BY ANDREW MOODY And then there was a new sound. A rhythm, dull and flat through the frozen air. Thud. Thud. Bang. Thud. Thud. Bang. I thought of the shields beaten by the Zulu impi. Thud. Thud. Bang. Thud. Thud. Bang. Many interesting successes of our social media led culture include the massively increased ability of the general public to both read and write more … Continue reading Cold
BY GARY MCGHEE The 2nd series of this brilliant show aired recently. Like the first series it exposes the ridiculous bureaucracy that is blighting British farming, but with added insights into the appalling petty-minded jobsworthery and nimbyism of local West Oxfordshire officialdom. The bone of contention is a modest restaurant building plan concocted by Jeremy Clarkson on his land to provide a market for his … Continue reading Diddly Squat II Soon to be III
Robert Adam’s new novel ‘On the Green Hill of Tara’ explores the beginning of Ireland’s formal relationship with the EEC. The backdrop to Ireland’s final accession application on 30 June 1970 was the second year of the Northern Ireland Troubles and in May of that year, the ‘Dublin Arms Crisis.’ This was the political scandal when members of Jack Lynch’s cabinet, no less, were caught … Continue reading On the Green Hill of Tara
BY JIM WEBSTER The other day I took the car in to get an MOT and service. As I walked home two women passed me walking in the opposite direction. One said to the other, “he were having a fag behind the recycling bins.” Such is the joy of the English language that this probably means something entirely different depending on what part of the … Continue reading Linguistic Good Taste
