The Joy of Six 1556"Dartford Warblers skim across the heather before diving into the vegetation, defying all but the quickest observers. At dusk Nightjars churr from the isolated trees or fly overhead, the males clapping their wings in display flight."David Jobbins mourns what has been lost to the fire at Dunwich Heath. Sam Power explains why Reform UK will find it hard to shake off questions about its donors: "An important thing to note is that the legal onus rests almost entirely on the donor. The party in receipt of the donation simply needs to show that it has conducted a permissibility check on ... (more) |
Tom Arms' World ReviewDonald Trump Trump loves a winner. He is less keen on anyone blocking his objectives. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu used to be the former and is now the latter. Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelensky used to the be latter and is now the former. This was apparent to anyone watching the visits to Washington this week of Zelensky and Netanyahu. Zelensky and Trump were all smiles. Zelensky described the talks as "a good meeting" and the White House used the term "cordial." The bilateral summit was in stark contract to the February 2025 Oval Office showdown when Trump and Vice ... (more) |
Buzzcocks: PromisesSteve Diggle, Buzzcocks' guitarist, described the birth of this song in an interview he gave to Malcolm Wyatt:"Promises was my song, but I left the verses at home! There's a demo where we're having a bit of fun and I'm making the verse up as I go along. As I was doing that, Pete was by the mixing desk, so it was just me, John (Maher, drums) and Steve (Garvey, bass). "We were working out which songs we had, and Pete [Shelley] said, 'I think I've got some verses for that melody.'"The difference was that it was going to be ... (more) |
Westminister needs to tackle its drinking cultureThe Guardian reports on a report by the Institute of Alcohol Studies that argues that Parliament is "Britain's last alcohol-soaked workplace" where MPs are offered free drinks as early as midday despite alcohol-related scandals. The paper says that drinking is commonplace and some MPs have had their stomachs pumped after consuming so much alcohol that they ended up in hospital, one disclosed: The IAS report also found that: * 42% of the MPs interviewed had been offered an alcoholic drink at a work meeting or event on a weekly basis during the previous six months; 13% said that occurred daily. ... (more) |
Under the Influence? A new report on alcohol at WestminsterWhen the newly elected Hannah Spencer - the Green victor in this year's Gorton and Denton by-election - voiced her shock at the role alcohol played at Westminster, other MPs and social media users queued up to patronise her and assure us that everything was fine there. But perhaps they will pay more attention to a new report from the Institute of Alcohol Studies entitled Under the influence? Perspectives of alcohol in the parliamentary workplace among UK MPs and staff. You can read a media release on the institute's website and download the report from there too. The release says: ... (more) |
Bodhana Sivanandan breaks another world age record in chessEmbed from Getty ImagesEngland's chess prodigy Bodhana Sivanandan broke another world age record last week, reports Leonard Barden in the Guardian. At a tournament held in Aix-en-Provence, she achieved her first international master norm at the age of 11 years and four months. This made her the youngest female player to achieve this feat, beating the record of Judit Polgár, who later became the highest-rated female player in history. She didn't manage it until the age of 11 years and 9 months. International master is the title one below grandmaster in chess. To achieve it a player must achieve three ... (more) |
Observations of an Expat: Gaza ScepticPardon my scepticism, but I do not think Trump's recent announcement about Hamas's disarmament is the diplomatic breakthrough that some commentators are claiming. For a start, there is Trump's well-known tendency to jump the diplomatic starting line before the starter has entered the stadium. It is a tendency that has scuppered several delicate diplomatic negotiations. Usually, Trump's over-egged statements are designed to deflect from his failings elsewhere. Success in Gaza shifts focus away from the Iran War, confirmation hearings and the rising price of petrol. Or he may be trying to push either Hamas or Israel into a deal. In ... (more) |
Historic toll house up for saleThe BBC reports that a 19th Century toll house with links to a series of historic riots in Wales during the 1800s is set to go under the hammer at auction. The news site says that the Gate House in Llannon, near Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, was the former money collecting building for the tolls, but was later turned into a two-bedroom detached cottage. Like others in Carmarthenshire, it was a target during the Rebecca Riots, a series of protests against conditions in the rural areas of Wales between 1839 and 1843 led by men with blackened faces disguised as women: ... (more) |