As villeins or servants of a medieval lord serfs were not actually slaves, though many writers of historical novels would have them so. Peasants they were, and by…
Category: Philosophy
The real Macbeth
Macbeth is the shortest of Shakespeare’s plays and probably the work most associated with that playwright’s well-known sense of imagery. His vivid imagination is also shown hard at…
The end of the British Empire and imperialism
It is barely seventy-two years since a quarter of the human race lived, toiled, danced and finally died under the Union Jack. It is a very short…
A (politically correct) state of affairs
Government, politics, wars and spying are subjects in which evasion and deceit are common and vulgar; hypocrisy is paramount and prudery prominent. The survival of politicians in politics…
The twelve basic tenses in English (British or American)
Present: I work = I work hard all day Past: I worked = I worked hard all last year. Future: I will work = I will…
Intereconomía
This broadcasting company has radio and TV channels and business channels run by experts. Beyond doubt this communications group helped Spanish people make up their minds about the…
Six wives for Henry VIII
“History!” snorted an ex-pupil of mine the other day, “nothing but kings and dates!” I am not even sure if History is still taught in British schools of…
Orange and Orléans
When James II made his Catholicism too ostentatious for seventeenth century Protestant politicians to stomach, a successful conspiracy was made to remove him from the throne he had…
Switzerland: where Italians, Frenchmen & Germans don’t bother with nationalism
A half-dozen of the planet’s most important countries are now infected by the nationalist mosquito. Europe (after the Second War) invented a large country called Yugoslavia…
Humour on Friday: what British public schoolboys think (and say) about each other
The public (i.e. private) schools of Great Britain are not so full of toffs these days. Britain’s democracy since the two world wars has led to a…