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Articles by Lavinia Thompson

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About Lavinia Thompson

A university lecturer for many years, both at home and abroad, Lavinia Thompson retired in 2008 and has since taken up freelance journalism. She is currently studying for a distant learning degree in geo-political science and lives in Norwich with her partner. More Posts

It’s going to get worse before it gets better

Yes, that’s right folks – it’s the Dad’s Army theory of the future [Frazer: “We’re Doomed! We’re Doomed!” – Corporal Jones “Don’t panic! Don’t panic!”] – it appears that we’re all going to hell in a handcart! [...]

October 28, 2014 // 0 Comments

The game continues as before … for now

Thank God – or someone – that the UK party political conference season is finally over. I suppose that it was fitting that the Lib-Dems were last to step up to the plate, with their leader Nick Clegg gaining praise for his apparently good delivery of a stirring ‘Call to Arms’ speech as we [...]

October 9, 2014 // 0 Comments

The song remains the same

The political party conference season is almost over. We’ve had those from Labour, the Tories – somehow perhaps missed UKIP’s and the Green’s along the way – and now we’ve got the Lib-Dems’, which is taking place, or has just taken place [it’s difficult to tell] in Glasgow. In a [...]

October 5, 2014 // 0 Comments

Being careful what you wish for

A couple of things have occurred to me in the past 36 hours, in the wake of the Scottish referendum result, its fall-out and the implications for the rest of the UK and indeed the Westminster-based form of parliament. By way of introduction, I refer firstly to the fact that the Scottish referendum [...]

September 22, 2014 // 0 Comments

The longest night

For reasons which need not concern readers of National Rust – they don’t really concern me either – I was up earlier than normal overnight. At 11.40pm to be precise, having gone to bed just two hours previously. A by-product is that I have been able to tune in to Radio Five Live’s Scotland [...]

September 19, 2014 // 0 Comments

It won’t stop here

[Editor’s note: Simon Campion-Brown has been given temporary leave of absence. I was going to use the infamous euphemism ‘Simon Campion-Brown is ill’ but, given the National Rust‘s principles and drive for truth, I prefer to admit to our readers that Simon’s view upon [...]

September 17, 2014 // 0 Comments

Practising the art of the possible

It’s one of life’s truisms, but ultimately all human inter-relations at country-level and above are governed in their extent and effectiveness by the art of diplomacy. Diplomacy, of course, is an esoteric pastime reserved – in Britain at least – for mandarins in the Foreign and [...]

September 12, 2014 // 0 Comments

I never got around to it

For a while now I’ve been thinking of drafting a piece on the West’s complicated and contradictory attempts, through the UN and otherwise, to advance the causes of human rights, oppressed minorities and – well, just the world of geo-politics. This is a distinctly fraught area of human [...]

August 12, 2014 // 0 Comments

Observation and insights

For some time now, the world has been aware that Clive James – Australian author, columnist, television and book reviewer, lyricist and poet – is terminally ill. I have been an admirer of his from the days long ago when he made his name in Britain as The Observer’s television critic and [...]

August 6, 2014 // 0 Comments

Just get on with it!

We have now learned that, under the ‘Maxwellisation’ convention in place regarding official inquiries [whereby those whom – it is intended – will be criticised in a forthcoming report are formally advised in writing of the criticisms concerned], former Labour ministers Tony Blair [...]

July 21, 2014 // 0 Comments

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