In the early hours of what was a sunny Sunday morning (how unlike today) I drove from Shropshire to London to appear on a London Weekend Television programme debating the forthcoming referendum on giving Scotland and Wales devolved governments. It was the morning after the funeral of Princess Diana and all along the route into [...]
Since coming to power in 1997 the British Labour Government has introduced 3,605 new offences – an average of one every day! You really have to wonder what on earth any government thinks it is doing by introducing a new criminal offence every day. Are they necessary? Are they desirable? Have they made the public [...]
The concept of a canal goes back almost to the day that European explorers first landed on the narrow land bridge that links North and South America. They realised that the abundant natural lakes and waterways offered a unique opportunity to create a water passage between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans but it wasn’t until [...]
Cuban revolutionary Fidel Castro was born in the Oriente province of eastern Cuba. He is still alive but it can only be a matter of time before his control is finally broken and Cuba again becomes a member of the international community. When that happens there are going to be massive business opportunities so it’s [...]
The Virgin Islands were named by Christopher Columbus on his second voyage (1493) for Saint Ursula and her virgin followers. Over the next three hundred years, the islands were held by Spain, Britain, the Netherlands, France, and Denmark-Norway. The Danish West India Company settled on Saint Thomas in 1672, on Saint John in 1694, and [...]
In the early hours of 2nd August more than 100,000 Iraqi soldiers backed up by 700 tanks invaded the Gulf state of Kuwait. The Iraqi forces established a provisional government and President Saddam Hussein gave a speech in which he threatened to turn Kuwait city into a “graveyard” if any other country dared to challenge [...]
The phrase Act of Union 1800 actually refers to two acts: the Union with Ireland Act 1800 (an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain) and the Act of Union (Ireland) 1800 (an Act of the Parliament of Ireland). These two Acts merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the unified Kingdom of Great Britain, (being [...]
However as he was aged only one at the time it was not until 1581 that he gained full control of his government. He was well aware of his heritage and of the sad circumstances of his mother’s life and death. Of her internecine war with her cousin Elizabeth I of England. To many people [...]
The European Economic Area consists of all the member states of the European Union plus three of the four European Free Trade Association (EFTA) states, namely Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. By treaty the EFTA states have been allowed to be part of the European Single Market without being required to join the EU. The Fourth [...]
The “This was their finest hour” speech was delivered by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom on 18 July 1940. It was given shortly after he took over as Prime Minister on 10 May, in the first year of World War II. It was the third [...]
Gerald Ford was the thirty-eighth President of the United States, and served from 1974 to 1977. He was the first – and so far only – President to hold the office without ever having won a national election either as President or as Vice President. In 1973 Ford was the leader of the Republicans in [...]
Having arrived in New Zealand from Vanuatu three days earlier, the “Rainbow Warrior” lay peacefully moored at Auckland’s Marsden Wharf. Greenpeace campaigners were preparing the former North Sea fishing trawler for the environmental group’s biggest-ever protest voyage to Moruroa Atoll, the site of French nuclear bomb testing. Unknown to them, two French secret agents had [...]
On 6th July 1854 the Republican Party was founded by a coalition of anti-slavery activists and modernizers. Its early membership consisted of dissatisfied members of the Whig, Free-Soil, and Know-Nothing parties and these were joined by the Northern Democrats who were deeply opposed to their national party’s line on slavery. The Republican Party quickly surpassed [...]
“Give Peace a Chance” was recorded by John Lennon and Yoko Ono on the 1st June 1969 during their infamous Montreal “Bed-in”held in rooms 1738 and 1742 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel. The couple had held first bed-in Amsterdam following their marriage. The intention was to promote the idea “make love, not war” and be [...]
On 1st July 1997 the crown colony of Hong Kong officially reverted to Chinese sovereignty, ending 156 years of British rule. The island of Hong Kong held little more than a few fishermen until the arrival of Europeans in the 19th century. British merchants had been exporting opium to China in exchange for Chinese goods, [...]
On 25th June 1950 North Korea invaded South Korea at several points along the two countries’ joint border. Today the state of war still exists as South Korea has still not signed the Armistice. Korea had been divided since the end of the Second World War and both sides had engaged in sabre rattling since then. [...]
On 23rd June 0930 the Icelandic parliament (the Althing) first sat making it the oldest parliament in the world. However it has not opeerated continuoulsy which is why the Isle of Man, or Manx, Parliament, (the Tynwald) is the oldest parliament still existing having been founded 979. TheAlthing’s establishment, as an outdoor assembly held on [...]
Yesterday was Midsummer Day here in the Northern Hemisphere – and the weather? Rain, more rain, violent storms and high winds! Yes, 21st June was the “longest day” of the year. Well, it was 24 hours long just like all the others, but I suppose it’s called the longest day because it has more hours of [...]
Gordon Brown is a serial offender. Master of the U-turn. And every time he does turn he blames other people for the financial chaos he has caused. We all know about the debacle over the abolition of the 10p tax rate and the criticism heaped on Gordon Brown. Rightly so. He only has himself to [...]
I was in London on business last week and on Wednesday evening, having arrived late at my hotel I decided to have a meal in a small Indian Restaurant not far from the House of Commons. As is common in many such establishments the tables are close together. When I had settled down and ordered [...]
