Verdun and Arras

Written October 2026 For the last three years I’ve gone on a battlefield history tour with friends. In 2024 we went to Ypres, last year we went to Normandy. This year we went a bit further afield and delved into French history with a visit to Verdun. The first serious military history book I ever read was Alistair Horne’s “The Price of Glory”, first published in 1962. I must have been in my early teens, so perhaps a bit of a strange book to choose. Anyway, I have always had an interest in the battle since then but have never...

Andy Burnham speech

Written September 2026 I didn’t tune in to Andy Burnham’s conference speech, and I have just watched a couple of clips on social media (which both seemed to offer more emoting and teariness than I can really take from the political class). I decided to read the speech on the Labour Party website but I do have to admit it couldn’t hold my attention all the way through. Speeches are meant to be listened to rather than read I suppose. We are assured that Burnham is an impressive communicator, and perhaps by the standards of today’s political discourse he is,...