Alexei Sayle dandled the infant Jacob Rees-Mogg on his kneeCan it be true? It can. Back in 2016 Alexei Sayle gave an interview to the Waterstones website as part of the publicity campaign for Thatcher Stole My Trousers, the second volume of his memoirs. In the course of it he recalled: When I was a student at Chelsea School of Art in the early 70s, feeling very lost and out of my depth, the only lecturer who was really nice to me was a woman called Anne Rees-Mogg who taught Film Studies. Anne involved herself to a greater degree than the rest of the staff with her students, particularly ... (more) |
Faces and Places exhibition at the Alfred East Gallery, KetteringYesterday, after breakfast at Kafe Blok across the road, I visited the reopened Alfred East Gallery in Kettering. The Faces and Places exhibition put on for its reopening fills both rooms of the gallery. One is largely devoted to the work of Alfred East and the other to that of another Kettering artist, Thomas Cooper Gotch. East had a high reputation at his death in 1913, but is not well known today. This video clip from the BBC's Antiques Roadshow gives a fair summation of his strengths and weaknesses as a painter. Gotch is more interesting to the modern eye, ... (more) |
Observations of an ex pat: UN or League of NationsThe tenure of António Guterres as Secretary-Geeneral of the United Nations ends on the last day of this year. His successor will inherit an organisation struggling to maintain its relevance in a world increasingly divided by war, nationalism and great-power rivalry. Guterres is a former Portuguese prime minister and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, His decade at the helm has been marked by the UN becoming increasingly irrelevant as an instrument for resolving international conflicts. His critics argue that Guterres has been too cautious, too willing to accommodate power and ineffective in confronting international aggression. It has, in short, ... (more) |
ALDC's by-election report - 13 November 2026[IMG: 4 parallel white vertical lines on orange background ALDC logo] Six principal authority by-elections took place across England on Thursday 12th November. Labour were defending three seats (Croft Baker in North East Lincolnshire, Cheddleton in Staffordshire Moorlands, and Huncoat in Hyndburn), Independents defended two seats (Hindley Green in Wigan and Failsworth West in Oldham), and Reform UK defended one seat (Bosmere in Suffolk). On paper, it looked like a productive night for Reform UK with three gains against one loss to the Conservatives. Beneath the headlines, however, Reform's vote share fell in five of the six contests—including four double-digit ... (more) |
Latest voting intention and leadership ratings opinion pollsWelcome to my summary of the latest national voting intention polls for the next general election, along with the latest MRP projections and party leadership ratings. If you'd like to find out more about how polls work, how reliable they are and how to make sense of them, check out my book, Polling UnPacked: the History, Uses and Abuses of Political Opinion Polls, or sign up for my weekly email, The Week in Polls: General election voting intention polls PollsterConLabLDGrnRefLab leadFieldwork Find Out Now 21% (nc) 27% (-1) 9% (+1) 12% (-1) 21% (+1) 6% (vs C/R) 11-12/11 GB Survation ... (more) |
A magnificent Norman AbbeyMargam Abbey was a Cistercian monastery, located in the village of Margam, a suburb of modern Port Talbot in Wales. The nave of the abbey church is still in use as the church of St Mary in the Church in Wales. Wikipedia records that the abbey was founded in 1147 as a daughter house of Clairvaux by Robert, Earl of Gloucester, and was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. They say that early Christian crosses found in the close vicinity and conserved in the nearby Margam Stones Museum suggest the existence of an earlier Celtic monastic community: The abbey was ... (more) |
A 14-year-old Mick Jagger demonstrates rock climbing on televisionHow come Mick Jagger can still strut his stuff on stage even though he's in his eighties? Part of it is his fitness regime, a "combination of gym sessions, dancing, running, swimming, cycling, kickboxing, yoga and Pilates". And part must be an active youth. Mick's father, Basil Joe Jagger, was a PE teacher and gymnast who helped popularise basketball in Britain. You can see a 14-year-old Mick and his dad in the video above, which is taken from a 1959 edition of the ATV children's programme Seeing Sport. (more) |
PrisonsA few weeks ago I caught the third episode of the third series of Jimmy McGovern's drama "Time" on BBCTV. I was so moved by it that I have now watched the earlier episodes and the first two series on BBC I-player. They can all be found here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p09fs2qh/time Each episodes is filled with countless upsetting incidents which illustrate that the worst effect of being in prison is not the loss of liberty but the constant, constant, fear of abuse or assault from other prisoners. I highlight just one incident from each of the series which particularly struck me. In ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1606"The world's biggest climate conference kicked off today in Antalya, Turkey, a country known for growing political repression. Under an unusual compromise, Turkey is hosting, but Australia's government will preside over negotiations among more than 190 nations seeking to address the climate crisis. And for the third year in a row, one problem underscores all the others: Why can't anyone say 'fossil fuels'?" Rachel Santarsiero reports from COP31. Mic Wright takes aim at Jonathan Ross: "None of this is to say that Ross is responsible for Brand's crimes or knew about the truth behind his performance nor that he carries ... (more) |
Why Kierkegaard should be the official philosopher of Scotland supportersMy grasp of the academic discipline of philosophy is rudimentary at best, it all being too abstract for my literal mind. But being a Scotland supporter at rugby, football and indeed other sports teaches me to be philosophical. This year more than ever. It started with comment about whether this might be the year for the Scottish men's rugby team to challenge for a Six Nations title. Yet the prospects were seriously dented at the outset on a rainy February day in Rome and killed off a few weeks later in Dublin. Then we had the men's football team's first ... (more) |