Iran Attacks Israel – What Will History Say?
Much of the art of politics is fitting a narrative that suits your purposes to recent events. A big event like the 300 or more missiles that Iran rained down on Israel spawns a number of them. Israel wants to be both the victim and the victor – earning the right to retaliate and to […]
The Great Passion by James Runcie
James Runcie recreates what it must have been like to be there when Bach completed the St Mathew Passion,
Is The Pound Stopping Us Rejoining the EU?
The Pound is no obstacle to rejoining. Here’s the reasons.
Why Support the European Union? – the Schumann declaration 1950
A foundational document of the European Union still inspires.
Three Daughters of Eve by Elif Shafa
A book by a Turkish author makes me think about national identity.
Last Night of the Proms 2023
I am one of those people who love the last night of the Proms, and I make a point of being in to watch it on the television. My personal favourite bit is the sea songs. But the whole event is usually great, and the standard of the music is often spectacular. And the waving […]
Station to Station by David Bowie
The first rock album I bought was Bowie’s Station to Station. It’s taken me nearly 50 years to appreciate it.
Byzantium by John Julius Norwich
A three volume history of the wars, politics and intrigues of the Byzantine Empire.
The History of the Medieval World by Susan Wise Bauer
A breezy narrative covering a lot of history but not in much depth.
I Belong To The Brexit Generation
I was born in 1960 and so was 17 when Richard Hell and the Voidoids released ‘Blank Generation’. The title of this post is a play on the title of the song. It wasn’t a huge hit when it first came out and it hasn’t particularly stood the test of time, so I imagine you’d […]