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Prosper UK and David Gauke: Good luck, I guess
One might regard their support of Prosper UK with scepticism: is it driven by principle or opportunism?
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Unfinished business
I’m lying down on the road. All is well. I can stop now. There’s a moment of sweet surrender. All is well.
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The Chorleywood Thunderer
The majority of my letters to the Financial Times made it into print: ten were published out of perhaps fifteen between 2010 and 2015. This might be because they were well-written, relevant, incisive and witty. Or maybe the FT was just a sucker for free content.
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Good and bad in disposable TV
I have never been able to watch more than two minutes of this hyped up, whooping celebration of mediocrity and third division “celebrities”.
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Navigating Politics in International Athletics 1960-84 by Fred Holder
Fred Holder was Honorary Secretary of the International Amateur Athletic Federation from 1960-1984. In 1998 he wrote a fascinating insider’s account of this turbulent period of athletics, never before made public.
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At the birth of The Animals
“I loved Newcastle so much that I failed my exams. I probably should not have gone clubbing during re-sits with Alan Price and Eric Burdon before they got together as The Animals and released House of the Rising Sun.” Wait, what???!!!
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A hoarder? Excuse me, I’m an archivist.
I have a schedule listing the A-level and S-Level results of my entire 6th-form cohort: that has enabled me to intimidate former schoolmates with my knowledge of their shortcomings for half a century.
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Iggy’s lust for life undimmed
Once on stage he was a wild beast. The crowd, a very broad spread of ages, greeted him as the returning hero which he is: the last survivor of the three godfathers of punk, since we lost Bowie and Reed.
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What the song meant to her
Its aching regret makes it one of the most powerful songs in musical theatre.
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The case for Screaming Lord Sutch
Can any other British politician match his record of policy delivery?
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George and the glis-glis wars
“Are you or your wife squeamish?” he asked. George, normally a compassionate, politely spoken and gentle man, had been pushed to the edge, as was evident from his reply.
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John Didcock: celebrating a Watford Grammar School legend at 90
It’s quite easy to teach a good pupil. But to connect, as he did, with the more difficult ones, is something special and rare.
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A Complete Unknown – Bob Dylan
For a hero of the peace and love generation, he sure harboured a lot of hate.
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Chronicles of my Holiday Wanderings (1891-1901) by Harry Bond
From September 1891 until April 1901 Harry kept a meticulous record of his holidays: some by train, some by boat and some by bicycle. It is a fascinating record of a more leisurely age of tourism.
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whatthedickens.com – a play by Philip Blackshaw
Former teacher Philip Blackshaw wrote and directed this excellent school play which serves as an introduction to the work of Charles Dickens.
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Ramblings 