It is yet another time when I turned out to be right, but it does not bring me any joy. Donald Tusk’s party’s candidate, Rafał Trzaskowski, lost the presidential elections to his opponent, Karol Nawrocki, an “independent” candidate supported by PiS. Why did that happen, what do The Civic Platform (Platforma Obywatelska – PO) make […]
The preliminary exit polls published just minutes after the first round of presidential elections surely gave some people in Poland a proper scare. As for me: being a pessimist again paid off. My prediction turned out to be correct again. The most stressed must be those who believed that those elections were to be just […]
The Anglo-German Family History Society (AGFHS) is a well-established group for all those who are interested in researching their roots among people from the German speaking parts of Europe, who have emigrated over centuries and settled in Great Britain or Ireland. We have developed considerable expertise and resources, and new members are always welcome. Here […]
Dear Editor, The Munich Security Conference and yesterday’s TV mugging of President Zelensky could hardly make clearer where US government loyalties lie. And yet there are still over 60,000 US troops stationed in Europe. Whose side are they on? What is the danger that they may potentially stand aside in the event of Russian aggression, […]
Sometimes I hate being right. A year ago, my article in West Country Voices described some of my concerns about the possible election of Donald Trump as US president. With the new President in office, with Elon Musk in power and with the Handmaid’s Tale as the working agenda, I confess that my worst fears […]
It has been more than three years since we first wrote about the dramatic humanitarian crisis at the Polish border with Belarus. After a year of the new government, you might be wondering what has changed there. To quote our new minister of justice: “We have the paradoxical situation that all the critics are being […]
Our first parallel text…which only really works on a PC! Translation of Beatriz Cebreros Baeza’s text by Mike Zollo. Seems to us that we would do well to copy this initiative to build the bonds of friendship across the nations. Let us know if you live somewhere this already happens! In the 14 years we […]
Welcome to the 25 per cent increase in defence spending, announced by the Prime Minister, for whom the penny has just dropped that we live in dangerous times. First of all, let us make some (possibly rash) assumptions. Let us assume that the percentage increase will not be cancelled by a reduction in GDP, which […]
Dear Editor, I suspect I am not alone in being very distressed by the dreadful situation in Gaza, in which the Israeli government seems to be using the outrageous terror attack by Hamas as an excuse to eradicate (by accident or design) the civilian population. I had hoped that the British government would, by now, […]
Each new year brings hopes and fears – hope for good changes, fear that bad ones might arise. Mostly, we hope things will improve for family and friends who are struggling but worry about how events outside their control will prevent progress. All our personal futures are bound up with the wider world, so here […]
Media all over the world are writing about the stand-off in the headquarters of TVP, Polish public broadcaster. As some voices try to frame it as an assault on democracy and freedom of speech, I thought I might need to write a small explainer. 1. Background. TVP and Polish Radio are an equivalent of the […]
“Did you see them? Aurora Borealis? The Northern Lights?” I hesitate: “Yes, and no.” “How does that work?” I will explain, but first things first. We don’t ‘do’ cruises, but we made an exception for this holiday, on the basis that to see the Norwegian fjords up close, you probably need to be on a […]
The issue of a blockade of the border crossings into Ukraine carried out by Polish haulage companies made mainstream news. The disagreement between Poland and Ukraine has been going on for nearly a year now, but Ukraine is winning the PR war, so the reports in both mainstream and social media are very unfavourable for […]
It is a full seven years since the Referendum, which demonstrated that a fraction over half of the British population (or a fraction over half of those who could be bothered to vote) placed no value on Britain’s membership of the European Community. Over the following years, many of us have spent varying amounts of […]
Hamas are winning in this latest appalling round of conflict in Israel-Palestine, whilst innocent Palestinians are losing their lives. Yes, their monstrous attacks on innocent civilians in southern Israel have been condemned by almost every country in the world, but they have surely reinforced their standing amongst extremists and bolstered their recruiting. What does a Hamas commander care […]
The position of Foreign Secretary is one of the Great Offices of State. It requires tact, command of a brief, outstanding communication skills, and a real interest in the wider world. Here’s a look at recent incumbents, picking a random starting point of June 2016. In January 2017, Boris Johnson accused the then French president […]
A sticker with Ukraine appeared on my car just after Russia began its new wave of invasion into Ukraine. I know, it’s just an empty gesture, but I simply wanted to express somehow my solidarity with the victims of Russian imperialism. For the 6 months of 2022, while I still lived in Scotland, this sticker […]
Sick UK What a headline … “Reino Unido, atrapado en su propio laberinto político y económico” (the United Kingdom, trapped in its own political and economic labyrinth). Enough to make you feel proud to be British? Or to acknowledge that our friends and neighbours pity us for what is happening to the UK? This was […]
On 11 September I wrote a column on the US elections, anxiously throwing a few predictions around. I’m so relieved and encouraged to update this week that a majority of Americans rejected election denialism and minority rule. (with much gratitude!) The big news is the US Senate is still in Dem hands! (starburst emoji) The […]
Thirty-three years ago today, on 9 November 1989, the people of Berlin – east and west – joined together to dismantle the wall that had cruelly separated their city for almost three decades. It was a momentous event that led to the downfall of the Soviet communist regime, followed eventually by applications to join the European Union by […]
This will be the first Remembrance Sunday that we have commemorated since 1945 while two major European nations have been at war. Yes, there have been the tragic civil wars in former Yugoslavia, but this is the first time that one European nation has driven its tanks across the border of another, uninvited. It is […]
A few months ago, doing my daily trawl through the headlines of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo online, I spotted among the front-page headlines: “Xavier Gisbert: “Las leyes educativas llevan años sin aportar nada a la enseñanza de idiomas“. (‘For years the education laws have contributed nothing to language teaching.’) I’ve known Xavier since the […]
By the end of 2024, all mobile phones, tablets, and cameras sold in the EU will have to be equipped with a USB Type-C charging port. And yes, that includes Apple’s iphones too. From spring 2026, the legal obligation will extend to laptops. In addition, all devices that support fast charging must have the same charging […]
Liz Truss demanded that ‘no EU flags’ should be shown at the Prague meeting of European leaders on Thursday. EU news website EURACTIV reported that the flags were kept away from the inaugural European Political Community summit at the demand of Ms Truss and the UK delegation. The Independent reported, ‘The British government and its […]
Naples. Day Three. Gets me every time. A whole week this time to gulp the fumes, walk the gorgeous bashed-up steep streets all day, drink meloncello and queue up at Michele’s L’Antica Pizzeria. The churches, the paintings, statues, the Capella Sansevero. The gorgeous smell of laundry in the San Giuseppe neighbourhood. The sudden wealthy Chiaia […]
A reminder for the Conservatives annual conference – share 4-minute video: 𝗧𝗥𝗨𝗘 𝗧𝗢𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗦 𝗪𝗘𝗥𝗘 𝗥𝗘𝗠𝗔𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗦 Conservatives, have you forgotten what your party in power used to stand for regarding Europe? For most of the past seven decades, Tory governments did more than any other to bring us closer to our continent. After all: It’s because of the Conservatives […]
The ‘flash to bang time’ is one of those useful pieces of military shorthand that derives from the delay between the muzzle flash as a piece of artillery fires, and the bang as the shell arrives. From there, it has become an expression used to describe the delay between starting an activity and bringing it […]
Today is Victory in Europe Day to commemorate the end of the Second World War in Europe, 77 years ago, on 8 May 1945. What has VE Day to do with the European Union? Everything. The European Economic Community – later to be called the European Union – was started in the aftermath of the […]
Wednesday 27 April Graham and Bear arrived at the border early this morning, after they’d driven though the night. After a little rest in the house we are staying in, the load they had brought with them brought was shared out amongst us medics at the border and a contact in the international battalion of […]
The partner of one of our readers has gone to Poland to help with the effort to rescue refugees from Ukraine. He’s a field/trauma medic with extensive experience having served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had intended to go straight into Ukraine to join extraction efforts, but the attack on the Ukraine military base has […]