Elections
Reform’s new clothes
Ever since that rogue Bill Clinton came up with his triangulation thing there has been a consensus in British politics that you have to occupy the centre ground to have any chance of winning an [more…]
Literature
Postcard from Thailand Part II
04-05 January We had left Heathrow on 2nd January, arriving in Bangkok in the afternoon of the 3rd – our first full day in Thailand would therefore be the 4th which just so happened to [more…]
Human Interest
The Italian Job, Part 1
The story of a Road Trip to give the late Mrs F a perfect send off after her unexpected departure from this world and what I wanted to do to give her the perfect send [more…]
20th Century
An (Algaes’ Eye) View From The Greenhouse; An Civil Society….Innit?
I may have mentioned (I could check back, but I can’t be bothered) that we had an early harvest of small, not very tasty and far from sweet strawberries, following the early warm spell back [more…]
Health
What’s special about special needs?
The Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, has promised a statement on Special Education Needs and Disability (SEND) in the autumn. The driver is largely money. Local authorities have retained financial responsibility for SEND [more…]
Drinking
Cruising to the Canaries – Part Three
Day 10 – Monday, at sea I awoke just after six thirty to scattered cloud and a bit of movement. We are on a fast run for this ship, about 20 knots, to Cadiz for [more…]
Communism
Net Migration
One of the migration statistics that really annoys me is net migration. This is obviously immigration minus emigration. It is a basically pointless measurement aimed mostly at avoiding the charge of racism. Guilty as charged [more…]
Literature
Embers of The Affair, Part Three
A la recherche du temps perdu (Proust) Together again Lightly falling, sunlight drawing Motes that dance and hue the air Shafts of colour, space and lightness, Draw me to you point the stair. Ah your [more…]
Animals
Larry’s Diary, Week Two Hundred And Eighty-Eight
Monday Good morning all, it was very wet in London when I hurried down the garden this morning. I was delighted to find Felix Chicken in my bowl when I got back. I hear that [more…]