In the furore of the upcoming election you will almost certainly have missed a small press announcement concerning the Highways Agency (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/driving-forward-a-new-era-for-englands-major-roads). The Highways Agency doesn’t exist anymore. Highways England is a new state-owned company which directly replaces the Highways Agency. Many would argue that the highways Agency hasn’t done a good job in the…
Category: Life
The ‘P’ Word
We need to talk. I know that since the financial crisis, things have been tough. Hard decisions have had to be made and we all have to work harder because there is no money. Actually, that’s not quite true; there’s lots of money, but isn’t worth as much (see Quantitative Easing). I know everyone in blaming…
The Education Bait-and-Switch
The current education system is in crisis, primarily because it no longer knows what it’s for. That’s not a quotation, it’s a conclusion. Education in this country and many others is about preparing people for the workplace by socialising them into compliant and willing participants in an economic system designed to perpetuate economic growth at…
You Lose, I Win
I don’t normally write about politics. Embedded in my writing is a sense of values and beliefs, which I believe underpins the way any writer approaches their work. That’s almost inevitable as there are things that we carry and wear like comfortable clothes – you don’t even notice you’re wearing them until they are challenged. If…
Sheffield Botanicals 2012
As an add-on to the visit to Sheffield Central Library, we stayed on to visit my son who is at university in Sheffield. It was a lovely clear morning on Sunday, and the students were all asleep, so we went to Sheffield Botanical Gardens for a wander around and a cup of (very good) coffee….
Unwelcome Visitors
You may have noticed that my homepage was overtaken by some unwelcome visitors for a short while. Unfortunately I was at Edge-Lit in Derby for the weekend, which made it difficult to deal with. However, it appears to have been sorted out now and will hopefully not recur. They are not the only unwelcome visitors, though….
Unexpected Visitor
Here at Shevdon Manor, we try to encourage the wildlife, not least because we’re in the middle of a town and the wildlife needs all the help it can get. So this is Henry, or possibly Harriet, we’re not sure, and he (or she) is not normally seen in daytime, but rather heard, rootling about…