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Blair exchanges with Bush may be made public

The media is reporting today that some of the conversations and/or exchanges between Tony Blair and US president George W. Bush prior to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 may now be made public. This development may have implications for the Chilcot Inquiry, whose report was due over two years ago but [...]

December 30, 2013 // 0 Comments

Scene from village life

Where my father lives, there are two villages close together and one rector covers both. This means that 8.00am communion, which my father habitually attends in order to avoid a sermon, alternates – week by week – between the two. My father was up at 6.30am this morning, a bit earlier than [...]

December 29, 2013 // 0 Comments

A trend to be concerned about

Britain’s main political parties are worried about what they perceive as progressive voter apathy. Fewer people are actually bothering to sign up as party members and the percentages voting – in both General and local elections – are declining. Various attempts to arrest the slide, such as [...]

December 29, 2013 // 0 Comments

So much for the ‘good old days’ …

I’m spending a few days with my ancient father, which necessarily means, as regards the television schedules, that old favourites are more of a priority than what might be termed ‘the shock of the new’. I see today that Mrs Brown’s Boys, which I find hilarious, has come out top of the [...]

December 27, 2013 // 0 Comments

That’s the Big One over …

Phew – well, that’s another annual day of festive excess survived! The Stuarts converged upon Wandsworth shortly before 9.00am yesterday for more fun, dietary blow-outs and general mayhem. I had taken an early decision to ‘pass’ on any snacks before lunch, so sat by and watched as [...]

December 26, 2013 // 0 Comments

Farewell but not goodbye

Since yesterday the media has be awash with tributes to David Coleman, one of the all-time great sporting commentators, who has died at the age of 87. Greater authorities than your author today have produced acres of newsprint and many memorable personal reflections upon Coleman’s outstanding [...]

December 22, 2013 // 0 Comments

Politics and the military – an uneasy mix

Prime minister David Cameron strayed onto dangerous ground earlier this week when, during a lightning visit to British forces in Afghanistan, he stated that our official withdrawal from that war-torn country by the end of 2014 would be with heads held high and a sense of ‘mission [...]

December 19, 2013 // 0 Comments

When deafening silence of politicians speaks volumes

In the wake of yesterday’s publicity over the interim report of the independent Airports Commission, chaired by Sir Howard Davies, into the future of commercial aviation in the UK – contrary to some expectations, listing one Gatwick and two Heathrow schemes on a shortlist of three, with [...]

December 18, 2013 // 0 Comments

An incident on the way to a rugby match

On my way down to the Stoop this afternoon for this afternoon’s Heineken Cup clash between Harlequins and Racing Metro, I happened to be listening to a studio discussion on Radio Five Live. The subject was that of CCTV cameras being installed in taxi cabs. Apparently, one council that had taken [...]

December 15, 2013 // 0 Comments

Well, what do you know …?

Today I return, albeit briefly, to the subject of MPs salaries – and with just a smidgeon of reluctance, borne of not wishing to flog a dead horse. I noticed this weekend, on the website of The Guardian/Observer, a report upon the findings of economists Professor Naci Mocan and Professor Duha [...]

December 15, 2013 // 0 Comments

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