Category Archives: This sceptred isle

Only in recent years did I discover why the tax year began on 6th April. Because we were always a sceptical race, suspicious of innovation and resentful about change, it took the England one hundred and seventy years to accept … Continue reading →

Searching for an email address, I somehow stumbled upon a clipping from an edition of the Shepton Mallet Journal from October 1924. The reason the clipping had been sent to me has disappeared from memory, but it is a piece … Continue reading →

“Sir, why all this fuss about Ukraine? Why didn’t anyone make the same fuss about Afghanistan, or Syria, or Yemen? Don’t those people matter?” The honest answer to the student’s question would have been to say, “No, they don’t,” for … Continue reading →

Emmerdale has changed from times past. This evening’s episode included a policeman charging a woman with multiple murders, attempted murder, false imprisonment, and assault. Soaps in the past never had such dramatic occurrences. Life was usually altogether more mundane. Crossroads … Continue reading →

The BBC carries news of the demise of another energy supplier.  Perhaps the proper term should be re-seller, for the insolvent firms have been locked into contracts where they had to buy the energy at a price far higher than … Continue reading →