tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60154772011-04-22T03:48:46.920+01:00For not upon these hills alone<br> The doom of sport shall fall<br> O'er the broad face of England creeps<br> The shadow on the wall.JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1139855481510461092006-02-13T18:31:00.000Z2006-02-13T18:31:21.536Z

Drinking From Home: Brown's BuzzwordsAnother two words that Brown should contemplate.

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068397383948542322003-11-09T17:03:00.000Z2003-11-18T19:45:14.350Z

The England Project has moved We can now be found at www.theenglandproject.net/mt/. Please update your links.

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068211747374809512003-11-07T13:29:00.000Z2003-11-07T13:29:10.990Z

This just in From my good lady Lynn:Just back from costco, and despite my best intentions I have caved in and bought one "omigod I must have it" item. We are now the proud owners of one bright green snowboogie blade runner board. Big enough for two (well one adult, one child or two children but probably not two adults), with four handles and some serious street cred styling, it looks like it will

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068204975724714622003-11-07T11:36:00.000Z2003-11-07T12:33:46.876Z

Out of touch Besides discussions on why our local state school is seriously underfunded I have also been hearing troubling things about the tests on 7 and 11 year olds. Now the NUT is to ballot its members on a boycott of those tests.When the boycott goes ahead, no child's education will be disrupted. Instead teachers will be able to use their professional judgement to their pupils' benefit and

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068202511804147762003-11-07T10:55:00.000Z2003-11-07T10:57:07.843Z

Tainted Peter Cuthbertson on Michael Howard:But Howard fought on against such people and proclaimed again and again that "prison works". In his three and a half years in the Home Office, he was able to prove this. His solution to rocketing crime didn't approach the sophistication of a postmodernist sociology graduate's thesis. There was little in anything he said about the need for all of society

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068130315134141482003-11-06T14:51:00.000Z2003-11-06T15:02:24.166Z

In Gordon's hands? Melanie Phillips writes about the battle between Blair and Brown which seems to have become a little more public recently. She says thatThe Prime Minister is now exposed, lonely and supremely vulnerable.It seems to me that Blair's future depends more upon Mr. Brown's behaviour than it does on his own and I think that over the coming weeks and months we will see a more vocal and

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068125166507932582003-11-06T13:26:00.000Z2003-11-06T13:31:11.673Z

Some poetic advice From one Norman to another:"They'll drink every hour of the daylight and poach every hour of the dark, It's the sport not the rabbits they 're after (we've plenty of game in the park). Don't hang them or cut off their fingers. That's wasteful as well as unkind, For a hard-bitten, South-country poacher makes the best man-at-arms you can find.From "Norman and Saxon" by Rudyard

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068124303949360622003-11-06T13:11:00.000Z2003-11-06T13:32:33.236Z

The ban cycle Labour MP Diane Abbott is urging the government:to consider banning the manufacture, sale, transfer and importation of all imitation weapons which can cause a dilemma for police who do not know whether a firearm is real or not.That's basically all the Auto-Electric, Gas Blow Back and Spring guns used in Airsoft skirmishing, a pastime in the UK that's growing in popularity. It could

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068112032024162692003-11-06T09:47:00.000Z2003-11-06T09:47:15.113Z

An oasis in the middle classes I think that I live in a cul-de-sac that's somewhat of an oasis in a very middle class town. You see, even though everyone in the cul-de-sac thinks they're middle class, according to Ted Wragg in the Guardian we must be mistaken:Sending a child to the local state school is seen by many middle-class parents as a betrayal of your caste. When my eldest daughter entered

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068107879979623952003-11-06T08:37:00.000Z2003-11-06T09:19:21.180Z

Away from the middle? Iain Murray, over at The Edge of England's Sword has taken the questionable Worlds Smallest Political Quiz. I took this some time back and came out centrist though this seems to have changed now: I thought that I answered the questions on drug policy and movement across borders in a distinctly un-libertarian manner. No matter, it is a questionable quiz after all. In the

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068047206950687012003-11-05T15:46:00.000Z2003-11-05T19:41:28.870Z

The decisions we make I once made a decision, many years ago, that I would keep the tickets to every concert that I ever went to. I'm not sure why I decided to do that but I'm glad that I did. I've ended up with a great reminder of my youth in the form of a framed picture containing the assembled tickets. Each one is like a little snapshot in time for me. Not happier days, just different. It's

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068040358675133922003-11-05T13:52:00.000Z2003-11-05T22:16:46.253Z

Galaxies are like buses Not only is the sun exploding but at the same time we are colliding with not one, but two galaxies.An international team of astronomers has found a previously unknown galaxy colliding with our own Milky Way.That's in addition to one discovered in 1994 doing a similar sort of thing. I must try to be strong just in case Kim is looking. Come on you galaxies, let's have you

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068037947176450022003-11-05T13:12:00.000Z2003-11-05T18:49:19.316Z

Kim, like Ken, is wrong Kim du Toit thinks that the process of male pussification is almost complete in Europe. He asksHow did we get to this?The answer is simple; we didn't. I understand where Kim is coming from but to use such a generous pussy dipped brush with which to paint us all is just asking for a trouble (ahem). UPDATE: Kim wants men everywhere to go back to being real menTo open doors

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068034426704452232003-11-05T12:13:00.000Z2003-11-05T19:43:41.916Z

Ken is so wrong London mayor Ken Livingstone is dissing spidy.Mr Livingstone said the protest, part of a continuing campaign by Fathers 4 Justice, did nothing to help Mr Chick's cause. He added that Mr Chick, was "amply demonstrating why some men should not have access to their own children". "He is a man who is putting his own life at risk, police officers at risk, other Londoners who may be

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1068023234721026432003-11-05T09:07:00.000Z2003-11-05T09:09:33.386Z

The Victoria Cross: For Valour I watched a programme last night on BBC2 called The Victoria Cross: For Valour. It was written, directed and presented by that bloke Jeremy Clarkson, which is always a good thing IMHO. The main thrust of the program was to describe how in September 1944, Major Robert Cain won what was described as the finest Victoria Cross of the Second World War. His story is

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067958123205714752003-11-04T15:02:00.000Z2003-11-04T15:44:32.923Z

Do the Australians really hate the English? Not according to Professor Carl Bridge of the Australian Studies Centre at King's College London:"It's because the English are seen as part of the family that they can be insulted round the dinner table. It shows the respect and rivalry that exists.He has a point I think. I have an Aussie friend who enjoys throwing the odd insult; I know he doesn't mean

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067956922257341802003-11-04T14:42:00.000Z2003-11-04T14:42:33.130Z

Quote of the day After his Ignoble Disgrace, Satan was being expelled from Heaven. As he passed through the Gates, he paused a moment in thought, and turned to God and said, "A new creature called Man, I hear, is soon to be created." "This is true," He replied. "He will need laws," said the Demon slyly. "What! You, his appointed Enemy for all Time! You ask for the right to make his laws?" "

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067951890084749212003-11-04T13:18:00.000Z2003-11-06T08:07:58.906Z

Peter's monsters Peter Hitchens declares that:Michael Howard has been drafted in to keep the party warm for Michael Portillo.I agree with him. I also think that's a couple of Michaels too many. I'm not sure I agree with Hitchen's starting paragraph though:A squalid putsch and a series of dirty deals will not save the Tory Party. Nothing will save the Tory Party.The tory party may not end up

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067946257476748422003-11-04T11:44:00.000Z2003-11-04T11:45:55.810Z

Goodbye English Nature It seems that the government is planning to abolish English Nature, the agency that is suppose to champion wildlife and geology conservation in England.Ministers want the work to be taken over by a new body responsible for protecting the landscape and delivering services in local areas.And I'm sure that they'll let us know how this differs from what English Nature does

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067937735282501222003-11-04T09:22:00.000Z2003-11-04T09:36:47.393Z

Hey, look at that castle I am at this moment waving at the figure that I can just make out standing in the castle ramparts. The drawbridge is up and there is a delightful smell of what could be roast beef wafting from the kitchens.Hello, I'm searching for the Holy Grail.I hope he doesn't already have one.

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067936210247101842003-11-04T08:56:00.000Z2003-11-05T10:15:24.633Z

Do we really want to throw our lot in with the cockroaches? Steven Den Beste, in a relatively short posting yesterday, attempted to crystallise why there’s so much friction between Europe and the USA.Since then, those Europeans which Boyle refers to as "cockroaches" have been acting in their own self-interest, as have we. If we come into conflict, it primarily demonstrates how little we have in

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067934769536307622003-11-04T08:32:00.000Z2003-11-04T08:32:52.396Z

It's nice to have a choice Noelle Lenoir, France's minister for European affairs, has ordered all French schools to pin up a map of the EU and a summary of its constitution; the award of a "European citizenship" card to everyone who reaches 18; and the flying of the EU flag at all major sporting events next to France's national flag. Her aim is to promote awareness of the EU's "role in the

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067897686968924362003-11-03T22:14:00.000Z2003-11-03T22:16:01.666Z

Keep it in the family It's all about the family business and nothing to do with the enemy class.BSkyB has appointed media tycoon Rupert Murdoch's son James as its new chief executive, setting the scene for a bruising confrontation with shareholders.Honest.James Murdoch's candidacy for the top job has been championed by his father, whose News Corporation media conglomerate is BSkyB's biggest

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067882869416502272003-11-03T18:07:00.000Z2003-11-03T18:08:31.153Z

Holy cow This album is brilliant. What's wrong with me? It was only a few years ago that I was at a Motorhead concert. I've seen Metallica live, Queen's last ever tour, Deep Purple, ZZ Top, Clapton, Pink Floyd and it's come to this. Sweet Lord have mercy.

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067873943549949982003-11-03T15:39:00.000Z2003-11-03T15:51:09.476Z

Free America Petronella Wyatt thinks that the Americans have de-politically corrected themselves. She says that the Americans think there are:more important things in life than hectoring people about their social behaviour.and she suggests that the opposite is happening in Blighty.The most extreme example of this unnatural shift is hunting. As a ban on hunting with hounds steals upon us, the

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067870690063220762003-11-03T14:44:00.000Z2003-11-03T14:50:23.773Z

Sexy housing Peter Hitchens is dissing property ownership:The great British home-owning fetish has always looked like a dead end. Why do people think of their houses as assets?Because generally that's what they are. Just because the price of a bigger house has also gone up it does not invalidate the fact that you now have an item (in this case a house) worth more than you paid for it.So what have

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067859028114735102003-11-03T11:30:00.000Z2003-11-03T11:31:12.163Z

What would huggy bear say? From this to this. Starsky and Hutch... The 1970s cop show stars, normally associated with high speed car-chases, will be at the Caravan and Outdoor Leisure Show at Earls Court on Tuesday.Let's never mention this again.

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067854914393230272003-11-03T10:21:00.000Z2003-11-03T10:38:22.220Z

An iconic cycle What has one small wheel, one big wheel, three gears and a bucket full of freaking attitude? The Raleigh Chopper. If there’s one iconic item from the youth of my generation this bike is it. You’d see the kids outside of the sweet shop sitting on their choppers, one foot on a pedal and the other on the ground, hand on the gear stick trying to look as cool as possible. Some

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067848580726270772003-11-03T08:36:00.000Z2003-11-03T08:37:08.076Z

Quote of the day I know that it's a bit early have a quote of the day but I doubt a better one will come to my attention today. If one does I'll be sure to punish myself.I am not one who, to quote an American author, believes that democracy and enterprise have finally won the battle of ideas - that we have therefore arrived at the end of history, and there is nothing left to fight for. That would

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067773746874095652003-11-02T11:49:00.000Z2003-11-02T11:51:19.956Z

The Hunt David Carr is reminded of a 'spaghetti western' by the pro-hunt movement. I've been receiving the Countryside Alliances grass e-route mailings since the early days of the organisation and have been very impressed with the sheer level of organisation and commitment shown by it and its members. They are a serious bunch of people who are, effectively, fed up to the hind teeth with the

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067707475682090082003-11-01T17:24:00.000Z2003-11-01T17:48:31.383Z

Cheese The Group Captain runs a feature named Wanderings with my camera where he publishes a photograph that he's taken of an old bit of wood here and another of a throne there etc which seems like a jolly good idea to me. So I thought that I'd publish a photograph from one of my wanderings, this time from August 2002 taken with a Canon S20 digital camera. Can you guess where this was taken?

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067705200490943822003-11-01T16:46:00.000Z2003-11-01T16:48:07.960Z

The text files If you're interested in the early days of the Internet and keen on its history you may find The Text Files interesting. They are a collection of text files from early BBS systems put together and maintained by Jason Scott who is keen to preserve the history that the files contain:But I was there, and I played my part. There were things I saw firsthand and rumors I heard whispered

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067679152245423782003-11-01T09:32:00.000Z2003-11-01T13:32:42.233Z

DerekWyattMP@barking.mad I wish I could make something like this up but, frankly, I'm not a comic genius.MP suggests solution to Spam Current email address is: derekwyatt@aol.com New address would be: derekwyatt@aol.swiaoaa.co.uk Sw1aoaa being his postcode and .co.uk so that we know where the email has come from so an end to .com though .com.uk would be fine. Since some, especially

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067677639897526742003-11-01T09:07:00.000Z2003-11-01T09:07:22.190Z

Sigh Permalinks. Why don't they work in blogger? Would paying for my own host and blogging software prop up the class system?

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067676108716926432003-11-01T08:41:00.000Z2003-11-01T13:33:13.030Z

Smell that coffee goodness I laughed out loud I tell you. I caught Labour MP Diane Abbott on radio 5 live the other night trying to explain her decision to send her son to a private school when she has actively campaigned against others doing the same for their children. To be fair to her she did admit to not having a leg to stand on (haha) and to being a hypocrite (haha) but she also said that

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067625297129033872003-10-31T18:34:00.000Z2003-10-31T18:34:58.890Z

Jeepers I'm up on samizdata.net's quote of the day. How did that happen?

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067624991091066592003-10-31T18:29:00.000Z2003-11-01T13:33:46.936Z

Remembering I think now would be an appropriate time to mention the poppy. Do you have one yet? Here at The England Project we think that this little bit of charity is a mark of respect that should never be allowed to die out. Do you have kids? Do they know what the Poppy Appeal is all about? UPDATE: Read some of these requests. They haven't forgotten each other, and we should not forget

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067614597288446312003-10-31T15:36:00.000Z2003-10-31T15:36:38.980Z

Break, damn it Over at samizdata.net Perry de Havilland reminds us that Michael Howard (most likely the next leader of the conservative party) is cast from the same mould as the current Home Secretary, David Blunkett. Why is it that the bad moulds never break on the first casting?

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067611660846798692003-10-31T14:47:00.000Z2003-10-31T14:49:32.313Z

Something wicked this way comes Halloween is an odd occasion. As a child we are the enemy, banging on strangers doors and rousing them from their films, dinners, massively multiplayer online roll playing games and the like. Into our adult years we are the oppressed, fearing eggy reprisals and annoying interruptions to our evening routine. As a parent, we actively recruit our children into the

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6015477.post-1067606512627560942003-10-31T13:21:00.000Z2003-11-04T09:26:24.713Z

The path From the Front Rank, To the Solent. From the Solent, To the Samizdat. From the Samizdat, To the Edge. Then Across the Atlantic, To Lileks. And back again, For the England Project.

JohnJohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12169881480004252423noreply@blogger.com