In the beginning was World War One (1914-18), then World War 2 (1939-45). There have been various conflicts since 1945, but none has qualified being counted as a World War (note capitalisation) and their number has remained stuck firmly on two. Until today. Step forward one Nadine Vanessa Dorries, inexplicably elevated way beyond her subterranean …
Two days ago (and not before time. Ed.) Microsoft ended support for Internet Explorer (IE) 11, the final version release of its web browser first introduced in 1994. Over the years, Microsoft has been steering Windows users away from IE and towards Edge, its newer browser which is based upon the free and open source …
Party-time alleged prime minister Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson survived a vote of confidence on Monday and is clinging to office despite 40% of his party colleagues voting against him, a higher proportion than previous no-confidence votes against former Tory premiers Margaret Thatcher (of sainted memory. Ed.) and Theresa May. Since then Johnson and his …
Whilst your ‘umble scribe has done his best to avoid the jubilee jollities, he cannot help noticing that, in addition to the usual criticism found on social media, two of the pillars of the British establishment, namely the Church of England and the monarchy itself, have been indulging in some very subtle digs at the …
1977 was allegedly a year for celebration as Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor had spent 25 years as unelected head of state of the English Empire (which some still call the United Kingdom. Ed.). At the time I was in the final year of my degree and well remember derelict buildings in the town centre being draped in …
The For Dummies set of reference books/instruction manuals has for years been sold as a non-intimidating guide for ordinary mortals and in its early days used to feature the wording in the title as a reassuring means of gaining sales from Joe and Jane Soap (or John and Jane Doe for readers on the north …
It has long been a source of amusement when high-ranking politicians try to show they have the common touch and end up making fools of themselves. Such an instance happened yesterday when the death of actor Dennis Waterman was announced. Step forward Nadhim ‘Stable Genius’ Zahawi, the Downright Dishonourable Member of Parliament for Stratford Upon …
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian is a humorous novel by Marina Lewycka, first published in 2005, which went on to win the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize at the Hay literary festival, the Waverton Good Read Award 2005/6 and was shortlisted for the 2005 Orange Prize for Fiction, Over one million copies of the …
A short history of tractors in Tiverton & Honiton Read More »
I’ve been on Twitter for 13 years now and there’s never a dull moment on the platform. One of my old college friends told me earlier this week he’d left the platform, describing it as a bear pit. Twitter can indeed by a rough and unforgiving place if one discusses politics and especially when one …
One recent development your ‘umble scribe has noticed in respect of the vocabulary used by members of the Fourth Estate is an unprecedented rise in the use of amid. This preposition has the following definition: in or into the middle of;surrounded by. A useful synonym in this context is among. Other definitions include during and …