My Blog

T he “Unite the Kingdom” rally, led by far-right activist Tommy Robinson on September 13, 2025, in London, drew over 110,000 participants, making it one of the largest right-wing demonstrations in recent UK history. The event focused on anti-immigration and nationalist themes, with supporters waving English and British flags and chanting slogans like “send them home.” Clashes erupted with police and counter-protesters, resulting in 26 officers injured and 25 arrests. The rall

I am English, born in 1945 in the North Western London suburb of Greenford. I was a 'baby boomer' born in March of that year, as the defeat of Germany was becoming increasingly inevitable. My parents would tell me of the terror of the 'buzz bombs' launched across the channel in the Pas-de-Calais region of Northern France, and the buzz of their engines was timed to cut out over London. The most terrifying bit was when their engines cut out . a A few seconds after that, there w

I have been reading Hisham Matar's excellent book, "My Friends." It is a novel about Khaled, a Libyan exile living in London, and his...

The Bridge over the Drina showing the meeting place at the Kapia half way across Ivo Andric standing by the Bridge over the Drina...

I remember being deeply impressed many years ago by reading Flaubert's Madame Bovary, published in 1856. I thought then, and still do...

I've been reading John Buchan's 39 Steps again, which I've done numerous times since I first encountered it as a boy. It's an exciting...

We are all passing into the darkness, that twilight zone, where death is approaching.

The excellent historie of the Merchaunte of Venyse!

The Eroica was the first piece of music which really got through to my uncertain, adolescent self.

Dedicated to the memory of my oldest friend, Tony Smith (Sept 1944 - Dec 2022).