History
The Birth of the Angry Young Man
In 1956 the play Look Back in Anger was first staged in Britain. Written by John Osborne, it was the story of Jimmy Porter – who came to symbolise a new force in postwar Britain – the [more…]
History
Postcard from Saint Nicholas
Christmas is coming, the geese are getting fat, Keir Starmer is stealing pennies from the old man’s hat, and we continue our journey around the Isles of Scilly. Tresco was once called St Nicholas, or [more…]
21st Century
Debt and the Gen Z protests
31 August, 2024 A generation after the 1980s debt crisis triggered the rebirth of democracy on the continent, will Kenya’s youthful idealists spark a pan-African revolt? The protests in Kenya mark a turning point [more…]
Culture
A View From The Greenhouse; Edizeone Apulia (Prima Parte)
And so to Italy, but not before making sure the Buildings and Maintenance team had been fully drilled in the routines required to ensure I didn’t return to any kind of disaster. I needn’t have [more…]
20th Century
The Battle of Arnhem
Having parachuted nine miles to the west of ARNHEM during the early afternoon of 17th September 1944 2nd Parachute Battalion, reinforced by elements from the 1st Parachute Brigade reached the road bridge at dusk. In [more…]
20th Century
European Journey 1953, Part Four – Berlin
When my friend Alfred Friedel comes off duty it’s usually somewhere around one o’clock in the morning. For Alfred is a newspaperman. And morning newspapermen the world over live like owls. Take a good look [more…]
Elections
Aspirations
One of the things that has puzzled me over many years is why governments don’t reverse laws they don’t approve of that have been passed by another party. It seems that in our unwritten constitution [more…]
Literature
An Old Man’s Musings Part Two
I do not look back in anger. Rather I look at what I have (and have not) accomplished. I have four children; the eldest is a successful software engineer though I have not seen him [more…]
Animals
Larry’s Diary, Week Two Hundred and Forty-Nine
Monday Good morning everyone from my first diary of the autumn. Overnight the weather forecast seems to have changed. Yesterday, this morning was going to be nice and sunny, but I have woken up to [more…]