Today was the day Heartstopper Forever dropped on Netflix, so Mark and I sat down this evening to watch it, having loved the television series from the beginning.We came away feeling exactly as we hoped we would: happy. Yes, the critics are probably right that the film’s tighter running time means some of the wider…
There are evenings when you know, almost from the opening minutes, that you are listening to someone whose ideas will stay with you for a long time. The St George’s House Annual Lecture, delivered this year by Lord Jonathan Sumption, was one of those occasions. It was a privilege to be there. Lord Sumption hardly…
On the wall of my study hangs an old cutting from the Lichfield Mercury, dated 11 November 1988. The headline reads: “Breaking out!” The page is yellowed now, the photographs are grainy and the print has faded. But it remains one of the things on my wall that means the most to me. The article…
I don’t often write directly about local political issues. When I do, I think it is important to be clear that these are my own personal reflections as an Oxfordshire resident. They do not represent the views of any organisation I lead or support, nor of any of the civic offices I am privileged to…
On the 250th anniversary of American independence Happy 250th birthday, America. It takes a certain confidence to declare independence from the world’s most powerful empire in 1776. It takes even more confidence to spend the next two and a half centuries explaining to everyone else why you were right. As someone with both British and…
It was a pleasure to attend this year’s American Independence Day celebrations at RAF Croughton. Although held a week ahead of the Fourth of July, the event marked a particularly significant milestone. This year sees the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence, a moment of profound historical importance that continues to shape…
At the beginning of Pride Month, I find myself thinking about how much has changed in my lifetime, and how much still depends on the quiet courage of ordinary people. When I was a young Scout, the United Kingdom was a very different place for LGBTQI+ people. Male homosexuality had only been partially decriminalised in…
I am not a member of any political party. That feels worth saying at the outset. For many years, I belonged to the party I had followed since I was a student. It helped shape my political instincts and gave expression to many of the values I still hold. But in time I resigned my…
This morning, I made my final mortgage payment to the bank. For the first time since 1985 – forty years ago – I am mortgage debt free. It all began with a three-bedroom former council house in Lichfield, where I’d just started teaching at Chadsmead Junior School. The house cost £20,000 – just shy of…
Absolutely! Here’s a longer, more thematically structured blog post with global flavour, references to cultural diversity, and your signature tone – warm, engaging, self-deprecating, and gently humorous: A little while ago, in a moment of mild hunger and major nostalgia, I turned to the oracle of our age – Facebook – and asked a question:…
