Culture

  • The Queen & her people: A private mission

    The Late Queen wasn’t someone who took a person’s definition lightly, or definitely. If someone said to her that her position was just ceremonial, for instance, she’d think about what they meant.

    Her usual conclusion is alleged to have centred on the ceremonial positions that are replete throughout the UK, “and on every doorstep”, and this reassured her that at least she had a place.

    It’s believed, however, that she saw her role as much more practical than purely presentational because of some sage advice that she was given by others.

    They knew that she struggled in a society that was deeply embroiled in all different types of histories, and this meant her life might be lost to the crowd or in the general times.

    She didn’t pass over the needs of her people. She still played a huge role, if not a political one. Her approach had been to set politics in the place it wanted. She acted around it as if it meant no harm.

    This is exactly how experts see her. They see it in a general setting with other people. She travelled overseas in her own right. She spoke to people about their matters. It wasn’t just about issues that are political all too often.

  • Revealed: “The Russian Project”

    Russia is a fast developing state but it’s not reflected in its population. This is because there is a two- pronged approach to its affairs. The first is the improvement of its overall capabilities. The second is the advancement of its people.

    The former is taking shape and happening at a pace. It’s found in its recent announcement about nuclear. It’s also discovered in its increasing Intelligence capability.

    The latter is a project that isn’t yet seen but it’s on its way. It consists of a new state of affairs for a people that have felt misunderstood. It may be a similarly detailed plan to reassert their culture and values.

    These things are not slight initiatives but are representative of a new set of challenges. It’s the healthiest way for people to restart on a journey to normality and therefore offers diplomatic challenges that we can’t afford to overlook here.

  • A year to remember

    The last year is a sorry record…

    News

    The frantic pace of change at the top has left many clambering for some sense of perspective. It’s not easy to call out the criminal in you and narrate your policy program at the same time. However, it’s worth doing – if only for the pay packet.

    Leadership

    The job of stating and restating your case as more and more show a sincere interest has become an important job to do in the UK this year. It’s Nigel Farage MP, Zack Polanski, and Jeremy Corbyn MP that have steered this course this year.

    International

    As Israel battles on, the world has taken unction with everything it has done. It’s every move is summed up in one word: “genocide”. It’s been repeated so often it might be on your Christmas card this year. It wouldn’t be surprising.

    Celebrity

    We haven’t lost track of the celebrity happenings of late, and considering it’s the same people every time reaching the same milestones as everybody else, we’re unlikely to.

    World

    The disarray felt everywhere is reflected in most people’s lives, especially over the confusion of who does what. It’s not a job title that helps. It’s not an office that helps. It’s not even an introduction. It’s my question that helps.

  • London needs a clear out

    The status of London’s affairs is long overdue for a clear out. It’s clear that a lot of hangovers from the past still exist. It’s not possible to make sense of its affairs until it happens.

    It’s believed embassies of hostile states continue to hinder legal work in the city. In fact, much of their power to influence overseas is said to come from this activity.

    It’s also the case that historic guilds have members that wreak ruin over the lives of many in the city at large. They continue to be a nuisance, and a menace.

    It’s also thought that more historic institutions tied to Parliament have interfered with all its work. We still don’t know who these people are, and why they persist.

    These are changes that need to be made with urgency because as they proceed, we fail. It’s a struggle to make ways in a place that has so much pulling it apart.

  • Our infrastructure design needs more work

    The largest works of infrastructure the UK has are at the centre of attention.

    The large shopping centres that have huge footfall. The rail network that’s in need of a public service update. The football stadiums receiving their long-awaited revamps.

    These are the places, the icons, the structures that take our attention away and lead us to somewhere else in our minds.

    A shot of a concourse in Waterloo Station in the centre of London.

    It’s a story that’s new because for too long many parts of the UK had buildings that were no longer in use and eyesores for many.

    These are now giving way – slowly but surely – to new standards of living and entertainment. It’s also proving practical, and purposeful.

    The intent needs to be to make our unique spaces safe and useful for us everyday. They need to take the wear and tear of our hard graft.

    They need to take the pressures of crowds and the endless, incessant use of daily commuter types.

  • Russian philosophers play the day

    The tradition of philosophising in Russia is a long one, but it produces similar results. The eventual ebb and flow of nationalist thought is generally the same throughout its struggle for a unique identity.

    Today, Russian citizens act as professors for their own destiny. They remake the words of Putin into shadows of truth. They can’t attain to true awareness because they have only themselves to blame.

    Alexander Dugin is one such example of this fatal struggle. He strikes out in support of his State’s nonsense, finding meaning out of words and not reality. In his X posts he succinctly praises the apparent real purpose of a modern Russia. The other view is his ideas have flaws.

    A post on X by Dugin, widely regarded to be an influential academic in Russia.

    He allows a cynicism of human nature to pervade his thinking. It’s the line that divides a Russian from a Ukrainian that makes the world what it is. His impression of the development of humanity is alleged to be along these such lines.

    He’s not a supremacist, but neither is he an empiricist. He doesn’t see the value in a natural concord between people because Russians have a unique nature. They have distinctive ways that must be kept pure. It’s a belief that defining values by yourself is what makes it lasting.

  • Onsite: Tate Britain

    The Tate Britain in London is a treasure of a museum cum gallery of art. Its free entrance is a bonus but the special exhibits inside makes the short trek alongside the River Thames worth it. The use of open spaces and creation of new, modern rooms for the experience of contemporary forms is a breath of fresh air on London’s museums and galleries scene.

    The site has played host to visitors and art fanatics since the 1890’s, and it’s not dimmed since. The eclectic mix of crowds that often descend on it mostly enjoy its environs with enthusiasm. It’s said to elicit strong responses from some who count it amongst the greats in Europe. The focus on Britain is still strong, but it also has a contemporary flourish of international flavours.

  • The new rises up against the old

    There’s a lot of popular philosophy about ‘new’ things, whereas older thinkers critiqued the ancient, the lasting, and the sincere. This is a reflection on the way we invent, create, and own our own identities today.

    A corner of London along the River Thames that shows the recent past against a backdrop of the new.

    This is the future of a generation of cheaper, quicker, and easier means to shared, common goals. It’s not flimsy, hollow, or empty of meaning at all. It’s just how we fit together as modern people.

    The emergence of it is uncomfortable for us, because it sits against the classic, nostalgic, and emphatic ‘stuff’ that’s lastingly told us – and others – who we are. The recent additions are now setting things in newer types of stone.

  • Is the new Archbishop Dame Sarah Mullally?

    The Church of England has a leadership crisis. It occurs at every level. The ‘local’ Parishes are starved of real guidance. The centralised structures are gimmicky. It’s believed many clergy are unsupportive of the membership.

    This is a story I’ve found everywhere in the UK that I’ve stopped to talk to people about it. They aren’t unhappy with God. Their only problem is with his Church.

    The appointment of Dame Sarah Mullally will reassure some, and satisfy others. The express wishes of her leadership will no doubt embolden many to see faith in a new light. Her technical knowhow of people in groups is also a bonus for the club.

    However, the spread of a message is what’s needed now. The Bible is everywhere, in our times, but the spoken doctrine and pastoral care is in short supply. This may be something she can bring to the table, but will it get any further?

  • Jeffrey Epstein is a distraction

    It’s the format of News Journalism right now to ‘get to know’ a pervert over a public figure. It’s led to the spread of ignorance. We don’t understand our times. We know less about our leaders.

    It can’t be so that a dead obsessive has more to say to us than a living example. Yet, sadly, in News Journalism we’re often told so. The other sadness is that once they’re gone, it’s too late.

    In his way Charlie Kirk proved useful to a lot people in a lot of different walks of life but it didn’t dissuade the perpetual coverage. It never does. It’s a menace that brings drama, and also plays the victim.

  • Onsite: The Museum of English Rural Life

    The lazy days of the present are a far cry from hard days in the past. The majority of the work was back-breaking. It’s true that people built the country by the sweat of their brow. However, there’s charm to it still. The old ways often bring out the humour of life, too.

    If you take a look, there’s a lot to see about life back then. There’s interesting machinery and still further politics that made sense of the day. It’s not easy to take in all at once because there’s so much to find out. Yet it’s worth a try because life is enriched by it.

  • The Left attacks our work

    The Left is all around us. They infiltrate our schools. They’re on our campuses. They try to run our companies.

    Its people are vile. Their bank accounts are full of our money. Their records are criminal. They hate us and our ways.

    Names of secretive Left groups.

    The fact is they’ve long plotted a bohemian rebellion. It’s dead set against us. They say no war and yet do it to us.

    Their minds are stunted. They make false accusations. The make theories. They live off hearsay. They hate our country.

  • Racism lives in other forms

    There are many types of racist objects. They include art, books, and toys. Today’s intolerance to it means it seeds in other ways. It’s done primarily in media.

    A front page of a newspaper in a shop in the UK.

    The headline is a secretive way. A photo is subversive. The tagline is covert. It depends on the outlet – and its authors. They invent a system to enable its use.

  • London is a growing power

    It’s believed by some that London is a relic of the past. It has cultural heritage. It has museums. It has old streets. It has charm. It has a look about it.

    However, it’s only its past.

    The fact is London is now a growing power. It’s increasing its influence in many parts of the world. It’s moving up, and spreading its wings.

    The future is bright for it.

    Its centres of business are multiplying in importance. Those who work in them are buoyant about their jobs. They have access to the rest of the world.

  • Life is a story of how it doesn’t work

    The UK is a fraught place. We have fears over a lot of things. Every day stories emerge of it going badly wrong. For some of us this only confirms our worst fears. It highlights the fragility of life.

    A ‘Lime’ bike lying in a London river.

    The stocks go down. The bottom line takes a beating. The investment proposal is sunk. The bank transfer doesn’t come through. The pay isn’t as good as we hoped. They’re just some of our anxieties.