The Forestry Commission is a big player in Wessex. Within our borders we have two of the great royal hunting forests, the Forest of Dean in Gloucestershire and the New Forest in Hampshire, both still regulated by their mediæval Verderers’ Courts. Treasured parts of our heritage. Except that for Cameron, Clegg & Co they areContinueContinue reading “The Land is Whose?”
Tag Archives: Bristol
The Pageant of Death
“I have said that we must base our future thinking on the acceptance that nation states, individual, independent nations, can no longer really seriously influence the way in which the world develops. There is nothing that we or, I believe, any other single country can do on its own to affect these great trends ofContinueContinue reading “The Pageant of Death”
Good Works, Bad Shouldn’t
“Þæt is nu hraðost to secganne, þæt ic wilnode weorðfullice to libbanne þa hwile þe ic lifede, and æfter minum life þæm monnum to læfanne þe æfter me wæren min gemyndig on godum weorcum.””I desired to live worthily as long as I lived, and to leave after my life, to the men who should comeContinueContinue reading “Good Works, Bad Shouldn’t”
Review of 2009
Every year when we submit our accounts to the Electoral Commission we are also required to provide a ‘Review of Political Activities’ covering the year just gone.The 2009 Review has recently been forwarded to the Commission and here is what it says:During 2009, thoughts again turned towards preparations for the forthcoming General Election. The WessexContinueContinue reading “Review of 2009”
Danger: Electricity
It might seem churlish to complain that Gordon Brown has committed the necessary millions to electrify the Great Western main line from Bristol to London. After all, enough money has been spent on other parts of England, and beyond. But complain we do.Our demand, for the past 30 years, has been for a Wessex-oriented transportContinueContinue reading “Danger: Electricity”
Elected Mayors – An Afterword
It’s been an interesting week for local democracy. Last Wednesday, Doncaster’s elected mayor, Martin Winter, was seen doing his best to avoid giving an interview to BBC2’s Newsnight. Then on Friday the elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent, Mark Meredith, was arrested on suspicion of corruption. Stoke is the city that has already voted to scrap itsContinueContinue reading “Elected Mayors – An Afterword”
Minding Our Own Business
“Peace is a coin which has two sides – one is the avoidance of the use of force and the other is the creation of conditions of justice. In the long run you cannot expect one without the other.”John Foster Dulles, 1956Dulles was not a man whose actions lived up to his words. Nor canContinueContinue reading “Minding Our Own Business”
Food is the Future
We’ve nothing against townies. Many of us live in towns. Some exiles even live, in Babylonish captivity, in the very heart of London itself. But as Wessex Regionalists, we all know better than to believe that food grows itself on supermarket shelves.If only that realisation were universally shared. London, which grows next to nothing itself,ContinueContinue reading “Food is the Future”
Who Cares About You?
Not the London-based parties. As MPs’ expense claims reveal, they’re far too busy shoving their snouts in the trough. With snouts down, eyes are off the ball and Wessex is being robbed. A couple of examples must suffice for now.First off, amidst all the hullabaloo over Inheritance Tax thresholds, some very interesting figures have beenContinueContinue reading “Who Cares About You?”
Britain’s Best Channels?
Proposed restructuring at the BBC could be a fantastic opportunity for the cultural community of Wessex. Alternatively, the opportunity could, as usual, be strangled at birth.There is no denying that Wessex is poorly served by current arrangements. In contrast to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, there is no dedicated structure ensuring that our regional identityContinueContinue reading “Britain’s Best Channels?”
Wessex Regionalists 