Category Archives: Indulgent

How I’ll Remember Gary Speed

Match-goers understand that it’s those life-lasting ‘I-was-there’ moments that keep you going back week-in, week-out despite the dross. You’re lucky if you get even one a season. Real fans know these snatched moments-in-time don’t just mean cup finals or last-day … Continue reading

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Earthquakes, Hurricanes & Hyperbole

You will have clocked that the East Coast US was hit by both an Earthquake and Hurricane in the last fortnight.  You probably thought the international media made a meal with their coverage.  Let me assure you, whatever undue focus … Continue reading

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An Apple Easter Resurrection

So last week, the toddler had been watching ‘CBeebies’ on the iPlayer on my wife’s iPhone.  She left it on our bed.  My wife then went into do the laundry and gathered the bedsheets quickly…. you can guess the rest. … Continue reading

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My Tiny Brush With the Mubarak Regime (1993)

In 1993 I had my first sapping experience of what it must be like to live under a truly authoritarian state.   My misfortune took place in Tahrir Square in Cairo.   It is no surprise to me that this … Continue reading

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Shock! Horror! Britain is Crap With Snow!

“[…] for Northerners snow is something to skive for and go sledging in while for Southerners it is a ‘national emergency’.”* *Slightly misquoted from the book “Pies and Prejudice.” By Stuart Maconie – The first dump of proper snow each … Continue reading

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Whatever You Think of Him, Why We Should All Stand Up For Gareth Compton

It is the stuff of nightmares.  You’re listening to a radio interview.  The interviewee  winds you up by saying that you have no moral authority to take a view on human rights.  You react immediately by putting on Twitter an … Continue reading

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Filed under Centre Right, Indulgent, Politics, UK, UK Politics

Did you hear the one about the Pope?

It’s now been a couple of weeks since the Pope’s visit to the UK, so I feel safe to stick my head above the parapet now passions have cooled. Let’s start with a disclaimer, I am not religious. If asked … Continue reading

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Pakistan Floods: The Politics of Aid

Why has the international community been so slow to help Pakistan?  There is no doubt that that there is a genuine disaster underway.   Some 20 million people have now been affected and reports suggest somewhere between 1600 and 2000 people … Continue reading

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“Bloody Sunday”: The Lesson For Politicians

Back in the early 1990’s as part of my University Degree I briefly studied the Irish troubles.  I declare no deep expertise – but one thing I am sure of is that even as late as the end of the … Continue reading

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Filed under Centre Right, Indulgent, Iraq, Politics, UK, UK Politics

Why I Voted Conservative

So, that is that. After weeks of campaigning we are down to one mammoth push today. The polls are inconclusive – at the moment my reading of them suggests we may not quite get the 310 seats realistically required to … Continue reading

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Filed under Centre Right, Election, Indulgent