The Plashing Vole

I had a day out down the Severn Valley on Saturday, in search of bucolic pleasures. It involved a bus to beautiful Bridgnorth, a vintage die...

My good friend The Rise and Rise of Tim Lovejoy  gets spam. This time, the quality of writing on The Plashing Vole led the poor saps to beli...

Wedgwood was a fascinating man: selling expensive wares to the elite, while supporting the French and American revolutions, campaigning agai...

I'm finding this bass line - Graham Coxon's 'Seven Naked Valleys' horribly addictive. So: Friday's Condundrum: best ...

Lots of liberals are whinging that the Bahrain Grand Prix shouldn't go ahead. 'Human Rights', they cry, weeping into their mues...

Books bought in the week I've been on holiday: 0! Books read: many! I've turned over a new lead. Off the top of my head: Ben Mast...

Final few of my favourite shops from my stroll around Stoke. Rest here , or click these for larger versions. If you own a pottery or any kin...

Some more of my favourites from a wander around Stoke. I talked to a few people as I strolled around. One was an ex-potter, sickened by the ...

I won't rehearse the rude things Orwell, Priestley and others have said about Stoke-on-Trent. Instead, I'll show you the photographs...

Spotted at the Wedgwood Visitor Centre, the birthplace of modern pottery, in Stoke on Trent: (Click on them to enlarge) (This is the Ol...

One for me, and one serious one on behalf of a horticultural chum. 1. If you could commit only ONE violent assault on a member of the Conser...

The poor, sick, young and old aren't the only victims of George Osborne's larcenous budget: cathedrals are hurting too, and Wakefiel...

Apologies for the break in service. Persecuted by the barbs of students about my online presence, I took some time off to do some relaxing W...

If I were a vole of faith, which I'm not, I'd feel pretty let down by my political leaders: those who profess a strong faith (such a...

Odd email today: Hi [Vole], I came across your site while searching for resources related to ‘Mac Rumors’ and noticed that you had refere...

The latest wheeze designed by Pob Michael Gove, whose post as Secretary of State for Education must be some kind of public school jape, is ...

I'm a happy Vole now the wind's howling and the rain's falling. A good dump of lovely snow over the benighted Dark Place would b...

After the horror of last week's Death Comes To Pemberley , which I have decided I will finish in spite of its all-round awfulness, I...

This a wheeze designed to explain to people what academics do on a daily basis. Given that my students think that my waking hours are spent ...

18th April 2012, 6-8, in MC001: Fred d'Aguiar !  This is a very big deal: internationally renowned poet, novelist, playwright and crit...