THE TIMES (of London) never ceases to amaze me. Its lead story (30 July) is headed “Farm animals tortured under Red Tractor label” and, no it’s not a reprint from The Cold War, nor even about Putin’s Russia, but a horror story from Bedfordshire, where “piglets” as the locals term banbhai/bonnavs , are regularly goaded […]
July, 2018
Peter and the pyromaniacs
Probably the most interesting feature of Peter Robinson’s warning about preparation for a united Ireland has been the reaction of other politicians. Or make that ‘what other politicians have said’, as sometimes politicians pretend a reaction which isn’t always an honest one. Most unionist politicians weren’t one bit thrilled by Peter’s Glenties speech. Sammy Wilson hi-jacked […]
‘FORGETTING PECCADILLOS?’ – A LETTER TO THE TIMES by Donal Kennedy
To: letters@thetimes.co.uk Subject: FORGETTING PECCADILLOS? Janice Turner believes we should not judge the actions of historical characters by today’s standards. Would she apply different criteria to, say, 1918 and the 1930s?. You reprinted a piece on 14 July from 14 July 1918 fully supporting a mass meeting in Trafalgar Square, where a motion was carried […]
LAPDOG BITES BULLDOG (3) by Perkin Warbeck
The Linguistic Lapdog with the Laptop operates two remarkably opposite bark policies, for sure and simultaneously: Re. Anglophobia: his policy is to bark narkily from dark to dark with exclamation marks !!!! Re. Gaelphobia : his policy is / is é a pholasaí ná tost nó bust ó dhubh go dubh, with nere a […]
Signing up to human respect
One of the things glossed over in the Ian Paisley junket-on-steroids family holiday was the nature of the Sri Lankan government, which funded him and for whom he lobbied the British prime minister of the time, David Cameron. Is the Sri Lankan government one that should not, as Ian Paisley urged Cameron, be investigated for […]
The tale of my book
Do writers read reviews? Well I proceed from the premise that all writers are bottomless pits of vanity and insecurity and probably do. That’s why I’ve been scanning the papers and airwaves since my book Martin McGuinness:The Man I Knew cam out last March. It’s been slim pickings. BBC Raidio Uladh/Radio Ulster made a ten-second […]
Will the UK pay its bill before leaving?
To say the media are deeply interested in Brexit would be an understatement: they are obsessed by it. Which isn’t surprising, since Brexit will be the most significant action taken by the UK in the last fifty years at least. There’s a second reason which adds to the media focus: the almost incredible in-fighting. […]
Saturday pics of the week
Pics 1-3 are by Perkin Warbeck Pic 1 Pic 2 Pic 3 DUP TWIN POLICY PLANKS […]
Peter and the trauma of a united Ireland
Like most people, I’ve mercifully avoided – so far – the experience of having my house burnt down. But I can imagine the feelings of utter desolation, that the place with so many memories and souvenirs and plain financial value had been taken away, for ever. Leave aside that the smoke and flames would be […]
Ian Paisley Jr and two unforgettable family holidays
You probably heard Claire Hanna on Talkback yesterday. She’s got a musical voice that’s laced with cheerfulness, and if you weren’t careful you could find yourself agreeing with her. But that would be a bad mistake. Because Claire wants any coming by-election in North Antrim to be about Brexit. Wrong, Claire. Wrong wrong wrong wrong. […]