Now here’s my little story about me and the Trumpet. It all began in the early 1980’s when I was high on what’s sometimes referred to as “easy listening” orchestra’s like James Last & Paul Mauriat. It was actually through their musical interpretations that I was quite effectively introduced to […]
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Here is some great music by a young and talented Harpist Amy Turk from the South of England playing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor; a superb interpretation of this musical masterpiece. Hope you enjoy the music as I have and make sure to visit Amy’s website to learn […]
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OK, now that our political “geniuses” are celebrating defeating the government in parliament to give MPs a legal guarantee of a meaningful vote on the final Brexit deal struck with Brussels; here are a few thoughts; This is merely kicking the can down the road because as of yet there […]
Read More Another one of my all time favourite Composers, Niccolò Paganini an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer (1782–1840). He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time. A truly transformative composer when it comes to violin compositions – what one would call in the world of technology nowadays “Disruptive” […]
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It seems on a daily basis now that we continue to get a drip..drip analysis of BREXIT’s effects on the economy, some good but mostly quite negative – and the worse part is that no one can really tell fact from fiction. This while our “lovely” politicians continue playing their […]
Read More The reason for this brief post is to record a tweet I posted on twitter commenting on a video clip by journalist/LBC radio presenter James O’Brien speaking to a caller on his reason for voting to leave the EU; I feel it is important enough to re-post on my blog site […]
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Now I happen to be one of those who – though a non-American myself – always believed in American leadership never questioned (effectively) the perception of strength of the American model of Democracy & Liberalism. This view however has been shattered to smithereens for a few simple reasons, and here’s the […]
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It turns out – as we learn from media reports NOT our British government – that the UK has agreed a deal where by the UK will remain in the Customs Union & Single Market during the transition period which means it will continue to accept all EU rules and […]
Read More I came across this video clip on YouTube published by Deutche Welle TV in 2013. Though a few years old I chose to post the first part of the program because it reflects my deep passion not only for classical music and great composers like Beethoven but also to the […]
Read More This might be a self-serving post but it is an issue that does mean a great deal to me as a British citizen living in Europe. Having gone through the agreement signed today between the EU and the UK, particularly in relation to Citizen’s Rights I can see no provisions […]
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I came across this article; Where the Gods Live by the Austrian journalist Tessa Szyszkowitz which provides a very interesting insight – among the many out there – about life in Jerusalem, and decided to share it as a follow up to a recent post I made with the link […]
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Let’s first get things straight; I identify myself as a Liberal heart/soul and subscribe to Liberal values & traditions. I also happen to believe that Liberalism is about centrist/pragmatic policies rather leaning towards the alt-left or alt-right of political ideology. I was a member of the Liberal Democrats for 10 […]
Read More This is simple/brief commentary/predictions on Trump’s decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; This in my view is by far the biggest US foreign policy blunder ever even eclipsing the decision to invade Iraq of 2003. Political ramifications will be swift and will not be restricted to the […]
Read More Forget about the politics of it all; Border Controls, Customs Union, Single Market, Remainer, Brexiteer etc. Let’s all agree on a few basics; With the weak Prime Minister in 10 Downing Street leading (or to be more accurate by the look of things; is being led by) a shambolic government […]
Read More Plenty of signs coming out of Brussels suggesting that a deal is on the table and close to an agreement. Prime Minister May on the other hand is in a situation of; doomed if you will/doomed if you won’t – not only from Remainer’s but also hard Brexiteers. So now […]
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I came across this clip on twitter of the BREXIT debate on a recent episode of the BBC’s Question Time – detail below. I listened attentively to the views of MP Sam Gyimah about BREXIT as you can view from the link below. Here is my response which I already […]
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While scrolling through the latest youtube video’s today I ran into this clip of Leon Panetta former Director of the CIA/White House Chief of Staff and Mike Pompeo the current Director of the CIA discussing the all infamous Trump tweets. Now before moving further in this post let me attempt […]
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Prime Minister Theresa May, let me just say that every time you open your mouth – on any subject – you seem to be putting yourself and by extension your country into a smaller and smaller box. Sure we can argue & debate things on matters of policy and that’s […]
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This post is going to be short and sweet, for a change. Today came yet another glaring indication of where loyalties lie of Theresa May and I would say a big chunk of her team. When Trump made these silly retweets viewed as offensive to Muslims – related article below […]
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We continue to see gloomy forecasts for the UK’s economic growth due to the BREXIT train wreck first the OBR and the OECD (links below). On the other hand we see gang in charge of the British government shutting their eyes, closing their ears as they stampede their way towards the […]
Read More The real problem that we face today in this country post BREXIT is the lack of mature leadership able to unite the country by developing a pragmatic vision (please check link at the end of the post as an option) based on compromise/inclusiveness. Instead bigotry & partisanship seem to be […]
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If you’re into flying, aircrafts and all to do with aviation like me you may be interested in following Greg Mink’s channel on youtube. I came across Greg a little over a year ago and have been following his great flying video clips ever since. Greg is a pilot who […]
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As we continue with the status quo on BREXIT both in terms of the governments approach and the unwillingness/inability of other pro-Remain supporters across parties to unite and put forth a new vision we see evidence on a daily basis of the downhill spiral the country is going through. So […]
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We should STOP piecemealing solutions of symptoms and start curing the real issue of political overreach/corruption in all its forms whether it be in financing political parities or influence by lobbyist/special interest. These activities do nothing but chip away at our Democracy and liberal values; we should stop talking about […]
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Democracy cannot be imposed but should be actively supported. Let’s learn some lessons from the failures of the Arab Spring and develop/apply an adaptable template to help emerging democracies find/apply a suitable/sustainable path towards democratic governance. The first steps are always the most difficult ones and many states choose the […]
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Few would disagree that the Sunni – Shia rivalry is destructive to the entire Middle East region. Unfortunately Lebanon has been the battle ground of this rivalry among the many sectarian conflicts plaguing the region. This is truly a sad story of a beautiful country/wonderful people that could be a […]
Read More The British – so called “government” – has just released its response to a petition with over 17,000 signatures to investigate foreign interference in the EU referendum, and here it is word for word; As the Prime Minister stated in her speech at Mansion House on 13th November 2017, the […]
Read MoreA very interesting interview – link below – with French President Emmanuel Macron and I only wish there was more of it to cover a more penetrating insight into his views on a variety of important topics six months into his Presidency. Now a couple of points right off the bat; […]
Read MorePlenty has been proposed about the pros/cons of BREXIT, promises made during the Referendum campaign and propositions about the way forward to help unite the country. I have written plenty on the subject as some may be aware with my initial suggestion about the viability of a 2nd Referendum. What […]
Read MoreYes, I know it’s the weekend and some of us have a life, so why in the world do we have to discuss BREXIT now – important as it is but yet still more of a week day issue. Well it is precisely because some of us don’t have a […]
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The nationalist/populist ideology has 1 and only 1 approach to fixing problems; smash everything around you to smithereens and start from scratch – on their terms of course. We’re seeing that clearly playing out in the US with this Trump Family Administration and in the UK with the alt-right approach […]
Read MoreThe government has been using the referendum as the ultimate mandate for continuing with BREXIT and triggering article 50. We’ve also also been complacent in arguing about what this mandate means. So let me make the following argument; the Referendum in of itself was flawed and has in return produced […]
Read More Here is one of my all time favourite violin compositions and it comes with a short story. First time I ever heard this piece was when listening to my favourite pop/rock orchestra, James Last – bless his soul his music was the one that introduced me to classical music in […]
Read MorePlease note that the following text represents the original full text of the petition. However the text had to be condensed/summarised due to the character limits on the petitions website. This is a petition urging the government to help unite the country by ensuring a transparent/fair and inclusive process in […]
Read MoreA great deal has been said about the action of triggering article 50 without proper vision of BREXIT. I believe this is not only to be quite a valid point but one that demonstrates the flawed process adopted by an incompetent government led my a bunch of populist ideologues. It […]
Read MoreI’ve written quite a few posts calling for a 2nd Referendum here so will not rehash. The intention here is a short post to refocus attention on a few things; The longer this status quo continues with no clarity of BREXIT and the flawed process driving it the worse it […]
Read More I came across a very interesting piece in the Guardian about our security policy entitled; Britain’s main threats are from Russia and jihadi terrorists – our defence policy should reflect that by Paul Mason. A highly recommended read but a few points I would like to make; Unlike what many […]
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A very interesting interview with Foreign Minister of Iran Mohammad Javad Zarif. The Middle East is/has been one huge hot potato for much too long, thanks to a large part to foreign interventions/meddling whether for controlling resources and/or establishing strategic objectives. Iran is certainly a major player in the region but […]
Read MoreIn a recent article published by The Guardian; Theresa May suggests she is prepared to demote Boris Johnson; one thing really jumped out at me; Ruth Davidson’s statement supporting the PM; “People serve in cabinet entirely at the pleasure of the prime minister.” So my question is this; “where does ‘Country’ […]
Read More The beautiful sounds/stories of the violin; will be posting some of my favourite works for the violin and more importantly my favourite interpretations of these works. Here is a great performance by dutch violinist Janine Jansen – her majestic performance/expressions certainly reflect the story of this beautiful composition; kind of makes […]
Read MoreI don’t believe that the government can pull off ‘No Deal’. Why? Well BREXIT in of itself is BIG Responsibility but to pull out with no deal would be a gigantic Travesty on their watch something they would all ultimately pay the price for sooner or later; so indications are this […]
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I have in the past written quite a bit about the Liberal Democrats and it’s leadership as a former member – here are related posts – so will not rehash points made previously but focus on where we go from here. Why? Well if you read this article; Nick Clegg urges […]
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There is an excellent article by the Guardian – link below – that tells the story of the conflict and provides quite valid observations on how the Spanish government used force to prevent the referendum from taking place today, a view I totally agree with, so my comments here are […]
Read MoreFinally I get a chance to listen directly to our dear Prime Minister to see if this media/social media hype against her/her government is just that a “hype”. Well I can only suggest that for many of us we would have slept better if we had been wise enough to […]
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Well “March On” I would say, “but remember you’re going in the wrong direction!” Yet again we see a confused message from the Liberal Democrats leader in this article – link below. Why, well 3 reasons come to mind; A confused message of supporting a call for Exit BREXIT which implies exiting […]
Read MorePetition Title Challenging the Legality of Revoking European Identity/Citizenship Without Consent Petition Text I firmly believe that it is NOT legitimate for citizenship of EU to be automatically revoked from individuals if their national governments decides to leave the EU. As you are fully aware there are many in Britain […]
Read More It seems to me that the current political paradigm where political parties are defined purely based on empty ideological grounds with party members forced to fit into these “ideological boxes’ is an outdated philosophy. “Conservative”, “Liberal”, “Democrat”, “Labour” terms that have little to do with actual vision and more with […]
Read MoreAs you may have noticed there is plenty of debate going on about BREXIT and the referendum – and you’ll find many related posts on this website. All right/proper to debate such an important issue that affects our future in a complex world of today. But whatever the outcome of […]
Read MoreThe country seems as divided as ever about BREXIT and there is no consensus as to what BREXIT really means. Compounding the problem is the British government’s flip/flop approach in handling the negotiations and the non-inclusive manner in which the negotiations are conducted. The indications from this approach are that […]
Read More Beautiful film music composed by an Egyptian icon Aly Ismail (1922-1974); one of the great composers of our time. This is a small tribute to this genius whose music speaks of Egypt pure and simple. The film is essentially a comedy that tells a beautiful story of a man who […]
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