Author Archives: davidsberry

About davidsberry

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

America’s Last Tsar

Posted on August 4, 2020

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Because he already acts like he knows everything, Donald Trump will have never read this pithy observation from George Santayana. As the days between now and November’s Presidential election … Continue reading →

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91-Divoc: The UK Has It Backward

Posted on July 29, 2020

The furore over quarantine for all passengers in flights from Spain sprung on hapless vacationers on July 26th seems not just ill-timed but ill-judged. If, as the UK Government claims their sole concern is ensuring the health of British citizens, … Continue reading →

Posted in Politics, Transport | Tagged | 6 Comments

Nippy Sweetie’s Nifty Fifty

Posted on July 19, 2020

July is an intense month for dates ready-registered in your e-diary. From American independence (4th) through Battle of the Boyne (12th_ to Bastille Day (14th) and even the Plot to Assassinate Hitler (20th). Today (19th) is something of a non-day, … Continue reading →

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The Preying Fiends of Eton

Posted on July 4, 2020

The idea of a homogeneous, nation state is a comparatively recent development in history. Originally, mankind organised itself into a few empires, a herd of city statelets and a myriad of tribal lands with simpler cultures sprawling across the globe. … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Politics | Tagged | 1 Comment

Swamped

Posted on June 17, 2020

There is a typically pithy American phrase about losing focus: “When you’re up to your ass in alligators, it’s hard to remember that the original plan was to drain the swamp.” Unfortunately, governments seem particularly prone to suffer such distractions, … Continue reading →

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The Past is a Foreign Country

Posted on June 13, 2020

News in both the UK and the USA has recently highlighted demonstrations revolving around the Black Lives Matter campaign. The focus of this has been around for some time without any satisfactory resolution. The sentiment is strongest in the USA, … Continue reading →

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A Second Dunkirk

Posted on May 31, 2020

“Wars are not won by evacuations”—Winston Churchill, June 4th 1940 In the daily wringing of political hands over Covid-19 and unending media coverage of “our worst crisis since World War 2: we seem to have lost much balance and perspective … Continue reading →

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Shadow of the Sombrero—3

Posted on May 22, 2020

The Four Horse(manure)men of the Apocalypse It’s a wonder the UK government’s daily press briefing retains any audience at all, beside the journalists paid to be there. It breaks all known rules of audience engagement,  being pompous and repetitive. Flanked … Continue reading →

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Shadow of the Sombrero—2

Posted on May 17, 2020

The Care Home Tragedy It is always easier to criticise with hindsight but we are nowhere near the end of the present Covid-19 pandemic to analyse properly with full facts and objectivity. But, even allowing that all governments were faced … Continue reading →

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Shadow of the Sombrero—1

Posted on May 12, 2020

Boris Johnson, back in the saddle for two weeks after three of learning first-hand what Covid-19 is all about, has just had the roughest 24 hours of his premiership. His first attempt to ease the lockdown has been widely lambssted … Continue reading →

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