Author Archives: bernardporter2013

Keir Starmer presents as the antithesis of Boris Johnson, and is all the more welcome for that. In 1945 Clement Attlee was a bit of a dullard too. Each offered serious ‘change’ in Britain’s domestic politics, after a turbulent period … Continue reading →

The suburb next to ours is called Sandsborg. It has a swimming pool for the elderly and disabled, water 30 degrees C, lots of equipment for crocks like me, staffed by people who can get you in and out of … Continue reading →

A correspondent asks me what I have against golf. (See https://bernardjporter.com/2024/09/19/zeitgeists/, btl.) Well, it’s not only Trump. (Who apparently cheats at it.) Firstly, there’s the fact that it has gobbled up so much of our beautiful English countryside, with its … Continue reading →

In 19th-century Britain – and probably around the world – ‘democracy’ was opposed and resisted mainly on the grounds that it would enfranchise the unlettered and stupid, who were unfitted to make the sorts of intelligent decisions on which stable … Continue reading →

Context is important. All serious historians know this. It’s what makes us chary of making judgments of people’s actions in the past; actions which could in fact be largely attributable to the Zeitgeists within which they acted. That won’t entirely … Continue reading →

Don’t you miss Gordon? I do. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/sep/17/europe-far-right-appeasement-france-populist-progressive

I don’t remember ever subscribing to The Daily Telegraph web version, but its front-page headlines come up on my computer every day. What strikes me is how many of these have to do with money: how to make more of … Continue reading →

Now for something serious, historical and (probably) boring. This is going over old ground for me. History (like life) is complicated. I feel that it’s been one of my missions over the past fifty-odd years – if that doesn’t sound … Continue reading →

‘…your Mum and Dad. They may not mean to, but they do.’ (That’s Philip Larkin, of course.) – I was going to use that quote in a post here, to hook a bit of autobiography on to. In particular I … Continue reading →

Back from the UK after a month there, and travelling through northern Europe on the way back to Sweden, the differences between the two (or several) places appear stark. Of course this might be because the part of England I … Continue reading →