Category Archives: Uncategorized

I have to confess – should it be a matter for ‘confession’? – that I’m entirely in agreement with Jo Johnson, the Tory Universities Minister (and brother of the sillier Johnson), when he opposes student bodies enforcing ‘no-platform’ policies on … Continue reading →

So it will all have been worthwhile! – From today’s Sun: UK to get its iconic dark blue passport back in stunning Brexit victory for The Sun. The Government has agreed to our demand to scrap the EU’s burgundy model, … Continue reading →

I can’t see this turning out well. Opinions are too inflamed. Not, I suspect, the opinions of the majority of people, who are left bewildered by the whole European debate, and seem not greatly concerned about how it will end. … Continue reading →

It should be generally accepted, and indeed self-evident, that opposition to the policies of the government of Israel is not necessarily the same as ‘anti-semitism’. Yet that conflation seems to form the basis of most of the criticism that is … Continue reading →

From last year: Jul

The House of Lords is a much maligned institution, and rightly so in most cases. Just occasionally, however, it fulfils an essential democratic function, by modifying legislation which has been too hastily drawn up in the Commons, or by directly … Continue reading →

After my last ‘Dickens’ post I was sent this. Thank you, Lucy Franco!

Just back from a superb staged version of Dickens’s A Christmas Carol at Folkoperan in Stockholm. It was in English, but that didn’t deter a packed house of Swedes. The story still resonates today – sadly so. The Victorian attitudes towards … Continue reading →

I’ve never been one of those pedagogues who bothered much about students’ spelling and grammar. Some people just can’t spell. It doesn’t necessarily mean they’re stupid. I always used to correct their spelling, but never deducted marks for it, and … Continue reading →

When I was at school and in my first year at university, almost the only British history we were taught was ‘Constitutional’. That was the sort with the broad liberal theme, about the growth of Parliament and its ascendency over … Continue reading →