The Pyrenees are a formidable geographical barrier, the terror of would-be conquering armies approaching from north or south. What they are not is a formidable cultural barrier. Basque culture in the far west and Catalan culture in the far east transcend them and have done, peaceably, for millennia. The national frontier of today results fromContinueContinue reading “Being Sub-Human”
Author Archives: WR_admin
Wilful Neglect
We try, within the limits of our resources, to report and comment on what’s happening in Wessex. That’s to say, what’s actually happening and not what we or anyone else would like to be happening. Political correctness has been described as a war on noticing. The blinkers were well and truly on in Oxfordshire recently,ContinueContinue reading “Wilful Neglect”
The Management of Savagery
“You know of course that no-one can make known any skill, nor direct and guide any authority, without tools and resources; a man cannot work on any enterprise without resources. In the case of the king, the resources and tools with which to rule are that he have his land fully manned: he must haveContinueContinue reading “The Management of Savagery”
I See No Ships
Horatio Nelson is often misquoted as saying these words; relying on the London media might leave you equally in the dark about the ways in which the governance of Wessex is changing. On Friday, the Coalition announced yet more devolution to Wales. An extensive package in fact, even though, as Plaid Cymru have noted, itContinueContinue reading “I See No Ships”
The Pecking Order
Irish nationalists have sometimes found the Scots and Welsh a bit puzzling. Ireland, as a separate island, is clearly not British. At best it’s one of the British Isles but even that’s controversial, with neutral commentators preferring something along the lines of ‘the North Atlantic archipelago’. Great Britain though is one land mass, from Land’sContinueContinue reading “The Pecking Order”
Burying the Past
“The theory goes that, if there is trust in society, then its bureaucracies will be more straightforward and effective – the cost and time of transactions between companies will be reduced and less time will be spent paying lawyers to draw up costly contracts, and in litigation. A handshake is free. Anyone who has triedContinueContinue reading “Burying the Past”
Jeux Sans Frontières
Events in Paris this week have exposed Europe’s anxieties to the full. Let’s consider some of the possible reactions. On the far Right, and among the not-for-prophet movement generally, this is I-told-you-so time. Even those who disagree with the politics must find recent analysis strikingly prescient. And at least it’s an opportunity to highlight someContinueContinue reading “Jeux Sans Frontières”
The Spirit of ‘15
Last year’s commemorations of the First World War were a good excuse to re-open old wounds and close our eyes to modern Europe. Now consider that 2015 marks the 200th anniversary of Waterloo and the 600th anniversary of Agincourt. In 2014 the French were our glorious allies against the Hun. This year, it will beContinueContinue reading “The Spirit of ‘15”
The War on Identity
“The first step in liquidating a people is to erase its memory. Destroy its books, its culture, its history. Then have somebody write new books, manufacture a new culture, invent a new history. Before long the nation will begin to forget what it is and what it was. The world around it will forget evenContinueContinue reading “The War on Identity”
Christmas Crackers
In the run-up to the festive season, all three main London parties set out their stalls on English devolution. On the whole, they’re rather against it. Labour were first, with a promise to devolve power to ‘city regions’ and ‘county regions’. Anything but region regions. These areas appear to correspond to those of the LocalContinueContinue reading “Christmas Crackers”
Wessex Regionalists 