Jeremy Corbyn has convinced me…

Tonight, along with about two thousand other people, I took the opportunity to see Jeremy Corbyn addressing a rally in Leeds.  As it happened, the event was so popular that the hall reached capacity just as we were reaching the front of the queue.  So JC came and stood on the steps of the venue and …

Advertisement

Top Girls and Theresa May

some thoughts on Top Girls and female prime ministers

Weekly Photo Prompt: Bananas

 Drink a pint with Farage, he's your mate Who says Brexit will make Britain great. He's retiring, job done, And the prize that he's won Will be bendy bananas, not straight.         This limerick was written for my weekly photo prompt. Every Monday I share a photo which I like, and taking it as a …

“In Time of the Breaking of Nations” – Thomas Hardy

  Only a man harrowing clods In a slow silent walk With an old horse that stumbles and nods Half asleep as they stalk   Only thin smoke without flame From the heaps of couch grass; Yet this will go onward the same Though Dynasties pass   Yonder a maid and her wight Come whispering …

Bread and Circuses

London, March 2019: "Trust me David, Michael, trust me.  This will work." The two Secretaries of State looked at the Prime Minister doubtfully as he fastened his blue safety helmet, and examined his appearance in the mirror. "Are you sure Boris?" Michael asked, "I mean, today of all days?" "Today is EXACTLY the day!" The …

June 24th 2016: lost a continent, gained … a cat?

Everyone always remembers where they were when .... at this point you can insert the unique cultural reference point of your generation; for my parents it was when JFK was shot, for us up until now it was probably 9:11, but from now on it will be probably be the day Britain voted to leave …

A letter to Brexit

Written in a holiday park in Drenthe, Netherlands June  5th 2016 Dear Brexit, I'm glad we're having some time apart. I know you feel like you've got a lot of things to say in the run up to your big day on June 23rd. But I was starting to find it all a bit overwhelming, …

Weekly Limerick Challenge: Aspire

How lovely to come in joint third on last week's Limerick Challenge! Especially in the light of so many other great entries. This week's theme is "aspire" and once again it's made me come over all political: The PM said "we must aspire, The deficit mustn't get higher." So the libraries were axed While big …

Weekly Limerick Challenge: Feral

I'm not sure this is a limerick because it doesn't scan like one, but here's my political take on this week's challenge from MindAndLifeMatters on the theme 'feral': The man in the suit was more savage by far than the mob throwing rocks at his armoured car, for his friends in high places got tax cuts …

JB Priestley: On wireless sets and world politics

"Supposing your wireless set suddenly stopped working.  Well, perhaps you understand wireless sets.  If so, you set about mending it yourself, and if you have a glimmer of sense, you would go to work fairly slowly, methodically, patiently.  If you don't understand wireless sets, you would call in somebody who does.  But I don't imagine …