Vatican City was always going to be hard one in my quest to #ReadTheWorld. My intention was (and still is) to read a book from an author who was born in each country in the world. There are 197 countries in total according to the list I am using (Wikipedia) and I have 11 left … Continue reading Reading the Pope
There’s always 2030
Image thanks to CBS Sports It’s over and, in a way, thank goodness. Despite my protestations I ended up watching far more of the FIFA World Cup than I meant to. Politics aside, it has been a good competition, with new teams emerging yet it is the old guard that has won again. Europe or … Continue reading There’s always 2030
Ten years on
Image thanks to the BBC I still remember the day after the Brexit referendum when my youngest daughter asked me what it means. I replied that it means that we are leaving the EU. Little did any of us realise how long the process would actually take. Ten years on and our relationship with the … Continue reading Ten years on
Social media ban
Image thanks to Gossipherald They say that a week is a long time in politics. Last week, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that under-16s will be banned from major social media platforms, including TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. By the time you read this he may well no longer be Prime Minister. How this will affect … Continue reading Social media ban
Culture wars
Image thanks to History Reclaimed Italy is a fairly recent country. The Kingdom of Italy was founded only in 1861, bringing various groups of Italic peoples together . As the country was being formed Massimo d’Azeglio, prime Minister of Sardinia and one of the chief architects of the country’s formation was believed to have said … Continue reading Culture wars
Making history
You hear this all the time, people saying that history is being made. Well, of course it is, history is being made all the time. What they mean instead is that a momentous event, in their opinion, is happening which will be noted down and remembered for some time. This is why public events, such … Continue reading Making history
What is it good for?
Image thanks to York.ac.uk According to Hobbes, man is governed by a need to dominate and greed. If you look at what has been going on in the world over the last few months, it would seem that he was right. There is not a day goes by when one country isn’t at war with … Continue reading What is it good for?
Budget furore
Image thanks to Manchester Evening News. The budget is one of the high points of the political calendar, determining and laying out to the electorate how the government plans to spend its (our) money over the coming year and beyond. It gives succour to the media for weeks in advance, telling its readers and listeners … Continue reading Budget furore
The Age of Disinformation
You'd better get home before it gets dark - Image thanks to Dundee Courier. This was supposed to be the age of information, where data was accessible to everyone with a connection. This was supposed to be the great wave of democratisation where citizen journalists, backed up by strong Wikis would ensure that the truth … Continue reading The Age of Disinformation
It makes them sound interesting
Image thanks to InterestingFacts.com One of the troubles of getting old is that you find yourself repeating the same stories. There are only so many ways to say the same thing. Having blogged for well over ten years now (thirteen years to be precise) it is inevitable that I will have to use the same … Continue reading It makes them sound interesting