Nutty

One of the most frustrating things about dealing with life's thinkers is that it's very difficult to know what they are thinking. Rightly or wrongly, I count myself in this category. Often I am judged to be ice cool and level-headed because I never seem to panic or get upset. I can assure you that …

Don’t Mention The War

England's friendly match against Germany at Wembley passes off without incident. A goal would have been nice. There was a time when a 0-0 draw between these two countries would have been seen as the diplomatic solution, one which best placated the hordes of ruffians who and gave them no occasion to vent their triumphalism …

Pandora

I pull the wafer-thin curtain back tentatively to avoid it dropping off. It's November alright. There can be few sights in this world more depressing than the view from a railway station hotel window in autumn. I reckon the only reason they put curtains over them is so that you don't see how ugly it …

One King To Rule Them All…

Hitler and Napoleon. Your hardcore British eurosceptic really has no imagination. When all else fails bring up the subject of the continental hegemon. The EU, so goes the argument, is an attempt to achieve by stealth what successive European warmongers failed to achieve on the battlefield. As an argument it has more holes in it …

The Secret Garden

Whenever we three met again it spells trouble for someone. The thunder and lightning have stayed away but the rain is coming down in buckets. Where's the place? Ah --  the place is a problem. The place is always the problem. Peter, Stefan and I have knocked around some of the most far-flung parts of …