The New Conservative

Roger Watson

Old man writing furiously

From the Man Cave XII

This column finds the occupant of the man cave in low spirits. Strutting my stuff in the gym about ten weeks ago, I overestimated my strength or underestimated the weight of a couple of kettlebells. Initially I thought I had hurt my back, so I paid a visit to the physio – paying a lot

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A letter from Mohammad

A Letter From Mohammad

Mohammad XXXXXXXXX Xxxxxxxxxx Spa Hotel Little XXXXX by-the-sea XXX 3BK 31 August 2025   Dear Mohammad, I’ve been here in England for a few weeks now. Man! It be mental here, I love it! I arrived here a few weeks ago with Mohammad and Mohammad. They was moved on to another hotel as they complained

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Old man writing furiously

From the man cave XI

The man cave remained in Hull while its regular occupant – me – went to Greece with Mrs Watson. This necessitated a prolonged publishing silence, as I was threatened with violence if I sneaked my laptop into my bag or even tried to write anything on my iPad or phone for the duration. My wife’s

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Middle finger

Cancel THIS 

Cancel THIS is surely the book we have all been waiting for. It is hilarious – mostly – and instructive. I say ‘mostly’ because, at times, you must pinch yourself to be reminded that for over two years the citizens of the world went mad with mask mandates and one-way systems in pubs, while the

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London pro Palestine march

No Piss Left to Take

I arrived at Hull station this Saturday to catch the train to London, en route to Heathrow Airport to take a flight to Greece. Across the road, hemmed in by high metal barriers and police vans were a handful of protesters, mainly elderly, waving Union Flags and wearing Union Flag t-shirts. I can only assume

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Old man writing furiously

From the Man Cave X

Either I am going mental or the world is going mental. If it’s a bit of both, then the world surely has the upper hand. The man cave is back where it belongs, in the back garden in Hull. At least we’re here for a week, before Mrs Watson and I take our old bones

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old College, Edinburgh university

Old College, New Guilt

The University of Edinburgh’s comedy show, aptly performed during the Festival Fringe, continues. In June, it brought us the highest-paid Scottish vice-chancellor who does not know how much he is paid. Now it presents us with a report enticingly called Decolonised Transformations: Confronting the University of Edinburgh’s History and Legacies of Enslavement and Colonialism. It is

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