In ‘At the Purchaser’s Option’ , the superb Rhiannon Giddens in her bravura performance at the Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh , on Sunday, reminded us that the buyer had the choice whether to buy or refuse their new slaves’ babies. That number was inspired by an 18th century
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Margaret Thatcher came to Edinburgh in 1988 and delivered, what the Scottish Press branded, ‘The Sermon on the Mound’ to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. It was largely a para-theological justification for her views on capitalism and the free market. ‘Christianity is about spiritual
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Gerald Beadle, the first Station Director at the BBC in Belfast was appointed by Reith in 1926. Fake News must have been foremost in his mind when he wrote later that year to Reith saying, “I am sure that our position here will be strengthened immensely if
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What does one war- monger give another when visiting? Tony Blair found the ideal present in a bust of the notorious imperialist, Churchill. George W. was duly impressed and the gift was given pride of place in his Oval Office. As American and British forces bombed civilian
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It seems that few celebrities wish to be associated on Friday with Donald J at his inauguration. Garth Brooks, Aretha Franklin and Andrea Bocelli have already publicly declined, despite the offer of Ambassadorships; ‘B’ listers are scurrying to cover behind the ornate gowns of the Mormon Tabarnacle
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Sajid Javid has proposed that all holders of public office should take an oath of allegiance to British values. What those values are, or represent, is not specifically defined but some ribald suggestions have surfaced on the internet from warm pints of bitter to mushy peas. Given
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Pupils seeking examples of irony for their Higher English prelims should forsake Shakespeare and read Tim Shipman’s book , ‘All Out War’; it is a Brexit tale that deftly describes the deals, betrayals and broken promises that laid low much of the recognisable, political class in Britain.
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A newsletter in Church today carried a piece by a recently deceased priest on a French, Trappist monk, Charles de Foucauld, who is a candidate for beatification and the late author was one of those involved in the presentation of his cause to the Vatican. De Foucauld,
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‘ The Prime Minister should stop “obsessing” about grammar schools and order a massive expansion of vocational education to address skills shortages that will worsen after Brexit’; not my words but those of Michael Wilshaw, the Head of Ofsted, whose job is to advise the Government on standards
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Conflicted probably best summarises my thoughts in the aftermath of the Brexit Vote. Given the trajectory of my political and social development , I should be unspeakably delighted that GB jumped off a cliff into the mire on June 23rd; the very public humiliation of a British Prime
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