Written 28 April 2021 This is just to form some sort of record on what I’ve done: I started from basically having effectively no knowledge on how to build a blog, and that’s still the case. I have something up and running, I understand a few basic concepts, but I have a very long way to go and lots still to learn. Rather naively, when I looked into starting a blog about a year ago I got my self a WordPress account and then thought that was it. I was away. I don’t know when I realised that in fact...
Written 28 April 2021 Having set up the website and written a few things the question arises why I’ve decided to do this. There’s no single reason for, it is perhaps easier to set out what are not the reasons but anyway here goes. Twitter describes itself as a “microblogging” site. At least it did, but it isn’t really anymore. I used to love Twitter, and I still think that the world is overall a better place for it, but having spent a number of years slowly getting the hang of it, interacting with really interesting people and being exposed...
Written 13 April 2020 So, thought I would have a crack at another post. I’ve read my first post and think it’s not that good to be honest, a bit all over the place. I’ve never really been one to write longish pieces, I studied maths and science from the age of 16 so developing any sort of writing ability has always felt like a bit of a long haul, though after more than thirty years I am now much better than I was when I first started working. Still, no excuses, like anything writing is easy to throw stones...
I’ve finally got round to reading Progress and Poverty by Henry George, a book I’d never heard of until a few years ago. In fact, when I say read I mean that I downloaded it on my Kindle and read some of it but I’ve got through most of it using a free audiobook/podcast which I found good. I generally read in the evenings and it is not the easiest book to read, it needs concentration, there is a lot in it and it is very much a book of its time in terms of style. Background Before setting down...
Written 5 April 2020 After a month or so of following the news, watching the daily news conferences and reading the coverage in the media and seeing the issue of the pandemic moving up the agenda my strong impression now is that policy in the UK and throughout the Western world is being formed in a vacuum. In the UK we see a Government that has been given significant power in law and now acting without Parliamentary opposition (Parliament is not even in session, setting aside the fact that the Labour Party is in the midst of an extended, inward...
I have been interested in the history of our relationship with land for a number of years and have been searching for a good introduction to the history of enclosure in England for some time but without ever really seeing something that looked quite right. When I read a review of this book in The Guardian I immediately pre-ordered it, something I’ve never done before, and I’m very glad I did. Nick Adams has produced a lovely book that covers a huge amount of ground in a detailed and rigorous way without being dry and academic. The chapters each explore...
