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January 2014

Two depictions of Slavery

I don’t think I have ever cried during a film as openly as I did while watching “Twelve Years a Slave”. On other occasions a slightly shaming  tear or two stands in my eyes before I dab it away. But Steve McQueen’s rendition of the 1853 diary of Samuel Northrup, a free black householder, musician, […] Read more

The Culture of Money

That the English are becoming (let’s say have become, not to put too fine an point on it) “almost a de-cultured people. From the shops in our high streets to the vocabulary we use, we are becoming a cheap and nasty imitation of the worst of consumer America. We can’t sing our own folk songs, […] Read more