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 Worker’s Hire

“They hang the man, and flog the woman,Who steals the goose from off the commonBut leave the greater felon looseWho steals the common from the goose. The law demands that we atoneWhen we take things we do not ownBut leaves the lords and ladies fineWho takes things that are yours and mine.The poor and wretched don’t escapeIfContinueContinue reading “The Worker’s Hire”

Wallace versus Wonga?

The Anglican Bishop of Portsmouth, speaking on BBC Radio 4 on Sunday, warned of the social consequences of ending naval shipbuilding in the city, including that jobless families could turn to loan sharks as the lenders of last resort.  Cue Labour’s latest, greatest initiative. And what an odd policy announcement it was: Ed Miliband commitsContinueContinue reading “Wallace versus Wonga?”

Working for Wessex

Frank Field is the Labour MP for Birkenhead, in Cheshire. Though Labour is his label, he is no mere mouthpiece. The unique depth of his knowledge of matters relating to welfare reform is widely respected across party lines. So when he joined the panel for BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions? on Friday night, interesting thingsContinueContinue reading “Working for Wessex”

Squeezed Down The Plughole

“Man stalks across the landscape, and desert follows his footsteps.”Herodotus (5th century BC)North-eastern Wessex, along with much of the rest of southern and eastern England, is now subject to a hosepipe ban. Parts of western Wessex are heading that way too.Why? Last night, the BBC’s reporter let slip that one component of the problem isContinueContinue reading “Squeezed Down The Plughole”