The Catholic Church and Vaccinations
In September 2020 the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales issued a statement COVID-19 and Vaccination (24 September 2020). In the light of the recent breakthrough in vaccine development we now...
View ArticleThe Unseemly Rush to Open
I know that as a retired person with a guaranteed income, my pension, no mortgage and no children to home-school I am having it relatively easy during the lockdowns. But am I the only one with grave...
View ArticleMellish Christmas Newsletter (Christmas 2020)
That was the year that was, its over let it go.” Those of you who were watching TV in England in 1962/63 may well remember “That Was the Week That Was” affectionately known as TW3 a satirical TV...
View ArticleWhy go to University?
For the past number of years university has become the "must have" when people leave school. It is the thing to do, whether it is the best option or not. In more recent years there has been the...
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Lord and Lady Mellish
For part of our Golden Wedding Anniversary present our children bought us the title to the Manor of Hogun. This means that Julia and I are entitled to be addressed as Lord Barry and Lady Julia! Below...
View ArticleThe Hidden Casualties of War
Whilst pondering on the war dead this Remembrance Day I thought of, and prayed for, the forgotten victims of the war - war widows and their families. Take my wife's grandfather Arthur Earnest Smith....
View ArticleWhen is a Party not a Party?
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister wished to go on record as positively confirming his previous denial that any sort of party took place last Christmas in No 10 Downing Street or its environs. What...
View ArticleLiving in Interesting Times
"Nobody told me that it broke the rules", this is Mr Johnson's plantiff cry in many of today's newspapers in response to questions on the "event" that he attended. So our Prime Minister, who gave...
View ArticleI never cease to wonder
Why would anyone, least of all the prime minister’s principal private secretary, apparently send an email to 100 people marked, “Official. Sensitive. No 10 ONLY”, inviting them to “socially distanced...
View ArticleAre banks responsible?
If I am scammed, that is willingly move my money to another account when asked to why, should the bank(s) reimburse me if the issue was fraudulent? If I buy something from a person selling stuff out...
View ArticleDon't kick the cat
Everyone is, rightly, up in arms about Zouma and the cat kicking. However they will ignore reports that more than 6,500 migrant workers from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have died...
View ArticleA Rakes Progress
Yesterday Julia and I went to Tate Britain to see the Hogarth exhibition. I was familiar with some of his prints but had not realised that a great deal of his work was in oils. What was fascinating...
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Firstly many, many congratulations to the ladies and mens curling teams on their medals at the Winter Olympics. A fitting reward for all the many years of hard-work that they put in. Then of course...
View ArticleRequest from the Chief Rabbi in the Ukraine
The Chief Rabbi of Ukraine has asked for Christians to recite the following verses of Psalm 31 aloud.Psalm 31 21-2421 Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a...
View ArticleWhat happens to former dictators? Where does Putin go?
The reason for asking this is that sooner or later, and I hope that it is sooner, we have to start thinking about the end-game of the war in the Ukraine. From what I have read Putin is stubborn and...
View ArticleWhat has happened to Putin?
What has happened to Putin? Why has he flipped? The major question of the day is how can he withdraw Russian forces without losing his job/head? Both Sir John Sawyers, former head of MI6 and Donald...
View ArticleFreedom
One old lady wants to go outside. Her cries grow ever more plaintive: “I need some fresh air, help me.” Then, more urgently: “I’m dying! Let me out!” The carers are endlessly patient: “We’re doing the...
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The Prime Minister must go
The number of times that we have changed PM during wars: and these were wars in which we were fighting rather than supporting.
View ArticleWhy we played (Rugby that is)
When the battle scars have fadedAnd the truth becomes a lieAnd the weekend smell of linimentCould almost make you cry.When the last rucks well behind youAnd the man that ran now walksIt doesn’t matter...
View ArticleReflection from a year or so go that is still relevant
Apart from being engulfed by the CV-19 pandemic we are now caught in the maelstrom of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and all the protests initially caused by the murder of (black) George Floyd...
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