Arts
Flaming June (ii)
Every time I look at that picture, I seem almost to be looking out from near where I live, although the vista that includes St. Michael’s Mount is less distantly hazy, and the Mount more [more…]
19th Century
Disaster at Quintinshill
Setting off from Edinburgh on a splendid May day, Mrs. AWS and I enjoy our Burger Kings. In the mad world of railway pricing, one of only two differences between Avanti Trains Standard Premium and [more…]
Conservatives
The Changing of the Guard
Lord Cameron gazed giddily around his office, a look of wonder playing over his bubblegum pink visage. ‘I must say you have completely and utterly exceeded my expectations,’ he gushed. ‘If I was still in [more…]
20th Century
A History of Pop Music – 1958
Featured song: Jerry Lee Lewis – Great Balls Of Fire 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 [more…]
Democracy
Always Worth Saying’s Election Night Review
I’ve done my bit. The girls at work agreed to vote for Reform. I wrote the name of the candidate on their hands in biro so they knew who to find on the ballot paper. [more…]
Conservatives
Election Night With Going Postal
The Exit Poll At 10 pm on election night, the London media will turn its attention to the exit poll. Prefaced by a cheesy build-up, Puffins might be advised to delay tuning in to the [more…]
Politics
Polling Predictions #21
As you read this we stand on the edge of history, Opinion Polls are not allowed to be published on election day so we can expect a flurry of them by the Wednesday. History may [more…]
20th Century
Desert Mysteries Redux – Part One
In the original Desert Mysteries series, I wrote about a 1939 edition of Blackwood’s magazine bought at an antiques fair that led me to research the lives of the men who had read it and [more…]
Elections
A Tale of Three Manifestos
The manifestos came thick and fast throughout June for the General Election being held on July 4th 2024. 100 parties are involved, standing anything from 635 candidates to just one, with only eight parties fielding [more…]