Whatever you think about the efficiency and value for money provided by the NHS, there has, recently, been an increasing realisation, among the general public, that it is not the “great British treasure” it was once purported

Multiple bottles of smelling salt being wafted around in the Blogosphere today. Purveyors of Free Speech dropping like Guardsmen on a hot August day. It would appear that the ‘well informed citizens’ of Blogland have just discovered

One of the attractions of southern france for tourists are the marchés nocturnes. Not so much a market as a communal dinning experience. Local traders drive their mobile kitchens to their nearest market square, the Mairie provides long

Seven words jumped out near the start of the second chapter of this book.  ‘But the truth had to emerge eventually’ –  fifteen chapters later the truth had still not put in an appearance.

I’m glad I

The military is a curious mixture of cultures. On the one hand it provides stable employment, a regular wage, job security for a set number of years, training in a useful skill and a reliable pension –

We’ve been here before. Confident young woman makes a name for herself in the nightclub scene. Is thrilled to bits when a relative stranger offers her and her friend expensive plane tickets to an unlikely holiday destination

All bound for Bongo Bongo Land

This week I went for a short break in the sun, and I found myself sipping a large gin and quinine whilst looking out from the Bongo

It sounds grand doesn’t it? Britain sending a gun boat to sort out those pesky Spanish? Actually an aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious – pity she doesn’t have any aircraft any more, what with the Harriers having bit

‘Trial by Jury’ is one of the most quoted cornerstones of ‘British Justice’ – or rather, British Justice as we like to believe it exists. Until the last few years of Labour control of the British eduction

Not since it was revealed that the Vatican’s financial advisor, Michele Sindona, was a Mafia connected crook who had embezzled 20 million quid of the Holy Father’s piggy bank has there been such a catastrophic financial insult

And lo! On the seventh day, was the Techdom of Provo built. They called it Endurance International Group.  A perfect, pristine land pulsating with technology. Encased in stainless steel, with na’er a finger print in sight; temperature