Author Archives: davidsberry

About davidsberry

Local ex-councillor, tour guide and database designer. Keen on wildlife, history, boats and music. Retired in 2017.

Playing with Fire in the Oilfields

Posted on June 21, 2019

Ever since the bureaucrats of Britain and France made a pig’s ear of their arbitrary dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire a century ago, the Middle East has been the world’s most recidivist hot-spots for unrest. This might not have mattered … Continue reading →

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The Coronation of Clown Prince Boris

Posted on June 18, 2019

Most normal people are fed up with the ferrets-in-a-sack natutre of the Brexit debate and are rapidly approaching a similar degree of annoyance with the angels-on-pinheads sideshow of the Tory leadership contest. The combination of a flawed parliamentary system of … Continue reading →

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Selective Centenary Silence

Posted on June 12, 2019

Last week it would have been difficult to avoid high-profile commemoration of D-Day’s 75th anniversary last Thursday. But it is interesting what the British State chooses to commemorate and those it studiously ignores. Ordinarily, a centenary is an even-higher profile … Continue reading →

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Charity Chiefs—Paragons or Parasites?

Posted on June 7, 2019

Ten years of austerity have put the squeeze on public spending, especially among councils. With any increments being soaked up by the NHS and ballooning demands on Social Work, much of the social burden had fallen on the so-called ‘Third … Continue reading →

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A Perspective on D-Day

Posted on June 5, 2019

June 5th saw extensive ceremonies around Portsmouth, followed by further ceremonies in Normandy on June 6th itself to mark the 75th anniversary of the Normandy landings when Western Allies stormed ashore at the beginning of a year-long drive to defeat … Continue reading →

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The Poem Is Mightier Than the Gun

Posted on May 30, 2019

My California friend Jeanne Watson has penned many fine, eloquent poems over the forty years I have known her. But none touched me as this one did, capturing as it does the anguished despair of most Americans at the excessive … Continue reading →

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Bowling for Brexit

Posted on May 27, 2019

Neither the most inventive writer, nor the most learned historian could ever have come up with the script for an opéra bouffe, such as has played out at Westminster over the last few years. In good Pantomime tradition, the lead … Continue reading →

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It’s The Economy, Stupid!

Posted on May 19, 2019

Bill Clinton knew a thing o two when he coined this phrase a quarter century ago to bolstwe his (successful) campaign to be US President.  Times may have changed bit the appropriateness of the phrase has not. Today’s Sunday papers … Continue reading →

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Makes Me Cross Rail

Posted on April 30, 2019

Even the casual visitor to London must be aware of its sprawling public transport network. The world-famous backbone to this is the London Underground, universally known as ‘The Tube”. Latest in its many extensions is the Elizabeth Line, also known … Continue reading →

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The Other Island

Posted on April 24, 2019

In 834 blogs, a similar number of newspaper columns and over 25 years engaged in politics you will find little mention of Ireland. This is not because of indifference to that beautiful island or to its fellow Celtic people and … Continue reading →

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