It was always going to be a daunting, political problem to construct a coalition, capable of defending the Union in the Scottish Referendum. That it has failed so comprehensively, does not surprise many. I grew up in the cockpit of Northern Ireland politics but the vitriol there
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Peaches Geldoff ‘s funeral will be held tomorrow at the little, village church with which the family has tragic and joyful association, two marriage and funeral services. In this digital age, her death at the age of 25 has provoked expressions of grief from people whose only
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I bought my first record in 1958 when I was sixteen; it was ‘Rave On’ by Buddy Holly, a 45rpm single which I think cost six shillings (30p). I played it on a Dansette with a record changer, as they were then known, made in Derry by
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There is an amusing cartoon doing the rounds, where the characters speculate on the possibility of the Republic of Ireland rejoining the Commonwealth in the aftermath of last week’s State Visit by an t-Uachtarán, Michael D. I suspect that there are Georgian drawing rooms in Dublin where
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Consistency, in some respects, is an admirable trait in a politician. Lord George Robertson, former Labour Secretary for Defence and Secretary General of NATO, has been consistent in his views of World Power – consistently wrong. Last night he spoke in Washington at the Brookings Institute and
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Another pupil had died from the meningitis outbreak. I watched Mr Shawa, the school caretaker, cleaning the white, pine boards and placing them carefully against the library building. He was making another coffin, the fourth in as many weeks. His task was carried out with quiet patience,
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I love the continuing commitment of French cinema to a quality and tasteful aesthetic. The camera lingers, allowing the viewer to imbibe landscape and beyond. BBC4 this week screened ‘You will be my son’ in its consistently excellent, Sunday night continental series . Set in a successful
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‘Don’t say that or they’ll know that we were out at the Loch.’ Our innocent, childhood fumblings at getting the story right, following unapproved swimming at Enagh Loch were invariably rumbled. In nearly forty years of teaching, a sensitivity to the truth about unfulfilled tasks and other
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A disturbing gallery of right-wingers, lead by Boris Johnson, paid tribute yesterday to the achievements of Bob Crow, the rail workers’ trade union leader, who had died suddenly the previous evening. The presence of the London Mayor is particularly perturbing to those of us who had
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