, remote sun-drenched harbours and trails of [more…]
20th Century
The History of Pop Music – 1997
A History of Pop Music – 1997 This is a series of articles looking at pop music from 1955 when in my opinion proper pop music began up to 1999 when they stopped making it. [more…]
20th Century
Labour’s bad boys – Part 9 Peter Mandelson
Peter Benjamin Mandelson, these days better known as Baron Mandelson, has had to resign 3 times from official positions. A devious snake of a man one hopes he is finally out of our sight. He [more…]
21st Century
A Deep Dive
In the fractious corridors of Kenyan power, endemic corruption remains a persistent shadow, casting doubt on the integrity of even the highest offices. President William Ruto, (proverbially known as WSR), ascended by dubious means to [more…]
20th Century
Book review: Fearless on Everest, by Julie Summers
‘Sandy Irvine sat outside his tent, shoulders hunched, his hat pulled down over his ears, his scarf shielding his badly sunburned face. His skin had been severely blistered by the sun, and the wind on [more…]
21st Century
Shipshape or All at Sea?
Last Saturday’s article, I See No Ships, proved to be prescient as, while the ink dried on the 28th February piece, Israel and America began their attack on Iran. In retaliation, drone and missile attacks [more…]
20th Century
Labour’s bad boys – Part 8 Ron Davies
In 1998 poor old Ron Davies was held to ridicule. In 1983 he was elected to represent Caerphilly in the House of Shame. He was appointed Secretary of State for Wales in Satan Blair’s cabinet [more…]
21st Century
Kenya’s Ongoing Corruption
Police killed at least 63 people, injured more than 601, and arbitrarily arrested over 1,765 during Gen-Z led protests in 2024. By law, the president must deliver an annual state of the nation address, accounting [more…]