As the dust starts to settle on the whole Lineker affair, it’s perhaps worth taking stock for a moment. Was this a storm in a very British teacup, or something more fundamental? At the heart of this is something called Godwin’s Law - ‘an Internet adage asserting that as an online discussion grows longer (regardless [...]
I won't be the first commentator to note that the current perfect storm of crises, centred on Ukraine in the international sphere, the cost of living at home and Brexit somewhere in-between, barely registered in the Conservative Party leadership contest that, today, gave us a new Prime Minister. It puts me in mind of the [...]
A working class woman goes to the opera. And not just any old opera, but Glyndebourne, the über poshest of all (British) opera. My goodness - whatever next?! The snobbery that says that opera, and other high culture, is only for the privileged, the rich and the powerful, is a particularly insidious kind of prejudice. [...]
According to official Russian sources, the Ukrainians are either killing their own people or staging highly realistic scenes of mass murder, with the sole aim of discrediting Russia’s invading forces. Of course, nobody in their right mind, except perhaps the most dyed-in-the-wool ideologue or craven fellow traveller, believes any of this. Applying David Hume’s test [...]
Putin’s war of choice in Ukraine has untold impact on countless lives and on the future security and stability of human civilisation. What to say? Let's start with the nature of decision-making. Much has been made of Putin's shift from cool-headed strategist to Napoleonic visionary, and I confess that I saw nothing in the evolution [...]
I’ve been meaning for some time to take the three blogs on leadership I did a while ago and put them together into one longer blog addressing the question, what makes a good leader? So here it is. I’m going to start with a slightly controversial point: not everyone in a leadership position is actually [...]
I’ve heard Leave-voters say that, after a period of adjustment, Brexit Britain will end up little different to the UK that previously enjoyed EU membership. I guess they mean in economic terms: we'll still be a rich, G7 nation, just not a member of the EU's structures nor a participant in its processes. Hmm…possibly. It [...]
Picture the scene. Night had fallen, it was snowing heavily, and an alpine pass beckoned. 'I'm not so sure this is a good idea, 'I said to my friend. 'Driving over the Alps in this weather. Perhaps we should find a hotel for tonight and try in the morning'. ‘Don’t be such a worrier, Rog’, [...]
The Union Jack has been in the news a lot recently, and not for vexillological reasons. Fun with Flags, you might say, but there’s something serious going on here. National symbols, love of country and loyalty to it - these aren’t trivial issues. They pertain to the very fabric of our or any other nation. [...]
There - an object lesson in how to grip an audience with a title. But bear with me. Behind the wordy headline there might be a few nuggets worth reading, not least because I’ve done extensive background research (15 minutes online, which I understand is sufficient these days to support a firmly-held opinion). From this [...]
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