The Plashing Vole

The mediocre millionaire MP got his face on Prime Minister's Question Time today, the high point of any backbencher's career. Was it...

It's getting out of hand. Today's post: very rare copy of Lionel Britton's Hunger and Love (1931) Ellen Wilkinson's crusa...

We're on strike again in a few days, objecting to our pension being reduced, our contributions increased and our working lives extended ...

Yes, Philip Davies MP has bravely proposed that the Minimum Wage (a princely £5.93 for over 21s) should be abolished for the disabled  (and ...

Well, not quite, but I am taking the afternoon off: Ben and I are going on a cheese and book crawl in Stratford on Avon. Because that's ...

This is Felt . They were very sensitive boys. I like them. They're gone now (though one did go on to found Denim , a group which heavily...

Ah me, more books today and this weekend. Though I did read two novels as well as a newspaper each day: Rupert Thomson's dreamlike specu...

Sorry to tease you: I merely visited the pretty town of Stone, Staffordshire yesterday. A wander along the canal, and a decent meal. A few p...

Or, The Politician Who Didn't Want His Photograph Taken (or notes made of anything he said). Now, I know you're all on tenterhooks...

More fascinating books in the post today. Thanks to the generosity of David at World of Books , I've acquired three more Left Book Club ...

Jeremy Hunt, Culture Secretary, held a PR stunt today to 'launch' the School Games : The event was one of nine pilots taking place ...

As a member of UCU, I'm taking strike action on June 30th. Here's why. Listen to this morning's interview with Danny Alexande...

Apparently my hardworking, sensitive and caring MP, Paul Uppal, made a series of disgraceful statements about his consituents last night in ...

I watched the BBC News last night. They had the story about a US Congressman who resigned after texting women pictures of his penis. His nam...

Now why would Conservative Central Office be Googling one of their own MPs? Domain Name chugai-pharm.co.uk   ?  (U.K.) IP Address 194.203...

It was also the anniversary, a couple of days ago, of the Peasants' Revolt . They invaded London, camped at Blackheath (now an extremely...

I'm a very petty man, as friends, family and colleagues will attest. I truly believe that anyone who doesn't hold a grudge is simply...

It's Bloom's Day: when literate drunk Irish people (and that's all of them) celebrate James Joyce's Ulysses, which - as you ...

I always wonder who has to give consent before some scumbag politician descends on your hospital bed for some cheap publicity. Imagine havin...

Everyone watching the lunar eclipse tonight? Meanwhile, you may like this snarky, pedantic website , picking up Facebook spelling and gram...