Great Easton: Leicestershire ironstone and thatchI ventured out into the Notswolds today. By changing at Corby, you can reach Great Easton by bus (though only on Wednesdays and Saturdays). It's a pretty village, though perhaps without quite as much character as Hallaton or Medbourne, and it still has a pub and a little coffee shop. So it was well worth the visit. (more) |
The Joy of Six 1509"Orbán built a glittering façade of think tanks, conferences and podcasts on a brittle framework of prefab ideas and exorbitant contractors' fees, only for it all to collapse in the blink of an eye. Not in anything its personalities actually wrote or said, but in the history of its decline and fall, does the Budapest scene express that sentiment most Christian: omnia vanitas, memento mori." Franz Pokorny looks at the impact of the death of Orbánism on the European right. Dan Reed, who directed the explosive documentary Leaving Neverland seven years ago, has come to a sad conclusion: "People don't ... (more) |
Iranian Government steps up executions under cover of Trump's warI remember in the first two and a half months of the year feeling buoyant that perhaps the end of the suffering had come for the people of Iran. After almost 50 years of oppression by a succession of mad Mullahs, it seemed the extremist Moslems were being swept aside as millions of young people went onto the streets of cities across Iran. It was not just young people. There were many other groups who simply could not make a living in the austere economic conditions that the Mullahs had created as they refused to accept conditions of basic human ... (more) |
How to support Tom Gordon, Helen Morgan and Wendy Chamberlain in the London MarathonThree of our MPs will be on the carb loading today as they prepare to take part in the London Marathon tomorrow. Tom Gordon, Helen Morgan and Wendy Chamberlain are tackling the 26 mile, 385 yard course starting in Blackheath and finishing on the Mall. Here at LDV Towers we have our app set up to track them, despite our slight reservations about technology that allows you to do this. Helen's number is 62224, Tom's is 59608 and Wendy's is 72506. It would be incredibly motivating for them if they could see their fundraising totals rise, so here's how you ... (more) |
The Mandelson Debacle - some implicationsHow did His Majesty's Government get itself in such an integrity-destroying tangle over Peter Mandelson's appointment as Ambassador to the USA? The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, 10 Downing Street, Cabinet Office, Security Services and the senior Civil Service have all faced serious potential reputational damage. What's at the root of this? Flashback to the late 1970s and early 1980s. To an extent the early 1970s was the heyday of Soviet Socialism. There was much admiration of the Soviet system even among the British middle classes, albeit more in theory than in practice. At my university there were several active ... (more) |
Observations of an Expat: Energy SecurityEnergy Security. The Ukraine War made it a hot topic for a Europe dependent on Russian oil and gas. The Iran War – alongside the climate change debate – has revived the issue for the rest of the world. The world's main fossil fuel production centres are unstable. As a result, demand is growing to replace oil and gas with renewable energy. Furthermore, the renewable energy should be produced in areas which the consuming countries control. Many countries are already doing just that. Some better than others. Surprisingly, Trump's "drill, baby, drill" America does well when it comes to renewable ... (more) |
An historic structureMumbles Pier was opened to the public on the 10th May 1898, the project was carried out by seasoned pier specialists Mayoh and Haley and was overseen and designed by celebrated Victorian engineer W.Sutcliffe Marsh. The pier's website says that the 835ft structure cost £10,000 to complete, and its completion which was relatively late in the history of Piers, takes on many of the architectural successes learnt from other piers all over the country. They add that along with the opening of the Pier came the extension of the Mumbles Railway line from Oystermouth to the newly built Pier Terminus: ... (more) |