arbitrary constant

Recent Entries in History

• Man walks into a column, no.7: Church

  I find Christianity absolutely fascinating. Not in a patronising 'look at those poor deluded fools and their strange beliefs' kind of way, but because, to me, the whole thing seems so exotic, complex, oscillating, old, violent, important, influential, impassioned, bizarre. And as with anything so deep-rooted and wide-ranging, the history of the Christian peoples holds a great deal that resonates with our troubled times. Christianity pervades every corner of art, literature, cinema, politics, life, and...

• "Dad, who was Nick Clegg?"

  Today's tuition fees vote will make for an interesting bit of history in 20 years' time. Before I say why, here are a few (probably unpopular) thoughts on the issue of tuition fees: I agree in both principle and practice with tuition fees. A university education is a choice, and something to be valued by the individual who makes that choice. Once the principle of fees had been established by the Labour government the politics...

• Churchill: nuts bad for the brain

  I figure you know the famous stuff well, which is why I'm concentrating on the miscellanea (plus if I wasn't as 'disciplined' as this, I'd be blogging the entire book, page by page). This week, I loved Churchill's verdict on diets, in a letter to the Minister of Food: I am glad you do not set too much store by the reports of the Scientific Committee. Almost all of the food faddists I have ever...