Author Jude Collins

They’re going to close the philosophy department at Middlesex university.  It’s not making enough money, the head honchos figure.  The fact that, like hospitals or schools, universities aren’t in the business of making money doesn’t seem to have struck them.  To their credit,  eminent philosophers from all around the world, including Noam Chomsky, have petitioned […]

  OK, OK – I’m a lazy sod. Also very knackered after staying up all night AND getting up at 5.45 a.m. to go into BBC Radio Ulster. ( Q: Was my journey really necessary? Don’t ask.)  A few initial thoughts on the election. 1. The Alliance’s capture of East Belfast and Peter Robinson’s loss […]

  OK, OK – I’m a lazy sod. Also very knackered after staying up all night AND getting up at 5.45 a.m. to go into BBC Radio Ulster. ( Q: Was my journey really necessary? Don’t ask.)  A few initial thoughts on the election. 1. The Alliance’s capture of East Belfast and Peter Robinson’s loss […]

Interesting article in yesterday’s Guardian newspaper, titled ‘Heads demand fines for false complaints by parents’.  It’s about the annual conference of head teachers in Britain, where they’re fed up with some parents who have what they call a ‘lottery mentality’ – they chance their luck that they’ll be awarded compensation for accusations they’ve dreamed up. […]

Interesting article in yesterday’s Guardian newspaper, titled ‘Heads demand fines for false complaints by parents’.  It’s about the annual conference of head teachers in Britain, where they’re fed up with some parents who have what they call a ‘lottery mentality’ – they chance their luck that they’ll be awarded compensation for accusations they’ve dreamed up. […]

It’s a wonder some of our politicians and a fair number of public commentators have any hands left, they’ve been wringing them so hard in recent days. The latest occasion for exasperation has been Sinn Fein’s commitment to abstentionism. The politicians down Fermanagh/South Tyrone way insist that it’s important to oust Michelle Gildernew  because she […]

It’s a wonder some of our politicians and a fair number of public commentators have any hands left, they’ve been wringing them so hard in recent days. The latest occasion for exasperation has been Sinn Fein’s commitment to abstentionism. The politicians down Fermanagh/South Tyrone way insist that it’s important to oust Michelle Gildernew  because she […]

If I had a kennel, it would be filled with underdogs.  I’m not sure why, but when I see power being wielded,  I find myself tugged to the side of the person on the receiving end. So while I know it’s none of my business who gets elected in Britain, I can’t help but feel […]

If I had a kennel, it would be filled with underdogs.  I’m not sure why, but when I see power being wielded,  I find myself tugged to the side of the person on the receiving end. So while I know it’s none of my business who gets elected in Britain, I can’t help but feel […]

I remember 1992.  I was in the company of a senior SDLP politician and, as is the way of SDLP politicians, he was ignoring me because there was someone more important in the room. It was a few days before polling day for the Westminster elections and the senior SDLP man was explaining to the […]