The Irresponsible State

On Monday, David Cameron made a rather rambling and long winded speech; my other half and I watched snippets of it on the BBC News at Ten. I sighed; she said, “I’ve been to so many of these,” with a touch of weariness in her voice. While I don’t have her experience of working for […]

The Passé Relationship?

After living in Britain for over 18 years, my mother and father retired to New York. On occasion, they go to the theatre: over the weekend, they saw a performance of “Look Back in Anger”, John Osborne’s seminal work, in a Manhattan playhouse. My initial thought was that this was unlikely to be a successful […]

Review: “The Ides of March” starring Ryan Gosling and George Clooney

[AMAZONPRODUCTS asin=”B005ZCSP9Q”] In my experience, every presidential election brings about at least some small blossoming of idealism. The campaigns begin in tiny hamlets in New Hampshire and Iowa; at this stage, the process is not usually saturated with money. Rather, the candidates are compelled to descend from their pedestals in state capitols or Washington and […]

Making Bradford British

I live in a suburb of Bradford; this elicits sympathy from some people. The condolences are totally unnecessary: I happen to like it here. Go to the centre of town, and while there is a hole where a shopping mall is due to be built (a project I might add that has been on the […]

At Home with President Obama

The media generated fanfare surrounding Super Tuesday is over. The candidates, no doubt, have retreated to their hotel bedrooms, have taken off sweat stained shirts, hung up media friendly ties, washed off pancake makeup and now lay in bed, asleep. This may be the one time that they are disconnected from the demands of ambition. […]

Review: “Clinton”, Directed by Barak Goodman

[AMAZONPRODUCT=B007A3OZ9C] In December 2010, former President Bill Clinton and current President Barack Obama held a joint press conference at the White House. The topic was a proposed framework agreement intended to extend tax cuts and unemployment benefits. After about 10 minutes, President Obama had to leave so as not to be late for an appointment […]

Greece: Voices Dying with a Dying Fall

It didn’t get much notice, but this small news item caught my eye: on Thursday, the rather bloodless sounding International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s Determinations Committee met to decide whether Greece had actually defaulted or not. They judged that Greece hadn’t, because although private bond holders had taken a loss of 53.5% on the face […]

Mitt Romney: the (Groucho) Marxist

I generally wake up before dawn to the sound of the News Briefing on BBC Radio 4. This morning, the dulcet tones of the presenter informed me that Mitt Romney had won the primaries in both Michigan and Arizona. As I took my vitamins in the darkness, my first thought was “good.” While Romney is […]

Moderation and Madness

It has been over 3 months since I moved into my Yorkshire home. The boxes were put away long ago, the pictures have been hung up on the walls, my extensive collection of books and classical music are all on the shelves. When I return home in the evening, the hall light’s warm yellow glow […]

All Change

I haven’t written much through the course of 2011 as it has been a year of massive change. As I type out these words, I’m living in a different home than I was a little over a week ago. On Monday, I’ll be starting a new career with a new company. And all this is […]

Me And My Blog

Picture of meI'm a Doctor of both Creative Writing and Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering, a novelist, a technologist, and still an amateur in much else.