When thou commandest me to sing it seems that my heart would break with pride; and I look to thy face, and tears come to my eyes. All that is harsh and dissonant in my life melts into one sweet harmony – and my adoration spreads wings like a glad bird on its flight across the sea. I know thou takest…
Poor Michael Heseltine, the wily old fox, with a mane of hair that once gave him the nickname ‘Tarzan’, who has been cruelly cast as saying that Brexit clears the way for German domination, with scant regard for the context or the flutterings of his heart. As a matter of fact, he never used the word ‘domination’. Lord Heseltine, just turned…
It must be tough being Tom Watson, the Labour Party deputy leader, who waddles about disliked by the rank and file – although he at least has the support of parliamentarians, not to mention the media. For after Watson spoke of a ‘secret plan’ between the left-wing grassroots group Momentum and Unite, Britain’s largest trade union – adding that any…
When this author first read news of George Osborne’s impending editorship of the London Evening Standard, it felt like respite from the sordid world of everyday British politics. Osborne may have presided over six years of cruel and unusual and grossly politicised austerity, but at least – so went the thought as my eyes scanned the headline – he cannot…
The highway to Shinano Is but newly opened. Mind you do not trip Over the stumps of trees. Wear your sandals, husband. Translation by Geoffrey Bownas and Anthony Thwaite. The Man’yōshū (‘Collection of Myriad Leaves’) is the oldest of Japan’s poetry anthologies. Divided into twenty books, it gathers poems from approximately 456, with the bulk of the collection from the period between 600…
The relevance of the House of Lords to public life in the United Kingdom was traditionally debated along party lines, until following their election in 1997, the Labour Party removed all but 92 hereditary peers. Further attempts at reform have largely stalled, but we continue to ponder whether the House would be better off at least partially elected, what electoral system…
Whether it is copycatism – as people seek to mimic what they’ve seen across 24-hour news streams or bask briefly in the glamorous afterglow of Hollywood cinema – or some strange muscle reflex or intuition, the most popular way to shoot oneself is by pointing the gun firmly into the roof of the mouth before shakily pulling the trigger. Ironically however the…
Let the Greek mould his clay into shapes, let him increase his delight by the fruit of his own hands; But our delight is to dip our hands into the Euphrates and to roam here and there in the fluid element. When I have thus cooled the ardour of the soul, song will sound by itself; when the poet takes…
‘Waaaaaahhhhhhoooooohhhhhhuuurrrggghhh isn’t it all horrible!’. That’s the noise being made at the moment by Arsenal Football Club fans, the most brattish and entitled set of supporters in the country. Twenty consecutive top four finishes in the Premier League and an uninterrupted stream of appearances in the Champions League, Europe’s most prestigious club competition, two league and FA Cup doubles, three…
Once upon a time in Ancient Greece, Antisthenes, a pupil of Gorgias the sophist, took the palm of beauty from Argive Helen and handed it to poor Penelope. Much the same happened on Sunday night outside the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, when Oscars pre-show host Robin Roberts declared that Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris – not Ryan Gosling…
