Dear Conservative MPs, I think we can all agree that we are in the middle of a major crisis and, yes, we know parliament is no longer sitting, but you still have ways of exerting your power and influence. Your constituents need you to park party politics and concentrate on the practicalities of the situation […]
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” The opening of A Tale of Two Cities came to mind when I was asked to write about the effect these very difficult past ten months have had specifically on ‘the Church’ in rural areas. If I were not too old to start […]
“In search of Cinderella” came out of a conversation between Deb Richardson, producer at Somerset Film, and me. It was late July/early August when theatres across the UK were announcing there would be no pantomime this year. This was an intolerable proposition for a county like ours, with its numerous local societies producing an annual […]
The shameful gap between the soaring rhetoric of policy announcements and the sordid reality of what is implemented has become one of the defining features of this government. The headline examples are of course the ‘oven ready deal’ that took 12 months to get anywhere near the oven, and the ‘world beating’ track and trace […]
Self-professed man of faith gave an interesting demonstration of Christian charity yesterday when he took a pot shot at UNICEF. The government he represents appears to be in denial about the record levels of child poverty, but does not take kindly to being forced to confront the truth by the likes of Marcus Rashford and, […]
You might recall this piece we put out a couple of months ago on fake news and manipulation via social media – the dark arts of disinformation. Many of us hoped, no doubt, that the Post-Truth era might be coming to a close with the defeat of Trump. That was a naive hope. In fact, […]
Since I was a child I have always had a love of oak trees. In the war years my anxious mother would send my brother and me into the garden to play. It was a nice sizeable garden with a good chicken run to interest us. There at the end of the garden stood a […]
There follows a press release from Dorset CPRE – the countryside charity, formerly known as the Campaign for the protection of Rural England. We’re dumping our single use masks and despoiling our countryside. Three in four people report rise in PPE litter since coronavirus – CPRE poll reveals The coronavirus pandemic has shone a light […]
When Covid-19 and the lockdown first hit, there was a magical outpouring of willingness to help, support people in communities, think greener and kinder. We relished the fresher air, the new things we discovered on our daily walk or run, we appreciated nurses, carers, binmen, transport workers, supermarket staff. As the year draws to a […]
This is aan official press release from Save Our Hospital Services: On 10 December, health campaigning group Save Our Hospital Services (SOHS) held a webinar, inviting the public to listen in to both local and national campaigners who are deeply concerned about the NHS. SOHS was founded in north Devon in 2016 but have spread […]
Obituaries describing John le Carré as a “Cold War spy novelist” are selling him short. More than any other contemporary writer, he had a finger on the dark pulse of our times. It’s not often that the death of a novelist can be described as a national event, but the passing of David Cornwell, better […]
It must be clear for all to see that an 80 seat majority won on 43.6% of the popular vote is very bad for democracy indeed, with this government exploiting their power to pursue damaging strategies and reward cronies whilst reneging on promises and lying with impunity. Ed Totnes Make Votes Matter (MVM) group brought […]
No apologies for reproducing yet another Twitter thread. Everyone should have the chance to read this. Ed The 1970s was a decade of serious anxiety about food supplies. Norman Tebbit, of all people, urged the government to consider rationing basic foodstuffs. That played a significant role in the decision to join the EEC, and raises […]
I’ve been meaning to write a piece on Gnash Comics, the fantastic specialist purveyor of the medium based in Ashburton, Devon and a Guardian article on Keanu Reeves’ massive Kickstarter success with his new comic series, BRZRKR, gave me just the kick up the backside I needed. Almost every French and Belgian town has a […]
This is an extremely important and insightful thread from Alex Andreou, whom you may know from Best for Britain and the Remainiacs and The Bunker podcasts. This government has failed or is refusing to grasp any understanding of the value and inviolability of the single market and to comprehend the scale of damage done by […]
How dare you try to scam us with your Australia deal baloney! How dare you try to rebrand no deal to conjure up sunshine, cricket and barbies when you know full well that ‘Australia’ means scorched earth for the UK? This comment – unverifiable but wholly believable given the man’s track record of offensive gaffes […]
Editor’s preface: Tony Morris served in the fire service for 32 years. the last six of which as Operational Planning Officer responsible for contingency planning. He was then Senior Emergency Management Adviser for West Sussex County Council for 15 years, covering all areas of emergencies and business continuity. He is worried about cuts to services […]
Great news, but what’s the betting the Conservative super majority means that all the Lords’ good work will be thrown out, just as food safety, level playing field for farmers and measures to stop government breaking international law were also rejected? Keep writing to your MP. Ask them to vote to keep the Lords’ amendments. […]
When I went to work in a Dutch company at the start of my career, I was given a copy of Charles Mackay’s “Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds”. Remember the “dot.com bubble”? The delusions recounted in Mackay’s book are similar, only more colourful, ridiculous and harmful. My personal favourite is tulip mania, […]
Much of the British attitude to fishing, and especially to foreign fishermen, is based on prejudice and ignorance. We need to see ourselves as others see us. Fishing, eh? Symbol of Brexit Britain! Sovereignty! Taking Back Control! Getting our moat back! It’s OUR ‘English’ Channel! It’s also La Manche according to those damned Frenchies over […]
2020 has been a year like no other, as we all know. For me it was to have been a very special year as, in my 70s, I was finally to become a grandmother for the first time. After watching my peers become grandmothers whose grandchildren have graduated, I was so excited at the beginning […]
At dusk during the fortnight before Christmas this year, an intriguing event plays low in the western sky for those with an unobstructed view of the horizon. Stepping out into the night from 11 December, if the sky is free of cloud and light pollution we see stars beginning to appear around 5pm, as darkness […]
Where to start? There are literally so many areas of business and life that will be adversely affected. Here is a snapshot of a few, together with my thoughts: – Fisheries Deliberately focused on by the government on an emotional level whilst they are well aware that, in economic reality, fisheries account for 0.12 per […]
Based on the original graphic created by John MacPherson, complete with (still) totally appropriate tweet from James O’Brien. Ed
MPs urge government to adopt Covid-secure exit strategy – or risk a third spike In the absence of an official review, campaign group March for Change and a group of MPs from all parties conducted their own review to attempt to ensure that lessons are learned and mistakes are not repeated. Here is the press […]
I think a lot of us are done with holding back on what this kleptocratic, autocratic bunch of wreckers and their mainstream media cheerleaders are doing to the UK, to truth and democracy. We are going to unpick the latest lies and call them out, three at a time, for the benefit of those not […]
We left the EU in January 2020 and it’s now less than a month before the transition period ends. Depending on how you look at it, we are once again a ‘sovereign state’ able to take back control and make our own decisions – as if we were not free to do so before. Or […]
It is becoming ever more starkly apparent that human activity and over-exploitation is having a disastrous effect on species and habitats in the marine environment. Pollution, particularly by plastics, over-exploitation of fishing grounds and climate change are producing a lethal cocktail of habitat degradation and loss of biodiversity – at sea as well as on […]
While argument rages over whether Cornwall should have been assigned to Tier 1 of the government’s social distancing regime, little attention has been paid to the US company operating the meat-packing plant in Cornwall which has been at the centre of a major outbreak of Covid-19. Tom Scott lifts the lid on its grim record […]
