20th Century
Labour’s bad boys – the intro
A series on Labour’s bad boys has been suggested. At first sight it seemed akin to climbing Everest, there are just so many but on reflection, as one of the current phrases goes, it is [more…]
Politics
Authoritarianism
Overland to Russia, Part Four
How popular is Putin really? Before trying to answer this, a bit of background is needed. The political landscape of Russia is not really comparable with, say, Britain or France, where the mechanism of democracy [more…]
Economics
Qualifications to be a minister
With the dreadful Rachel from Complaints presenting as the most incompetent Chancellor, probably since records began there come the usual cries of why not get somebody qualified to do the job. In such cases I [more…]
Animals
Larry’s Diary, Week Three Hundred And Nine
Monday Good morning my friends, it is yet another wet and dreary morning here in Downing Street and it was truly nasty when I went down to the bottom of the garden behind the gardener’s [more…]
Authoritarianism
It’s a big club and you ain’t in it
I have just had one of these profound, and extremely disturbing light bulb moments. Many on this forum will probably already understand the significance of what I am about to write, but this can be [more…]
20th Century
Desert Mystery: Wrecked in The Desert
Amongst my collection of original photographs taken during the Desert War by members of the Deutsche Afrika Korps, I have several of wrecked aircraft but most are usually burnt out and, except to an aviation [more…]
Arts
The Accidental Strength of the English Constitution
The English constitution is often described as ‘unwritten,’ yet it has proved more durable than almost any codified rival. Its resilience does not stem from philosophical elegance or the vision of a single generation of [more…]
Economics
What Greenhouse; The State Of The Nation…Innit
The recovery continues apace. As I sit writing this missive, I’m six weeks in and although the stairs continue to present something of a challenge and I’m still using a stick I feel that I’m [more…]
Communism
Rising from Obscurity
We’ve all noticed them. A new face suddenly appearing on all sorts of TV shows or being elected into a highish office. What I still don’t know is who chooses them and why are they [more…]