5 October Levelling up? BBC under fire! One day the BBC will be different! mediation, community, arts The quirks of today’s establishment are coming under fire but it seems to be a battle they are bringing upon themselves.
4 October James Bond – whether the character be white, black, male or female, it’s good to know he or she is British! Better keep out of the way of the snipers, though mediation, arts, race, Espionage In days gone by, perished would have been the thought that James Bond could be other than a red blooded British male!
19 August Sibelius – freemason and one of the most masterful composers who ever lived Masonry has had many composers but Sibelius has something unique mediation, masonry, arts Jean Sibelius was Finnish and was born in 1865 and lived a long life, dying in 1957. For some of us he was contemporary!
1 August One more season of “The Crown” to come but Netflix will not include a disclaimer It’s a dangerous policy to issue a fictional drama about living people without disclosing that it is just fiction mediation, arts The “drama series”, The Crown, has certainly made an impact on viewers, particularly in the United Kingdom.
31 July One more season of “The Crown” to come but no disclaimer It’s a dangerous policy to issue a fictional drama about living people without disclosing that it is just fiction mediation, arts The “drama series”, The Crown, has certainly made an impact on viewers, particularly in the United Kingdom.
21 July Proms are back and with full audiences Welcome return of the great British promenade concerts mediation, arts 2020 was a sad year for music lovers who normally throng to the BBC Promenade Concerts which are usually held in one of the country’s most iconic buildings, the Royal Albert Hall.
26 January Night time businesses under imminent threat of closure This is really high risk stuff so no chance it is going to open up again any time soon! mediation, hospitality, Covid-19, community, arts Time marches on and some businesses are now getting sufficiently weighed down with debt that they are just going to close and I am referring in particular to night time businesses, bars and clubs with live music which by their nature involve their patrons in close contact. We are talking of the Night Time Industries Association members.
31 December By way of contemplation – what are your expectations for 2021? There’s a lot to think about just at the moment. The future is by no means certain. mediation, hospitality, Covid-19, community, insolvency, brexit, arts So here we are at last, at long last! The end of what has been a pretty awful year one way or another. 2020 reaches its welcome conclusion very shortly – indeed in parts of the world it is already 2021.
25 December It’s Christmas – time of good cheer - hopefully! For each of us perhaps Christmas means something different but in the UK it is important. mediation, Covid-19, community, masonry, arts I remember many years ago in the nineties when I was in the USA doing my flight training, it was November and one day I went into a big shopping mall – I think it was in Memphis. Everywhere hanging from the ceiling were great big posters with the words “Christmas is all about giving”.
6 September Grand Lodge 140th anniversary commemorated by postage stamp issue showing the wrong man! It cannot be denied that there is a humorous side to this; good job it was not a much more serious issue mediation, community, masonry, arts This is an account of one of those great errors that sometimes creep into life. The Grand Lodge of Romania celebrates its 140th anniversary on 8th September so the country decided to issue a set of commemorative stamps.
23 August The Proms – a great British institution – or it was How much longer before British patience runs out? community, arts The recent news that Rule Britannia and Land of Hope and Glory might be dropped from the Last Night of the Proms because the conductor is Finnish is the ultimate insult.
10 June Zoos and safari parks to re-open. It’s slow going but bit by bit… A chance for entertainment and exercise all in one! mediation, Covid-19, community, insolvency, arts Last week the prospects of zoos opening in the near future were bleak – in fact there was no indication of when this would happen. Evidently the power of persuasion has worked and we are now informed that these entities will re-open from 15th June.
8 June History cannot be re-written – we are where we are because of it not in spite of it. Even if you do not like it, learn from it. mediation, Covid-19, community, arts, race I thought I was going to limit my comments about the unfortunate events of the past days to their effect on our country’s health in relation to Covid-19 and the issues over social-distancing. Unfortunately the problems do not stop there.
28 May BBC – in today’s different world is it time for a complete change? There is a lot of criticism of the BBC these days. mediation, hospitality, community, arts There was a time when the word “television” meant the BBC, just like there was a time when “hoover” meant vacuum cleaner and I have to admit I am old enough to remember both – just, of course! I wonder how many of my readers will admit to the same.
15 May How are our arts going to come out of the other side? Community arts under threat from financial strictures. mediation, hospitality, Covid-19, community, arts The plight of our country’s arts has now hit the news. Pictures of empty theatres remind us that this is a part of our national activity which will possibly be affected for as long as pubs and hotels.