I read a blog post tonight, entitled “ConDemd” which detailed the real life experience of a university graduate, and the ongoing effects of student loans. Despite that blog title, the fee regime Betty, and most further education students since 2002 have experienced was introduced by the Labour Government of Tony Blair, supported mostly by the...
I recently had a conversation with a very good friend of mine, who was at a crossroads in his life. He was in a position where he was in complete control of his destiny, and was therefore quite literally spoiled for choice. In the course of the discussion, I did something I have never done...
I’ve only just realised that my Dad is handicapped! That sounds like a bloody stupid thing to say, doesn’t it? It is, however, alarmingly true. Sometimes we just don’t see what’s in front of us as unusual, if that’s how they’ve always been. My dad is almost 72. Like Clive James, he says “The Second World...
This is a repost of an article I published anonymously on another website earlier this year. I did so because I wrongly thought I shouldn’t be seen to provoke the journalists I am complaining about. I now think I should have put my name to it. ———————————– I’ll keep this short. I am disgusted at the...
If you are connected to me on Facebook, you’ll already be aware of the details of my road accident last Friday, 24th September, whilst riding my scooter home from work. If so, there’s no need to read on, but several people have asked for information, so here goes. Also, if I don’t blog about this...
Or, how I came to be in the wrong place at the right time. This isn’t a funny or peculiar story, but the assassination attempt of Margaret Thatcher is the closest I’ve come to a live historical event. I’ve retold it countless times, but never written it down, until now. In 1984, when I was 18, I...
