It has not been an edifying experience. As the country’s carnival of democracy slouches towards its inevitable ending, it is hard to say that it is much better for it. We have learned nothing to make us think well of the political class; they appear, given the amount of obfuscation from both sides, not to […]
A Foolish Consistency Read More »
“Hi, my name’s Ken, what’s yours?” Thus, I first met Captain Ken Kirk, a nursing officer in 212 Field Hospital RAMC (V). I was a lieutenant in 205 Scottish General Hospital on attachment to 212 for the summer camp. My work at the University of Edinburgh prevented me from joining my own unit for summer
In the summer of 1990, I graduated from academe’s cloisters and entered the mammonish world of sales. Frankly, it was a McJob as I had no idea what career to pursue. It meant I had to move to a market town quite a distance from my home town and which bordered some remote spaces where
To Speak or Not to Speak Read More »
The stark divide between genuine inequality and that which the grievance industry claims to be fighting, is now at comedic proportions. ‘I was the first Muslim leader of a western democracy, and I say Islamophobia has poisoned our politics’ Humza Yousaf told us earlier this week, without a trace of irony. That’s right Humza baby!
The Hidden Perils of Equity Read More »
The late Anglo-American writer, Christopher Hitchens, once declared to journalist Alice Fordham the following: “My attitude to posters with swastikas on them has always been the same. They should be ripped down.” Hitchens was right: the swastika is viscerally provocative. Not for Hindus, of course, for whom it is an ancient symbol of good luck
Inverted Red Triangles Read More »
An enduring truth of the horrors of war, is that those who survive them rarely speak thereof. It’s always those who managed to avoid combat that love to regale strangers with tall tales. The same, I believe, goes for the experience of genuine hardship. Those who escape abject poverty have scant reason to relive the
“A person often meets his fate on the road he took to avoid it” Jean de la Fontaine That people might, by trying to avoid something, make it more likely is an idea which has fascinated me since I was a child. Whichever comic (remember them?) I took (Hotspur?) featured a story one week
I was visiting a UK university recently, and a colleague informed me that all the meat they served in their dining rooms was Halal. The only choice for staff and students who preferred their meat to come from the 21st century rather than the Middle Ages was to go for the vegetarian option which, to
Force-feeding Islam Read More »
Rightly do D-Day and the Normandy beach landings grip the imagination. Its scale was immense: it was the largest seaborne invasion in history involving thousands of boats, ships and aircraft and around 160,000 troops from the US, the UK, Canada, Australia, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Greece, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. (If I
They Gave Their Today Read More »
Ladies and gentlemen, I regret we need to have a word about Rishi. While many gaffes and faux pas may be overlooked in public life, an ostensive lack of patriotism from a sitting Conservative Prime Minister is unlikely to be forgiven – particularly with an election merely weeks away. When the likes of Jeremy Corbyn
Sunak’s Mask Slips Read More »
