Oaks and Willows

Trees are a great part of the British landscape and many have become familiar friends right down from childhood. Poplar trees, for example, lined an edge of most of the fields at schools I went to, tall and proud, swaying in the wind. Seeing Poplars now takes me back to childhood memories of their imposing …

The Burka, Boris Johnson and Tory Culpability

Last August, perhaps fearing he was losing the limelight, then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson wrote about the possible burka ban in Europe. While being opposed to the ban he expressed his opinions on burka wearing women in no uncertain terms, comparing them to 'letter boxes' and 'bank robbers', for which he was condemned by many …

Christmas Time

As winter closes in and December approaches, we're surrounded by the sight of Christmas; shops full of gifts and decorations, Christmas film and music channels and houses lit up. While older children may just have a school Christmas Fayre and Christmas dinner Infant schools put on performances of the Nativity, allocating children to play Mary …