Politicians seem to have shrunk. My brother and I were chuntering about it recently: how the figures we grew up with appeared more substantial, some even approaching the once-serious idea of statesmanship – a word that now feels faintly antique. Of course, the world was different. Times change, and so do our perceptions. Still, one … Read more
My New Identity I haven’t changed. The world around me has. At first, my new identity came as a bit of a surprise, even though it crept up on me over months – perhaps even a couple of years. After all, I campaigned for Labour before I could vote, steeped myself in Orwell as a … Read more
Thanks to the #1970 Club, I’ve spent the spare moments of the past week immersed in The Female Eunuch and all things Germaine (rock groupie, celebrity, author, Shakespearian scholar, wrecking ball, rainforest protector, fearless truth-teller) Greer. I borrowed the book from the library, got stuck in, and then started on the videos of talks, interviews, … Read more
Women’s rights campaigner Kellie-Jay Keen of Let Women Speak had a big announcement last week. Give it a watch. And enjoy some Shirley Bassey covering P!nk at the same time. I am officially the leader of a political party called The Party of Women. Yes – it’s the launch of a new officially registered political … Read more
Two women – Kemi Badenoch and Kellie-Jay Keen – made a splash across the pond on Terf Island this week. First up was the UK Equalities Minister and President of the Board of Trade Kemi Badenoch. In a letter to the Commons Women and Equalities select committee, Kemi Badenoch told MPs that she has strong … Read more
When Claudine Gay resigned as President of Harvard this week the gloating by some conservative activists and commentators was unappealing to put it mildly. Their unseemly glee seemed vindictive and disproportionate. It said more about them and their agenda than it did about Dr. Gay and the dysfunction at Harvard. When Gay did herself few … Read more
One Last week IntrepidEd News published another of my pieces. This one is about how schools are on the front line of the political and emotional turmoil of these times. The world is in crisis and schools are in the middle of it. Schools are on the front line in an emotionally charged space where … Read more
A bunch of angry shouty men showed up to protest the Standing for Women Let Women Speak event in Leeds as is their wont when women gather anywhere to talk about their lives. Inspired by the barbarism of Hamas, this particular crew had a new mantra to add to their mindless repertoire of bleats : … Read more
The daily stroll last week took us down Claremont Avenue where large picture window affords a passing glimpse into a college classroom at Barnard. A young teacher was talking while on the large screen was a slide headed “Principles of Democracy”. Only the top bullet had been revealed – “Inclusion”. Perhaps I jumped to a … Read more
I chanced upon this painting of the meeting between Galileo and John Milton and had a flashback to undergraduate days and the anthology we were required to buy and lug around (and possibly read.) It was American, very heavy, very expensive, and full of all kinds of interesting but rather dense texts. I remember the … Read more
Hope I’m not jumping the gun here but the #1940Club starts next week and I’ve been gearing up and getting ready. The idea is simple. It’s a fun event with no pressure because you can choose anything from the year and read as much or as little as suits you. You can share on your … Read more
In Our Flag Stays Red (1948) Phil Piratin – the Communist Party MP for Mile End – wrote an account of the 1940 occupation of the Savoy Hotel. This is just one of the many stories I came across in the research for the Marienbad – my post about Fritz Stingl and his escape from … Read more
So much gloom, doom, and disaster that it’s important to find counterbalances. Here are a few recent bright spots. Glasgow and Bristol and the USA By all accounts, the Standing For Women event in Glasgow went extremely well. The videos show that the turnout was strong and many women were able to tell their stories. … Read more
Yesterday I took my stickybeaking self downtown to City Hall Park where Standing for Women was holding an event. You can read more about it elsewhere, but the basic idea of these events is a public setup with loudspeakers and the opportunity for any woman who wants to say something about issues affecting women to … Read more
Coming out of the Irish government this week is a truly helpful definition of “gender”. So for all you folks out there who think gender is nonsense – educate yourselves and learn. It’s from the CRIMINAL JUSTICE (INCITEMENT TO VIOLENCE OR HATRED AND HATE OFFENCES) BILL 2022. So now you know. Clear as a peat … Read more