Category: Political

Jessie Donaldson, Annie Besant, Rebecca, Bessie Smith, and all that jazz.

Rebecca Riots "Better remain silent, better not even think, if you are not prepared to act". So wrote Annie Besant, who was born in London in 1847. Radical sentiments for a radical woman. She might have had Jessie Donaldson in mind. Jesse was born in Bristol in 1799 and later moved to Swansea where she … Continue reading Jessie Donaldson, Annie Besant, Rebecca, Bessie Smith, and all that jazz. →

The Slow Loris: a tale of a dilatory Tory.

There was a sad Tory called Boris With the acuity of a slow loris He just hid in his bed, poured lies from his head and quoted from Homer and Horace. Notes: Slow: from Middle English/ Old English meaning Sluggish, Inert, Slothful, Late, Tardy, Torpid, Blunt, Dull, Faint, Weak, Slack Loris: from the Dutch, meaning … Continue reading The Slow Loris: a tale of a dilatory Tory. →

Keir Starmer: Labour’s Rising Lion or a Pink Panther with a blue rinse?

It may not deserve one, but this country needs a real opposition, and it needs one now! Not polite and respectful but loud, angry and responsive to people’s demands.  Given that the government has a large majority of moral-free members, prepared to vote through any old line that they are told to support, I would … Continue reading Keir Starmer: Labour’s Rising Lion or a Pink Panther with a blue rinse? →

Old Man Cummings had a farm…

I lie, you lie, low. Brought to you by Dom and Dummer – as straight as a hairpin bend on the A67 - with support from The Cabinet of Curiosities  A song for the easily-led, concocted in just one afternoon but no-one can remember the details of quite how it was done. I intended to … Continue reading Old Man Cummings had a farm… →

Floodgates, Watergates, Surrogates, and Castigates

When my local floodgates opened First of all, where do all these bloody "Gates" come from?  They are clearly not all offspring of Bill & Melinda, so what’s the deal? I was reading Caitlin Johnstone's recent blog on Obamagate  https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2020/05/14/why-obamagate-will-never-lead-to-anything-of-significance/, which is well worth a read by the way, when her use of the word … Continue reading Floodgates, Watergates, Surrogates, and Castigates →

♫ No, you’re not too late to isolate, the natives are just dying♫

Apologies to Bruce Springsteen and to Mary, Queen of Arkansas This line, the original being No, you're not too late to desecrate, the servants are just rising, has been one that has stuck with me for years.  It and its variants, have sprung, unbidden, into my head at all sorts of times, including in an … Continue reading ♫ No, you’re not too late to isolate, the natives are just dying♫ →

I gotta get outta this place, if it’s the last thing I ever do!

Journal into the unknown...(7) Don't fence me in... It is certainly reasonable to argue that the UK Virus episode started with a belated recognition that we were to be swept up in a Pandemic, which has rapidly progressed to a state, best described as Pandemonic.  That is from a state where the virus was prevalent … Continue reading I gotta get outta this place, if it’s the last thing I ever do! →

Language is just a virus – and there is a new wave of “Emics” on the way!

Laurie Anderson once spoke about language being a virus from outer space, but I don't think even she was fluent in Covid. Big Science, and let's face it, these days Epidemiology is THE Big Science, is revelling in its new found spotlight. You have to admire the gusto with which its exponents polish up old … Continue reading Language is just a virus – and there is a new wave of “Emics” on the way! →

Ground control to Captain Tom

What an upside-down world we live in! We have The Chancellor of The Exchequer of The United Kingdom, appearing on video on the State Broadcaster, extolling the achievement of an admirable man, Captain Tom Moore, who has raised over £23 Million walking around his back yard.  Captain Tom is 99 years old and was accompanied … Continue reading Ground control to Captain Tom →