If you want to get ahead get a headline

Please say a prayer to your favorite god for the soul of Vincent Musetto, who has died, but whose memory will live on for ever and ever amen among sub-editors because in April 1983 he was blessed with the concatenation of circumstance to allow him to write this headline

New superhero… The Tackler

I’m learning to hate the verb “to tackle”. Everybody, in the UK at least, seems to be “tackling” something. We are “tackling climate change”, though of course we aren’t, unless you count tut-tutting about China and India’s power stations, or massaging the figures to ignore what Al “the no-climate-change denier” Gore would never consider the… Continue reading New superhero… The Tackler

She went down big in Leamington

You have to feel sorry for the grieving relatives of Lady Wheeler, as she was carried to her grave in the English town of Leamington in 1893. The funeral attracted hundreds of gawpers from miles around. You also have to feel sorry for the dozen strong men who had to carry her to her grave.… Continue reading She went down big in Leamington

Do not cross the Amazons

The hit theatrical act in Europe during 1892 and 1893 was the “famous Amazon Warriors of Dahomey”. These were ladies that you did not want to mess with. Part of the 6,000 or so strong female contingent of Dahomey’s (now Benin’s) army, on and off engaged in fighting the French Foreign Legion. The Legion often… Continue reading Do not cross the Amazons

Rutland of Jutland and a day that will live in infamy

When English First World War hero and flying ace, “Rutland of Jutland”, became an advisor to the Japanese military on naval aviation in the 1920s, no-one seemed to have thought much more of it. After all, Japan was an ally in WW1. No-one paid much attention — until Pearl Harbor, that is. “Rutland of Jutland”… Continue reading Rutland of Jutland and a day that will live in infamy

Asylum seekers or economic migrants stealing jobs?

Research is like rummaging through your dead grandad’s belongings, only to discover some never-told secret. I wasn’t looking for information on Jewish East European immigration; my interest was in Octavius Morgan and his views, as demonstrated by his speeches in Parliament. But you will see what I am getting at if you read this UK… Continue reading Asylum seekers or economic migrants stealing jobs?

Really pining for the fjords

If you had visited the magnificent Crystal Palace in the summer of 1887 the attractions awaiting you were many and varied. There were cycle races pitting men against racehorses, balloon ascents pitting man against the birds and a Japanese acrobat known as the Original Little All-Right and his act known as the Slide For Life.… Continue reading Really pining for the fjords

A Bad Day (and Night) at the Office at Waterloo

If you visit the crypt of St Paul’s Cathedral in London, you’l find there a florid Baroque monument to a dead scion of an English aristocratic family, The Ponsonbys. William Ponsonby, or to give him his titles, Sir William Ponsonby KCB, MP for Londonderry, was killed at the Battle of Waterloo, on June 18 200… Continue reading A Bad Day (and Night) at the Office at Waterloo

Yesterday once more

You cannot get a clearer lesson from history than this. Substitute in the following speech from the British House of Commons from 121 years ago words such as Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, ISIL, Taliban and the rest and for Britain, replace with ‘The West’ and you’ll see what I mean. Nothing, but nothing, changes, everything really… Continue reading Yesterday once more