Monthly Archives: August 2021

The Entropy of England—III

Posted on August 30, 2021 by davidsberry

The English in British Clothing The Georgian cultural package was British, not English. The gentry, lairds and clan chiefs of “North Britain” were no longer dragooned by Cromwellian English populism, but invited to partake in a multilingual, classically branded culture … Continue reading →

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The Entropy of England—II

Posted on August 28, 2021 by davidsberry

Is it English to Be Nationalist?  “Welsh, Irish and Scots nationalisms could all be catered for, but English nationalism, however, cannot”. —Winston Churchill, Westminster Gazette 1912            For the last millennium, English nationalism appears to have suffered from a kind … Continue reading →

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The Entropy of England—I

Posted on August 26, 2021 by davidsberry

Fragmentary Foundations  “What do they know of England who only England know?” —Rudyard Kipling Brexit and its aftermath have brought a renewed focus on what it means to be British. Cabinet Ministers giving endless Covid briefings in front of union … Continue reading →

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Can You Canute?

Posted on August 21, 2021 by davidsberry

(Note: this is the column I would like to have written for my local paper, The East Lothian Courier, but was constrained to half the words and neither of the maps) The new agreement between the SNP and Greens to … Continue reading →

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The Two Trillion Dollar Tragedy III

Posted on August 11, 2021 by davidsberry

On the Laws of Engineering A mere four days after the first part of this article was published, the tally of Afghan provincial capitals taken by the Taliban has tripled to nine—a full quarter of the total—and some 65% of … Continue reading →

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The Two Trillion Dollar Tragedy II

Posted on August 9, 2021 by davidsberry

On The Conquest of Quagmires Two days on, and three more provincial capitals in Afghanistan have fallen to the Taliban. None of these is from  the strategic trio of Herat, Khandahar or Jalalabad in the news over the weekend, Instead, … Continue reading →

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The Two Trillion Dollar Tragedy I

Posted on August 7, 2021 by davidsberry

On Lessons from Afvietmaliastan Readers un search of an upbeat and inspirational read are advised not to read on. These few hundred words are an attempt to place the slow car crash that is Afghanistan in context. If you are … Continue reading →

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The Other Sceptr’d Isle V

Posted on August 3, 2021 by davidsberry

The Future? (Part 5 of 5) t takes a brass neck and a boatload of optimism to predict what might occur in Ulster over the next decade. But one thing is clear: to continue the peace process and a prosperous … Continue reading →

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The Other Sceptr’d Isle IV

Posted on August 1, 2021 by davidsberry

The Crunch (Part 4 of 5) It takes a brass neck and a boatload of optimism to predict what might occur in Ulster over the next decade. But one thing is clear: to continue the peace process and a prosperous … Continue reading →

Posted in Community, Politics | 4 Comments