The days are growing shorter, leaves are falling and seasonal melancholy fills the air. Walking my neighbour’s fat dog has given me the opportunity to see the best of autumn in one of our local parks. The maple tree opposite…

Before the end of the Warsaw Pact, when Eastern Europe had Communist regimes, I visited countries in that part of the world several times (USSR, Poland, East Germany). The British Embassies in their capitals always inspired me with pride. They…

Sexual harassment and abuse accusations against film producer Harvey Weinstein have made news headlines on both sides of the Atlantic during the past week or two. Mr Weinstein has become the target of a media feeding frenzy, and most people…

During the build-up to Scotland’s independence referendum of September 2014 we learned a lot about campaigns for independence. The topics debated included democracy, the economy, international relations, defence, immigration and border controls, citizenship, agriculture, energy provision, taxation, welfare, childcare, health…

Horrible word, isn’t it? In fact, I don’t think it’s a word. It has no place in the English language. Yet no classic novel is safe from writers determined to tell us what happened before the novel started, what the characters were…