Watching a Party Political broadcast by the Leave Campaign this week , I was reminded of Tom Lehrer’s quip that political satire became obsolete when Kissinger was awarded the Peace Prize. This was nauseating hypocrisy at its most jaundiced; those propagating that view are the current custodians
Read more →
A belated PR exercise is in full swing this morning to assure parents that everything is being done to accommodate their children, following the forced closure of 17 PFI built schools in Edinburgh. Local authorities have a statutory duty to provide education for all pupils, aged 5-15
Read more →After the inclement weather over the past couple of weeks, many parents will today welcome the end of the school holidays. For many, an anxious few weeks lie ahead as their children prepare to sit Highers at the end of this month. However, the greatest disruption will
Read more →
The Chancellor has announced a scheme to enable those on low incomes to save and gain a bonus on their investment. A good thing you might well think, as we all recognise the necessity of providing a little for the future. That it should come from a Tory
Read more →
BBC Scotland and various talking heads have spent time this week examining Scottish education and discussing how funding might be found to close what has become known as ‘the attainment gap’ ; it has been fairly well documented that children attending schools in better off areas generally
Read more →Capitalism has exploited and exported but failed totally to capture the atmosphere of an Irish pub. Amanda Gaughan’s fine production of Conor MacPherson’s award winning play , “The Weir’ at the Lyceum. permits us to sit with the drinkers by the turf fire and listen to four tales that smoulder with
Read more →
No Catholic was employed above the level of junior clerk by Londonderry Corporation in 1966; no council houses in the North and Waterside wards were allocated to Catholics, regardless of their circumstances; Seamus Heaney ‘s first anthology of poems , ‘ Death of a Naturalist’ , was
Read more →
Robert Nairac is the subject of a new book, pejoratively titled ‘Betrayal, The Murder of Robert Nairac‘. The author is Alistair Kerr, a Scot and former Foreign Office diplomat; an African history graduate, he worked mainly in North Africa. He places the blame for Nairac’s capture and
Read more →
Liz and I have been to performances in Celtic Connections every year since it began in 1994 with the exception of 2011 when the expected arrival of grandchild number two, John Joseph Greenwood, put all plans on hold. From its early days, the festival has encouraged collaboration,
Read more →
Paddy Doherty devoted a lifetime of service to the people of Derry and beyond in the West Indies and Latin America. His contribution to the early credit union movement has made life immensely better for individuals, families and communities, not just in his native Derry but across
Read more →