Category Archives: Community

Turkeys Vote for an Early Christmas

Posted on October 30, 2019 by

So the Brexit centipede’s final shoe has dropped and we are to endure the first General Election at Christmas for a century. Broadcast media are already hoaching with rentqaquotes from every party, burbling over their keenness to come to grips … Continue reading →

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No Way to Run a Railroad

Posted on October 22, 2019 by

ScotRail (Scotland’s railway) has come into some stick from customers for habitual poor service, especially since the franchise was taken over by Abelio three years ago. But things have improved immeasurably since ScotRail was formed over 20 yeas ago, with … Continue reading →

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Fankle of Fearties?—Part I

Posted on July 21, 2019 by

An article in today’s Sunday Times is highly critical of the present Scottish Government and its penchant for blaming Brexit and Westminster for Scotland’s sluggish economic performance. Is this fair? Compared to the rest of the UK, Scotland is falling … Continue reading →

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Costing an Arm & a Leg

Posted on July 19, 2019 by

Across the board, the NHS is regarded as an institution of which we are justly proud. Its fundamental principle on which it is built is that health care should be based on need and free at the point of delivery. … Continue reading →

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Charity Chiefs—Paragons or Parasites?

Posted on June 7, 2019 by

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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The Poem Is Mightier Than the Gun

Posted on May 30, 2019 by

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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It’s the Society, Stupid!

Posted on March 5, 2019 by

Lead item on newscasts and front pages of newspapers are currently dominated by knife crime. Politicians are falling over themselves to declare that a 50% increase  is an emergency that needs to be addressed swiftly ad on a par with … Continue reading →

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Ultimo Tango in Roma

Posted on November 29, 2018 by

“After a fight with cancer, film director Bernardo Bertolucci died on Monday 26th in Rome, surrounded by family.” Most famous for his Oscar-laden sweeping historic “The Last Emperor“, acclaim had come earlier in his career with the 1970 “The Conformist” … Continue reading →

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Are We All FICO’d?

Posted on November 25, 2018 by

It is a constant amazement how much we still need to learn, no matter how old we get. Six years ago, as I was disengaging from a highly active political life, I set up a small tour business to keep … Continue reading →

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Aggression As Entertainment

Posted on September 4, 2018 by

For some retirees, the amount of time now on their hands is a curse. But, for me, it is a blessing. Now I can indulge my weakness for film. Between the re-runs on sundry TV channesl and my DVD collection, … Continue reading →

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