Category: History

By-Elections

Following the death of Sir Gerald Kaufman a by-election was supposed to be held yesterday for his seat, Manchester Gorton. It has been deferred until the General Election next month.

War Memorials

An unresolved question has been bouncing around at the back of my mind for a while. I came close to answering it when I was in St Paul’s earlier this month.

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Just a Minute

I try to avoid hesitation, repetition, and deviation. I fail lamentably with deviation and there is an element of repetition today.

Monetary Union

My first impression of James Agate’s diaries was that they are a bit dry but as I get to know the recurring characters I am enjoying Ego 2 enormously. Now I want to tell you about four things that happened last weekend.

Foreign Secretary Thrice

He was in opposition for twenty-three years and under his leadership mass resignations led to his only having twenty-five MPs in his party. While this may be Jeremy Corbyn’s political obituary it actually describes Charles James Fox’s career.

French Revolution

If Marine Le Pen becomes the next French President and she implements her espoused policies, the effect on Europe will be as disasterous as the French Revolution. It seems an unlikely outcome but there have been a few of those recently. In 1792 our politicians were complacent and maybe we are all doing this in… Continue reading French Revolution

Dinner at The Dorchester

James (Jim) Lees-Milne has plenty to say in his diaries about people he meets in the course of his work for the National Trust – often not nice things. Others are charitable about him.

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Avenue

The Spectator, 17th November 1923, reports:

St Paul’s

At the end of March 2012, I went with my cousin to St Paul’s Cathedral for a service to mark the centenary of Scott’s doomed expedition to the South Pole.  My cousin is of an adventurous disposition and had been in Antarctica, qualifying him for two tickets to the service.

Lambeth Palace Library

My maternal grandfather read Theology at St John’s College, Durham and was ordained. He was appointed junior chaplain to the Bishop of Bombay in 1906. Much later he became vicar for West Malling in Kent.