May 2012
14 posts
Au revoir à l'euro? →
Au revoir à l’euro?
I’m not one to smugly say I told you so this time last year or pointed out problematic aspects of the Euro in an article from September 2007 which is linked to in this piece. No sireee, smug MOI?
Spinalonga – The Island →
With the passage of time the small village and walls of the fortress have begun to crumble, however much work has been done on the island over the last few years to repair its fabric and this continues. But no repairs will ever plaster over that this island is a special place and every stone speaks to you of the pathos and melancholy of those who came here to live and on the Island of the Dammed.
The Fall of Byzantium. →
29th May 2012 is the 559th anniversary of the Fall of Constantinople when we remember the courage of Constantine XI Paleologus, last Emperor of Byzantium and last Roman Emperor. The event marked the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of a new epoch in Europe. Many Greek scholars moved to Italy, initiating there the development of European Humanism and the Renaissance, whilst the legal...
We have a Pope! →
The first Irish Pope! Feck, He moves in mysterious ways.
Dublin and Monaghan Bombings →
Whatever the truth about collusion Loyalist Paramilitaries never carried out similar attacks before or since. The area of Ulster around Glenanne bounded by Lurgan and the associated towns of Portadown and Craigavon made up what was known as the “murder triangle”; an area known for a significant number of sectarian incidents and fatalities during The Troubles.
Tolpuddle Martyrs' →
We can never take for granted what we owe to these six ordinary labourers who stood together for the rights of workers. Nor in modern they Britain can we cease the struggle against the reactionary heirs of Squire James Frampton who constantly belittle the role of labour as the source of honest values in Society and constantly seek to attack workers hard earned rights.
Nakba →
There is no going back; the Arab Spring will affect the Arab World, Israel and the children of the Nakba equally. Israel and Modern Judaism will have to reflect if a people who greet each other with “Shalom” and part with the words ‘l’chayim’ are really on a sustainable path to peace and security?
Lord Sugah and I →
Tweets across the ocean – From a humble wage slave @daithaic on Mayoral Election day in damp London Town to the illustrious Labour Peer Lord Sugar (aka Chairman Al) @Lord_Sugar in his splendido mansion in Roca Baton, Florida.Lord Sugar
Ken Livingstone's fare cut backed by former TfL... →
Back Ken, Sack Boris →
The Mayor of London election tomorrow between Ken Livingstone (for Labour) and Boris Johnson (for the Tories, although he wants you to forget that) is the largest personal electoral mandate in Europe after the President of France. It is a touchstone election – here is the last word from Ken tonight on the eve of the poll.
Tunnel vision →
Against this background of widespread disruption and loss of service the London Evening Standard reports that drivers on the Piccadilly line are to operate on a higher plane by adding doses of philosophy to their daily announcements.
Ken’s figures add up →
Based on my knowledge of TfL’s finances, I have no doubt that Ken could both cut fares and improve services, without reducing investment. Boris’s needless and excessive fare increases have not provided extra investment – indeed that has fallen during his term and much has been wasted.
Ken's figures add up →
My letter in today’s Guardian Newspaper in support of Ken Livingstone’s fare cuts.
The Red Flag →
The people’s flag is deepest red,
It shrouded oft our martyred dead,
And ere their limbs grew stiff and cold,
Their hearts blood dyed its every fold.
Then raise the scarlet standard high. (chorus)
Within its shade we’ll live and die,
Though cowards flinch and traitors sneer,
We’ll keep the red flag flying here.
April 2012
23 posts
Oil of the Gods →
However this really good Greek olive oil has been hard to get here which is why I was delighted to meet Christos Oikonomou, the founder & owner of Narrow Leaf Organic Olive Oil at a recent London Bloggers meeting. His vision is to introduce an exclusive and rare Greek olive oil to the wider market.
White Terror →
Once again the media were keen to state that Copeland was an isolated individual despite the clear political motivation behind the bomb placements and the fact that he was proven to have stewarded BNP meetings.
So why no mention of the “T” word on the news reports, does it not apply if you are a beardless, white male?
In the Tweet bye and bye →
Don’t forget you can follow me on Twitter; @daithaic
Moonlight Sonata →
Modern Coventry has not fared well with the motor industry having declined and then collapsed completly in the early 80’s. Today the main employers are low wage call centres and back office functions. The skilled craft industries and skilled workforce are largely gone. For all the bravery and reconciliation it is impossible not to contemplate the human and material toll of what has been lost...
I agree with Nick! →
Good to see that Boris is now “rushing” back to London even though his day job doesn’t pay as much as the Daily Telegraph. No doubt his oration to the unsmiling Piccaninnies who have lost their watermelon smiles will become a modern classic. We are in safe hands.
Great Train Fare Robbery →
At a time when economic activity has slumped and the economy is flat lining these inflation busting increases on public transport are a tax on jobs and education. Many people are being forced to change jobs because they can’t afford the train fares. At a time of economic hardship public transport should be part of the plan to help people find work not a stealth tax hitting people already hurting....
Bye, Bye Boris →
Angry business owners in south London confronted Mayor Boris Johnson about a night of violence which saw shops smashed up and burned”, says the BBC. Boris blustered on making more meaningless promises he couldn’t keep. He said rioters would “face the full force of the law.” Well just what is that in reality and will it have anything to do with Boris?
Bozza’s Bus for London →
Why do we believe that there is something so unique about the streets of London that it requires a special bus which by its very nature would fly in the face of procurement efficiency? Is this not a solution which would have obsolescence built in, another in a long line of British World Beaters which never beat anything?
Boris’s Flying Circus →
The question that probably everyone asked was how did an estimate of £25 million end up at a final project cost of £65 million. That’s quite an overspend! When finally completed, the most striking aspect of Boris’s latest folly/innovative public transport service (delete depending on political preference) will be the three tall pylons that carry the cables over the Thames.
Boris Bendy Jihad Update →
Opposition members of the London Assembly have criticised the drive to introduce a new Routemaster. Val Shawcross, Labour chair of the assembly’s transport committee, said the Mayor was “letting his personal prejudice override any sense of reason and should return the drawing board as soon as possible”.
Bend it like Boris. →
So the result of Boris Johnston’s “Replacement Routemaster” competition maybe a more informed and intelligent debate on the limitations and costs of moving Big Red Boxes around London. If this results in a revival of London’s Trams the Celtic Sage would regard this as a good result for London and Public Transport users!
A Metropolitan Police Commissioner for London →
Boris Johnson was accused of carrying out a putsch against Sir Ian Blair, who was forced to resign after being told he no longer had the confidence of the Mayor. Furious Labour ministers privately accused Mr Johnson of turning the post – which is appointed by the Home Secretary and includes leading the nationwide fight against terrorism – into a “political football”. They said that Sir...
A Fair Revision? →
With petrol prices declining and employment softening dramatically in the UK this doesn’t look like a very joined up approach to promoting public transport. However as the Celtic Sage has pointed out before Public Representatives don’t actually pay the fares which they impose as an effective tax on employment as otherwise they would end up very angry and very poor!
A Hunted Man →
Andrew Marr, BBC, Culture Secretary, David Cameron, Irish Punt, James Naughtie, Jeremy Hunt, New College Oxford, Reverend William Archibald Spooner, Spoonerism, UK
Elizabeth Taylor →
In her last interview in this month’s edition of ‘Harper’s Bazaar’, when asked about all the husbands and jewellery. Taylor responded: “I never planned to acquire a lot of jewels or a lot of husbands. For me, life happened, just as it does for anyone else. I have been supremely lucky in my life in that I have known great love, and of course I am the temporary...
For St. George and England? →
It is time to face up to two important facts: St George has nothing to do with England and there are and never were creatures called Dragons. Oh, and while I’m at it there are probably no fairies at the end of the garden. Having said that, have a happy St. Georges Day!
Dusty →
She died in Henley on Thames on the 2nd March 1999. Her funeral service was attended by hundreds of fans and people from the music business, including Elvis Costello, Lulu, and the Pet Shop Boys. A marker dedicated to her memory was placed in the church graveyard of the ancient parish church of St Mary the Virgin. Some of her ashes were buried at Henley, while the rest were scattered by her...
The greatest civilian maritime disaster →
The British Government has sealed the files until 100 years after the disaster ensuring that the information that would bring the tragedy to the public eye is locked until 2045, long after all remaining relatives are dead. No British government has ever made reference to the deaths of the 7,500 people in Lübeck Bay. There has never been a wreath laid nor a speech given in their memory.
Thiepval Memorial – The Somme, France →
Edward Kenny died towards the end of August, a month which was characterised by a campaign of attrition of pointless attacks and counter attacks which achieved no strategic or territorial advantage for either side but left thousand of irrecoverable bodies to be churned into the muddy morass of no man’s land.
My fellow Americans…. →
But in the world of the Tea Party Rick Santorum was not too extreme for today’s Republicans. In a party that is at least 50% composed of Glenn Beck fans, gay-bashers, paranoid conspiracy theorists, Obama birth certificate fantasisers, antiabortion zealots, take-back-America culture warriors and get-religion-into-government theocrats, he is mainstream. Santorum has done Barack Obama a great...
Shannon Community Radio – JET FM – 88.1 →
Spring has sprung! →
It is a beautiful spring Saturday here in the Chiltern Hills and the Vale of Aylesbury. Outside I’m inspired by my own personal talisman of spring, the Cherry Tree in the front garden whose cherry blossoms are even more vigorous and bountiful after the long cold winter. These blossoms and the bulbs, primroses and alpines are now reproaching me that I need to get the garden sorted. Soon we can...
Suu Kyi will be free only when Burma is free →
Victory to Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and freedom to the people of Burma
March 2012
18 posts
Peterborough Cathedral →
Today, like all these medieval cathedrals what impresses about Peterborough is the sheer scale of the cathedral and precincts. The huge sturdiness of this impressive structure speaks of the resources devoted by the community to building it over hundreds of years. With its majestic West Front and atmospheric this Norman Cathedral is rich in beauty, history and culture. As a visitor attraction it is...
Villa Torre Clementina, Roquebrune-Cap-Martin →
Today the atmosphere is more Euro trash with Russian Oligarski and good time girls from Kiev and grimy Wolverhampton on the make or as Somerset Maugham tellingly remarked about neighbouring Monte Carlo “A sunny place for shady people” !
Tempelhof Preserved →
The airport was iconic for a number of reasons – not the least of which was it’s intended position as an international gateway in Speer’s masterplan of Welthauptstadt Germainia – it was also one of the world’s largest buildings (for a while), in 1927 it became the first airport with an underground railway station, and was the hub during the Berlin Airlift.
Eileen Gray’s Armchair →
From her early laquer work to design classics like the Bibendum chair and her architectural masterpiece, E-1027, Eileen Gray’s work was as individual as it was exciting. The Dutch magazine, Wendingen, declared in 1924: “Eileen Gray occupies the centre of the modern movement. In all her tendencies, visions and expressions she is modern.”
E-1027 Roquebrune Cap Martin →
From her early laquer work to design classics like the Bibendum chair and her architectural masterpiece, E-1027, Eileen Gray’s work was as individual as it was exciting. The Dutch magazine, Wendingen, declared in 1924: “Eileen Gray occupies the centre of the modern movement. In all her tendencies, visions and expressions she is modern.”
Sagrada Familia, Barcelona →
Truly this is a monumental undertaking on a scale not seen in the modern world but which strikes a deep resonance with the people of Barcelona and Catalonia as an assertion of their identity. As such it is wholly appropriate that it is an organic building which, whilst it will always be associated with the genius of Antoni Gaudí, is the result of the efforts of many people, designers, masons and...
Barcelona →
Besides fantastic museums and architecture, Barcelona is full of galleries, concert venues and theaters to round out the vibrant art scene. When you visit Barcelona, you’ll find yourself torn between choosing one cultural event or another. There are many museums at Barcelona whose contents are from the most ancient periods. A visit to the City History Museum that is housed in a medieval...
Buddenbrooks →
Hopefully the movie will be released before too long in English so a wider audience can appreciate Buddenbrooks and the medieval gem which is the Hanseatic Free City of Lübeck.
A Steamy Anniversary →
The man who had given the world the high-pressure steam engine, the Cornish boiler, the railway locomotive, the steam dredger, the propeller and the threshing machine, among other innovations, died a lonely and impoverished death with his game changing inventions which remade the world unrecognised.
Drown the River Dancers! →
This video reinforces my long held prejudice - They should have drowned the River Dancers!
My own Irish dancing career was noticeably unsuccessful – at the third class I attended I put a foot wrong, the large female teacher slapped me on the leg, I suggested (even as a six year old I had a poetic talent) she possessed a distinct bovine resemblance and I was banned from the class!
Suze Rotolo →
Rotolo later wrote that Dylan “made me think of Harpo Marx, impish and approachable, but there was something about him that broadcast an intensity that was not to be taken lightly.” So began a four-year relationship that was immortalised on a wintery day in 1963 when photographer Don Hunstein captured the young couple walking down a snowy Greenwich Village street, Dylan’s hands...
The Ides of March →
I always think of the original triumphs when the Consul or General returned from the wars to Rome as a Triumphator and all the good stuff kicked off - the great parade into Rome, the procession of your captives who were then strangled in front of you, you getting 50% of the loot from the campaign and the big party afterwards. At this moment of greatest triumph the Senate (who had granted it) paid...
Ireland of the Gombeens →
When Bob Geldof was given the Freedom of Dublin in 2005 he was nearly run out of town for his observation that the fabric of modern Dublin could only be explained by a culture of “deep rooted corruption between “developers and politicians.” With the benefit of hindsight, Bob the Gob must be impressed with his previously undetected talent for understatement.