Johnson’s Gamble that Backfired
If anyone was still in denial about the level of corruption at the heart of government, they shouldn’t be now. It was ruled that Owen Paterson had broken the code of conduct when he lobbied ministers at the Department for International Trade and officials at the Food Standards Agency (FSA). This was carried out on behalf of two companies. For this lobbying, he was paid £100,000 a year by the healthcare company Randox and £12,000 by ...
Pomp, Ceremony & Graduation
I went to my son’s graduation last night. It was not something I have experienced before, so I was not sure what to expect. The drive down to Bournemouth on a dark Monday evening was straightforward, apart from a bit of a standard Bob Lethaby debacle with the parking. In the Reception I eventually arrived at the BIC fully armed with my ticket and negative Covid-19 test, only to be asked for neither. I stood around, feeling a little lost ...
Caring for the Environment – That’s for Snowflakes
When I was out and about in the northern countryside last week, a Twitter shitstorm was kicking off, quite literally. It was all to do with water companies pumping raw sewage into Britain’s coastlines and rivers. Amendment & U-Turns In case you hadn’t noticed, it was all about an amendment in the Environment Bill. It was put forward by the Duke of Wellington, no less. The amendment was, on paper, a reasonable one. It was to ...
The Dales, The Lakes and The Peaks!
It was good to head up north for a few days. We left on Saturday morning and made tracks towards Lancaster, the home of Jennifer’s son whilst he studies at university. All seemed well as we came off the A303 and had a straightforward trip up the A34, over the Chilterns and towards Oxford. Once past Oxford, things turned ugly. A 4-mile tailback all the way to the M40 set the precedent for a day in stop start traffic. The stuttering journey ...
The Smell of the Seasons that Take us Back in Time
Sometimes, when I am out walking, I smell the change of the season and it sends me spiralling back to my youth. I can only think that this is because after childhood, we spend decades indoors at home, in the office, or on the factory floor. Therefore, when we get out more later in life, the smells remind us of a time when they were constantly around us. I wonder what smells 21st Century kids will recognise when they are older? The stench ...