Vladimir Putin is a tyrant, ill and more dangerous to to peace in Europe than anyone since Adolf Hitler. He is not sabre rattling. He is going to drop a radioactive charge of some kind on the lands in Ukraine he is losing and may even explode several across the entire country. He won’t mind…
Knowing
They tell me Rishi Sunak (Rishi means sage or ray of light and Sunak charm or friendliness) cannot possibly know what it is like to be poor in the UK today. He does not know what it means to be out of funds before the end of the month with bills still to pay. Why…
China Breaks Easily
The thing we notice when looking at the history of Russia and China is that they are two societies where the secret police have always been in evidence. The Czars and the Emperors employed them extensively and anyone thought to undermine society was on the watch list and if not imprisoned, restricted. So It comes…
The Sweetness of Autumn
When I was younger I thought there were three seasons: The long daylight and warm one, the leafy one where I could kick up leaves and the cold one. I guess that is why even today I tend to think of winter as being longer than most other people because it is still chilly in…
Rejoin
Today I was in London on the first protest march since I was in my 20s. It was the rejoin the EU march to Parliament Square. For some reason my right leg hurt like hell and I was almost limping but I did the march. I didn’t stay for the speeches – I have my…
Contemporary Art
Opinions on art have always been divided. There are many contemporaries of artists we hold is esteem who were denigrated in their day for any number of reasons. That is why men like William Hazlett are so special because it takes a particular kind of brain to see the worth of modern writers and artists,…
A Little Light Relief
Sitting at work today – it was a slow day – I scanned the news sections at around 1pm and there I was delighted to see the resignation of the shortest span of Priministerial leadership in British history. Since when I have heard Conservatives talk about grown-up. mature government and even whispering bring Boris back….
Careless Love
I threw my heart to the wind – Catch it, catch it, I cried – The wind replied, replied – Your heart is mine, is mine – Torrents of rain fell down The skies became deep black; I called to the wind for my heart – Give it back, give it back. And the thunder…
Writing About
… someone you grew up with and was your mother is not easy. Shänne Sands died in 2016 and up to this year I was drawing around the edges, taking snippets here and there from letters and what i know and of course, her poems and diaries. But I couldn’t take too much at one…
Opportunism Ends
Our present first minister, called Liz Truss because foreshortening first names is popular, has fallen foul of the most obvious of all economic truths: moderate speed. Moderate speed takes into account the entirety of the complexities of country wide economy and whatever your aims, and especially when they are major ones, you go step by…