An Englishman's Castle

July 12, 2009

The Twelfth - A Glorious Day to Celebrate Freedom

The Glorious Revolution is arguably the most significant single advance in the provision of good government that the world has ever seen. This has been overshadowed by concentrating on its quite peripheral impact on the divisions among Christians. But the Calvinist Prince of Orange who became William III was driven by his fear of absolutist French hegemony over Europe, not by worries about Catholicism whose leader, the Pope, was his temporal ally.

The point is that the freedoms ensured and the benefits gained from the Glorious Revolution far exceed anything gained from any other single event , including the mistakenly more celebrated French Revolution.

The Reign of Terror in the French Revolution was bad enough; but the loss of life from the resulting years of war which ended only in 1815 compares with the First World War, and that with a smaller population. The other great so called Revolution, the Russian, was more a coup d’état by the Bolsheviks, with equally disastrous imitations in Europe and Asia which led to the death of about 100 million.

The American Revolution was derivative and confirmatory of the Glorious Revolution.

The Glorious Revolution was in many ways England’s great gift to the world. It established those fundamental principles of good governance which best allow man to achieve and to exercise his fundamental rights.

It is of particular significance not only in the constitutional development of Britain and the Commonwealth, but also the United States.....

...since the Glorious Revolution, the Anglo-Americans have been on the winning side in every major international conflict. .

This indicates some advantage in the Anglo-Saxon system of governance. There is no evidence that this has anything to with race but rather, it is to do with the endorsement of what we may call political culture. Mead makes the point that not only is the United States a nation of immigrants, but so was England even at the time of the Glorious Revolution. This augurs well for the current massive immigration into the Anglo-Saxon countries. Good sense will make most realise that the system they have come to works and works well – the great majority will have little inclination to change it.

It is important to stress that the great advantages of the Glorious Revolution were not the result of some philosopher sitting down and designing them. That was what directed the French and Bolshevik Revolutions, near crazed men designing schemes to save the world that came close to ruining it. The style of the Anglo-Saxon is pragmatic; the style of the major continental powers has hitherto been more theoretical.

The wisdom of the Anglo Saxons has been in allowing institutions to evolve gradually over time and through trial and error. By way of contrast to continental thought, I would refer to the story of the French énarque who when the benefits of something we are familiar with were shown to him said: “Yes, it may well work in practice, but does it work in theory?” .....

Click here for more to digest over your bacon and eggs - The Glorious Revolution: Three Centuries of Freedom David Flint

(Now there's some music to whistle along to that you won't hear on the BBC)

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January 30, 2009

On this day in Westminster

Unfortunately we remember today the grievous murder of St Charles the Martyr by the snivelling puritanical parliamentarians. Maybe this day next year we can celebrate around a scaffold outside The Banqueting House as our present day snivelling puritanical parliamentarians are lead out of the first floor window to their just reward.

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November 11, 2008

Dulce et decorum Est

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December 15, 2007

Welcoming home our troops

'We were the kings of Basra' - Telegraph

They fired their guns until they could fire them no more, they lived for six months under almost continuous enemy fire and suffered the horror of seeing colleagues killed and maimed. But talk to any of the young men and women who have just returned from active service in Iraq, and all they want to do is get straight back into the thick of the action.

Lions Of Basra Welcomed Home (from Salisbury Journal)

CHEERING, flag waving crowds gave a hero's reception to soldiers from 4th Battalion The Rifles - the Lions of Basra - when they marched through Salisbury on Tuesday.

Thousands of people lined the route from the Cathedral Close into the city centre, in what was possibly the biggest welcome home given to troops locally since the end of the Second World War.

And they burst into spontaneous applause and cheering as the 522 soldiers from the Journal's adopted regiment, led by the Band of The Rifles, passed by.

After marching through the city, many of the soldiers attended a reception for 350 guests, hosted by the Mayor in the Guildhall, while others were given time off to enjoy specially-reduced price refreshments in city pubs and restaurants.

Leader and Deputy Leader of the District Council, Paul Sample (Liberal Democrat) and Steve Fear (Labour) did not attend the ceremony.

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June 30, 2007

I'm English, not a Euroregionalish

Labour ｻ Regional Ministers and Minister for Europe

Gordon Brown, the new British Prime Minister and de-facto First Minister of England, has dealt what may prove to be a fatal blow to the continued existence of England.
Brown has appointed a Minister for each of the made-up regions of England. Before his coronation as unelected Prime Minister the MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath made noises about resurrecting regional government in England even though it has been thoroughly rejected by voters and declared dead by Tony Bliar less than a fortnight ago.

How dare Gordon Brown, who fought for the establish of a national parliament for his own country, presume to undermine the very existence of England. For the least 10 years, New Labour has constantly attacked England and local democracy, seeking to undermine its very existence with the EU-sponsored regionalisation project.

John Prescott was the architect of the regional assemblies and development agencies that infest our country, spending millions of pounds of taxpayers money on unaccountable and unnecessary bureacracy and dividing the country into artificial, competing regions. Only one referendum was ever held on this fundamental change to local government in England. The referendum was held in the North East euroregion where support for regional government was at its highest and it was rejected by a massive 78% "no" vote.

Every local authority was recently "invited" to submit a proposal for their own demise in favour of large, powerful unitary authorities. The two-tier county/district system of local government has served the country well for centuries, allowing local authorities to benefit from working together in the form of county councils whilst retaining local accountability from district councils.

We asked the MP for Shrewsbury & Atcham, Daniel Kawczynski, what he thought of the appointment of regional ministers:

"The Conservative Party is continuing to fight this Government’s move towards regionalisation and I am deeply concerned at the appointment of Ministers for the Regions, which is just one more step in the direction of regionalisation.

What is more, I note that Gordon Brown has appointed a Birmingham MP as Minister for the West Midlands – yet again ignoring how much of the West Midlands is a rural area, whose interests are unlikely to be effectively represented by an inner city MP. This in itself demonstrates the nonsense of a regional system of government that does not reflect the diversity of an area."

The Campaign for an English Parliament has this to say on its website:

Now I’m no conspiracy theorist but it does seem like a bit of a post-devolution liberty for a Scotsman to be meddling in the internal domestic affairs of England in this way. We all know that Brown’s treasury has been the main driving force behind the regionalisation project since Prescott was kicked into touch by the voters of the North East. We all know how keen he is on the administrative regionalisation of England, democratic or not. And we all know how unkeen he is on England being allowed to decide for itself on how it should be governed (it’s more than his job is worth).

Like Gordon Brown as Prime Minister: we haven't asked for it, most of us don't want it but New Labour will make sure we get it.

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December 7, 2005

Which Class are you?

One of the more perplexing things about England for foreigners is understanding our class system - so to help them and any readers who are unsure of their place in society I have produced a simple quiz to help.

1) Do you let your dogs lick the plates?
a) Of Course
b) Yeuch, Dogs are so dirty we only have a cat.
c) Of Course

2) Bloodsports?
a) Good fun
b) Cruel and outdated
c) Good Fun

3) Your opinion of Europe?
a) Bloody Foreigners
b) Good idea and we simply love Tuscany
c) Bloody Foreigners

4) Do you get out off the bath to piss?
a) Why?
b) Yeuch - you are just being horrible now
c) Why?

5) How do you like your steak cooked?
a) Big and Bloody
b) With the fat cut off and lightly coated in delightful herbs
c) Big and Bloody

6) Do you ever worry you drink too much?
a) No and it is your round.
b) Well, I keep a diary of my units and I was ever so naughty one week and had 18 units.
c) No and it is your round.

The results:

Mostly As - You are Upper Class
Mostly Bs - You are Middle Class
Mostly Cs - I'm afraid you are working class.

How did you score?

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July 29, 2005

The Nile Clumps

As you drive down the A303 this year and are about to pass Stonehenge, unknowingly you are passing through another historic monument.
Googel Earth Bookmark or Multimap map Click on Aerial to get high quality aerial photograph).
These are clumps of Beech trees known as the Nile Clumps -

"On the eastern side of the ridge, there were planted clumps of trees early in the nineteenth century by William, 4th Duke of Queensbury, to represent the position of the ships engaged in the 1798 battle at Abu-Kir Bay (the spelling is variable) with the tree line at the new King Barrows used to represent the Abu-kir peninsular in Bequire Island.

"there is strong evidence from a local amateur historian (that) Captain Thomas Masterman Hardy supervised the location of these clumps. This is quite possible for (1) William, 4th Duke of Queensbury, was an admiral in his own right and Hardy could well have been a house guest; (2) Emma, Lady Hamilton, was living in or near Winterslow while Nelson lived in the now called Trafalgar House - about eight miles from Winterslow on the edge of the New Forest (presented by a grateful nation); as stated by the Maritime Museum, it would take somebody with a unique knowledge of this battle to be able accurately to position these clumps to correspond with the battle locations of the ships, including HMS Culloden being aground."

Just shows how important the Battle of The Nile was, whereas now we only remember that other battle he fought and died in.

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July 14, 2005

THFAWM

as Willie Cope always said in the summer of 1976, when I were but a lad loading bales all day. Of course he wouldn't be allowed to say it now. But then he was a very old farmworker - never even learnt to drive a tractor. And as we roped down the loads on the wagons it was always "Pull, pull like you would pull a black man off your Granny". Disgraceful, maybe the countryside was a racist place in those days.

THFAWM? - "Too hot for a white man" - I'm ashamed to say.

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July 8, 2005

Word of the Day

Inured: I admit I had to check on its spelling before writing it, but it seemed to be the one word that summed up the people I spoke to yesterday, so here is the dictionary entry I found.

in�ure also en�ure (ĭn-yʊr')
tr.v., -ured, -ur�ing, -ures.
To habituate to something undesirable, especially by prolonged subjection;

Translations below - to get the message across...

Nederlands (Dutch)
doen wennen aan, van kracht worden, voordelig worden

Fran�ais (French)
endurcir

Deutsch (German)
v. - gew�hnen, abh�rten

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. εξοικειώνω, συνηθίζω ή εθίζω (σε κάτι ανεπιθύμητο ή δυσάρεστο)

Italiano (Italian)
abituare

Portugu�s (Portuguese)
v. - habituar

Русский (Russian)
приучать, вступать в силу

Espa�ol (Spanish)
v. tr. - acostumbrar, habituar

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - v�nja, h�rda, tr�da i kraft, utfalla, vara till nytta

中国话 (Simplified Chinese)
v. tr. - 使习惯

中國話 (Traditional Chinese)
v. tr. - 使習慣

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 慣れさせる, 鍛える, 効力を生ずる, 役立つ

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يمرس, أو يعود نفسه‏

עברית‬ (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮הרגיל אדם לדבר לא-נעים, חישל, חיסן, נכנס לתוקף (חוק)‬

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July 7, 2005

My England

Home at last - I've had a long day stuck on trains but I'm OK - unlike some of our fellow countrymen. Your thoughts should be with them tonight as mine are.


Image taken on 7/7/2005 17:47
This is the view from my home when I got back. It is worth fighting for.

UPDATE: Thanks for the kind messages, sorry I was without net access for so long! Tonight is a night for enjoying putting the Englishettes to bed and being thankful. Tomorrow is another day.

Posted by The Englishman at 5:49 PM | Comments (14) | TrackBack

Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner.

Maybe because I was born on the Victoria Park Road in Hackney, (you had realised I was proper East End boy before hadn't you), just a short javelin throw away from the future Olympic village: And maybe because we beat the French: And despite foreseeing a tax sapping disaster and despising the whole Olympic charade; even I was a little cheered to see London win the bid.

Luckily this has put me back in a more wholesome frame of mind:
BBC NEWS | UK | Papers' Olympic gold in gloating

The Guardian.
"The 2012 Olympics may also be seen to symbolise the new and changed Britain."

That makes it easy - I certainly don't want anything to do with it.

This is the "new and changed Britain" where Paula Radcliffe, and the modern public, see nothing wrong with taking a dump in the street in front of crowds, and on television, rather than knock a few seconds off her time. While C. B. Fry went mad as a fish in later years, can you imagine the old school athletes stooping so low?

Now if it was to go back to the spirit of the Pre and Post-war games in London, that would be a triumph. And what is it with half the "games" they put on? Games are one man or team against another, with a clear method of winning. Anything that is marked by judges is just a variety turn, whether it is turning somersaults, diving into a pool or that thing that bint did with ping pong balls at Fluffer Carthew's Stag do; nothing to do with the real Olympic Games. (Though if they must televise them I think that girl would be better value than most of the other sports.)

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July 3, 2005

2nd July What a day!

Well what a great show! Old and young all mixing together in a happy fairground atmosphere.
Image taken on 2/7/2005 12:37

Yes the annual Heddington and Stockley Steam Rally was on yesterday - great fun with a traditional fair, steam engines, fairground organs and engines galore - from tiny minature models to Merlins - all revving for attention. And the Tractor Pulling event was doing its bit for climate change as well..


Image taken on 2/7/2005 13:15

Beats staying in watching the Telly, doesn't it - there wasn't anything on was there?

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July 1, 2005

HRH

Same Story - different papers - different emphasis:

The Times

Prince costs country 4p per head as his income surges to �13.m

From the increasingly Republican Rupert Rag - whereas the Dear Old Torygraph gives a more favourable emphasis...

Telegraph | News | Prince 'is the greatest charity entrepreneur in the world'

The Prince of Wales has developed into the world's "greatest charitable entrepreneur", helping to raise more than �100 million last year for a variety of causes, his private secretary said yesterday.
As well as 16 "core" charities, including the Prince's Trust, he is patron or president of 352 other organisations, according to the second annual review of the activities of the prince's household.

HRH The Prince of Wales Annual Review 2005
Sir Michael Peat said that the prince also donated �2.5 million of his own money to charity each year, which was a sizeable proportion of his income. "He is not Bill Gates," Sir Michael added.

I have only met HRH once, I was standing in the middle of a field and held a gate open for a bunch of people, the others muttered a thanks as they walked through which was entirely appropriate, but he stopped and made conversation which was just plain nice of him. So I have a lot more time for him than most.

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June 30, 2005

Come see the Doggies Hounds

Countryside Alliance

Many hunts across the country are holding kennel open days this summer, and are inviting those who want to find out more about hunting in to see the kennels and meet the hounds. These open days are being publicised locally, but you can help by letting people know when your local hunt kennel open day is. Click here for a full list of open days, broken down by region.

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Save Mrs Tiggywinkle

Britain, UK news from The Times and The Sunday Times - Times Online
HEDGEHOGS appear to be in decline across the country, according to a survey.
In three years, sightings of the mammal were down by a fifth.
..
The main reasons for the decline are unknown but potential causes are intensification of agriculture, with much larger fields, less semi-natural habitat and more pesticides on the land, plus drier summers

Yea yea yea - Agribusiness and climate change, the usual suspects. But in the last three years there has been no increase in larger fields, there has been a large increase in semi-natural habitat and Pesticide usage is decreasing. Doesn't anyone do a modicum of research before shouting their mouths off?

May I suggest that the large increase in the hedgehog eating Badger population might be a more likely candidate?

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Every BBC man not doing his duty

Telegraph | News | Even German TV provides more coverage of Trafalgar than the BBC

Criticism of the BBC's coverage of the Trafalgar celebrations intensified yesterday after it emerged that German television planned to screen a documentary on the celebrations which will be longer in length than one made by the corporation.
Scores of irritated viewers complained after the BBC chose to restrict its Trafalgar broadcasts on terrestrial channels to just a 30-minute live programme before Wimbledon coverage took precedence....
admit that the corporation, which has 170 BBC staff in Portsmouth, "perhaps did underestimate the popularity of the event".

The Trafalgar celebrations were shown live and recorded by stations from Japan, France, South Korea, China and Latvia, with almost 1,000 journalists in the area.

The BBC also failed to give live coverage to yesterday's drumhead service attended by 6,000 Royal Navy veterans and hosted by Brian Hanrahan and Kate Adie.

We have a house guest this week who was livid that he couldn't find coverage. 170 BBC people there and they couldn't put it on. Unbelievable.

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June 23, 2005

Our Island Story

Those very good chaps at Civitas have a project to republish H.E. Marshall�s Our Island Story. The Daily Telegraph has been running a fabulous campaign to support them. John Clare points out in today�s �Any questions?� how popular the idea is and how you can help.
By coincidence we were given Mrs Englishman's Mother's copy a month or so ago, with a load of other books, and it is the book of choice in the East Wing Lavatory. I have been enjoying rereading it, remembering it from my school days. For some reason I always imagined the author to be some tweedy pipe smoking gentleman - so I was surprised to discover the author's name behind the initials - Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall! Support the campaign and get hold of a copy if you can - you will enjoy it as much as the next Harry Potter from that John Kingsley Rowling chap!

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June 15, 2005

Worth turning the Box on for

channel4.com CUTTING EDGE: THE F***ING FULFORDS Tonight 9:00

Meet the Fulfords, Devon's answer to The Osbournes - but in tweed. One of Britain's oldest families, the Fulfords preside over a huge estate set in over 3,000 acres of countryside, passed on to the eldest son of each generation for over 800 years.

But the Fulford dynasty is under threat due to financial troubles. Head of the house Francis spends much of his time devising money-making schemes to help him raise the annual �30,000 needed to keep the house running, not to mention the cool million required to stop it becoming derelict.

Wife Kishanda has the thankless and never-ending task of attempting to keep such a huge property tidy while looking after the four children - Humphrey, Edmund, Matilda and Arthur, eldest son and heir to the estate.

It's English eccentrics against the rest of the world as the Fulfords fight for survival. Expect high blood pressure and expletives galore in this look at one man's fight to save his corner of England.

One repeat worth watching!

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June 13, 2005

Best of British

Tim Worstall's weekly Britblog Roundup # 17 is up.

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June 8, 2005

Foxwits

Times Online

MPs who campaigned for licensed hunting criticised Jackie Ballard, the director-general of the RSPCA, yesterday for suggesting that wounded foxes did not suffer.
Ms Ballard, a former Liberal Democrat MP, was responding to new research that challenged the view that shooting foxes was more humane than hunting them with dogs. The research found that shooting led to many foxes being wounded.

In a letter to the all-party Middle Way group she wrote: �There is not absolute proof that wounded foxes suffer.�

Baroness Golding, the group�s Labour co-chairman, said: �This unbelievable statement brings into question the charitable status of the RSPCA. What is the point of a charity dedicated to animal welfare if it believes that a wounded animal does not suffer?�

Lembit Opik, Lib Dem MP for Montgomeryshire and co-founder of the group, said: �They claim we don�t know if wounded animals suffer . . . the RSPCA campaigned to ban a method of control that doesn�t cause wounding but backs methods that clearly do

It never was about the foxes....

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Hardened Criminal captured

Cherwell Online - Student arrested after 'gay' horse jibe

Brown inquired, "How do you feel about your horse being gay?" of one of the policemen, stating that his colleague's (horse) was clearly not gay. After repeated comments on the sexuality of his horse, and despite warnings from the policeman about his behaviour, Brown's offer of an apology to the horse was rejected and he was handcuffed and taken by the officers to the police station.
The arrest was made at 2.20am on Monday morning, and Brown was in a state which he described as "pissed out of my head".
He had tried to escape the police by hiding in a doorway in Ship Street, but was found after back up had been called for. A total of six policemen were involved in making the arrest...

The (police) spokesman also said that the �homophobic comments� were ... offensive to the ... horse...

You couldn't make it up.

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June 7, 2005

Not from these parts

BBC NEWS | England | Wiltshire | Mysterious creature stalks city

A mysterious creature described as a cross between a kangaroo, a leopard, a monkey and a cat is stalking Salisbury.
At least four sightings have been reported to police,..Nicki Lomas, 23, first spotted the animal, said to also be racoon-like, on London Road at midnight ....

Midnight eh? I wouldn't want to imply anything but there are some damn fine pubs in Salisbury. I will be on my guard but not too worried....

Posted by The Englishman at 1:12 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

May 30, 2005

Is the Englishman dead?

The AnarchAngel: In Memoriam - The English Man

You are nothing but Quislings, cowering in your corners, praying for the bad men to go away, because they make you feel uncomfortable. Harry is dead, Horatius is gone, John Bull is but a parody; a memory of "the bad old days".

A little harsh maybe? Please visit and read the whole post, and leave a comment if so inclined.

Posted by The Englishman at 10:25 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

May 25, 2005

Not long to go now

Tax Freedom Day 2005 falls on 31 May.

The March 2005 Budget moved Tax Freedom Day later by 3 days, from 27 May (revised figure) in 2004, to 31 May in 2005. This is actually an increase of three days because 2004 was a leap year. So we get three days more of the year that we have to work for the government, rather than for ourselves.

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May 19, 2005

The new Lord exercises his rights

Telegraph | News | Liverpool star stops hunt using his land

Djibril Ciss�, the Liverpool footballer who recently bought a �2 million manor house in Cheshire, has banned hunting on his new estate.
The French striker, who inherited the title "Lord of the Manor of Frodsham" when he purchased the nine acres...

Absolutely up to him who he allows on his land, and I'm sure he is well in with the rest of the Cheshire Aristocracy, but, m'Lord, nine acres ain't exactly an "estate" - it is a very nice garden with a home paddock and hopefully a bit of woodland. (For those of you without your own estate, nine acres (funny how the BBC doesn't use the less impressive sounding metric 3.5 hectares!) is about 200 yards by 200 yards square.)

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May 18, 2005

Countryside Alliance event

The Lamb at Hindon, near Salisbury, Wiltshire, owned by London�s Boisdale Bars & Restaurants, are hosting a series of events over this year with all proceeds being donated to the Countryside Alliance.

Boisdale has recently taken ownership of The Lamb at Hindon, which has been awarded the prestigious Four Diamonds by the AA for its accommodation, in addition to its good food rating.

The second event will take place on Wednesday 8 June, and will involve a cigar rolling demonstration as well as a cigar and whisky tasting evening. Tickets cost �35 per person and includes dinner, � bottle of wine per person, all cigars and whiskies.

Please book with Nick or Mark on 01747 820573.

The programme for the evening is as follows:

7.30pm Drinks

7.45pm Introduction

8pm Dinner

Haggis on toast

Dunkeld award winning smoked salmon, cr�me fraiche and rye bread

Fillet of venison au poivre, spinach and mash

Bitter chocolate tart with pistachio ice cream

9.15pm Cigar rolling demonstration

9.30pm Cigar & whisky tasting

Pity I neither smoke or drink whisky, otherwise I would try and get Mr FM along to it, sounds just up his street. Cigar rolling, dusky maiden's thighs, ah, maybe it wouldn't hurt to just try one...

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May 16, 2005

Oxford Poly gets uppity

Blognor Regis reports:

Jeremy Clarkson has been nominated for an honorary degree by Oxford Brookes University (surely the best one in town, not that that's saying much) and the Dons don't like it.
George Roberts, a director for e-learning at Brookes, said: "The petition has received support from senior professors and administration staff alike. Clarkson's public statements could be interpreted to be at odds with many of the university's values.

"The university is committed to 'ensuring the understanding and care of people and stewardship of environmental and public resources'.

Having enjoyed three years in Cowley's Latin Quarter trying to get a Gentleman's Third from the real University I feel obliged to comment.

"the best one in town"? I nearly choked on my Breakfast Sherry at that - cheeky pup. "Dons" - you mean "Corduroy-clad, hairy-chin, tofu-wearing, nut-munching Polytechnic teachers". They may claim to be a University but they are really just a glorified Bricklayers College which keeps the yoof unemployment figures down.

It is a great shame that we now have to believe that "education" is the key to success - for most "training" is far more useful. A good honest college that proudly turns out tradesmen and craftsmen would do far more its students and the country than a jumped up third rate media studies and diversity workshop collective. Places where it is considered proper to convict the likes of Clarkson of "thoughtcrime" and want to ban him. My guess is that Clarkson and his programs promoting Brunel have done more for the commonweal than Mr e-learning Sandal-shuffler ever has.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:28 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

May 8, 2005

Occupied Country

Guy Fawkes' blog of parliamentary plots, rumours and conspiracy reports:

The Tories Gored Labour in England, winning the popular vote by 60,000 more votes than Labour. (The Tories picked up 8,086,306 votes, Labour trailed with just 8,028,512.) So its fair to say that England is under foreign occupation by a Scottish socialist party unsupported by the population, with only 1 in 5 of the English backing the regime. Expect the Campaign for an English Parliament to gain traction if not actually start an insurgency...

To the barricades!

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May 4, 2005

Englishness?

Ad Manum Loquere: Who are the English?

Say "Britain" to me and the stream of imagery conjured up is Pith Helmets Tiffin Tiger Hunts on Elephants Cold Hard Steel Don't Like it Up Em Zulus! Thousands of Them Finest Hour Monty in the Desert For you Tommy, ze var is over Great Escape Take me with you, I can see, I can see perfectly Barnes Wallace Dambusters NAAAA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NA-NAAA-NA-NAA James Bond Licensed to Kill Sharpe Vot is your name? Don't tell him, Pike Stupid Boy.

Which brings us on to Englishness - the stream of imagery I associate with this word is King Arthur Flag St George Football Violence Enoch Powell Rivers of Blood.

Quite - while "Your Mileage May Vary" there is more than a grain in truth in that.
The reason this Blog was called An Englishman's Castle wasn't because I was an English Nationalist but simply a poor pun on a "Home" page - but because of the name I have learnt a lot, and become to some extent an English Nationalist.

But the England I believe in is a Taurean, placid, tolerant place - bucolic and green; but when tweaked capable of violence and rage. Not a nation founded on race but on a common culture, respects and language. Not constrained by geography, creed, breeding or birth - open to all who wish to belong. Feared and despised by many but a benefactor to most.
Put upon and yoked by foreign rulers, but strong enough to make it through such times to regain its freedoms.
My England is different to Your England but Our England is a grand place; worth fighting for.

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April 28, 2005

Tour of Britain? Eh?

Tour of Britain.. I'm against cyclists in principle unless they are wearing Plus Twos, a Norfolk Jacket, Tattershall shirt and tie, and stout Brogues, preferably hand stiched in Nottinghamshire. I realise one or two of the Lycra fetishists are decent enough bloggers and no disrespect to them; but really I wish they wouldn't do in on the streets and frighten the horses. In the privacy of your own homes please chaps. Oh and quite right, English teams in this thing, whatever it is, sounds like a good idea, I think.

Posted by The Englishman at 10:57 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

April 23, 2005

A Scotsman reminds us:

The Cabarfeidh Pages (Highland Warriors)

Henry V Act-3 Scene-1
Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;
Or close the wall up with our English dead.
In peace there's nothing so becomes a man
As modest stillness and humility:
But when the blast of war blows in our ears,
Then imitate the action of the tiger;
Stiffen the sinews, summon up the blood,
Disguise fair nature with hard�favour'd rage;
Then lend the eye a terrible aspect;
Let pry through the portage of the head
Like the brass cannon; let the brow o'erwhelm it
As fearfully as doth a galled rock
O'erhang and jutty his confounded base,
Swill'd with the wild and wasteful ocean.
Now set the teeth and stretch the nostril wide,
Hold hard the breath and bend up every spirit
To his full height. On, on, you noblest English.
Whose blood is fet from fathers of war�proof!
Fathers that, like so many Alexanders,
Have in these parts from morn till even fought
And sheathed their swords for lack of argument:
Dishonour not your mothers; now attest
That those whom you call'd fathers did beget you.
Be copy now to men of grosser blood,
And teach them how to war. And you, good yeoman,
Whose limbs were made in England, show us here
The mettle of your pasture; let us swear
That you are worth your breeding; which I doubt not;
For there is none of you so mean and base,
That hath not noble lustre in your eyes.
I see you stand like greyhounds in the slips,
Straining upon the start. The game's afoot:
Follow your spirit, and upon this charge
Cry 'God for Harry, England, and Saint George!'

Posted by The Englishman at 8:58 PM | Comments (7) | TrackBack

April 22, 2005

Have a Happy St George's Day

In case I don't blog tomorrow have a Happy St George's Day and "Here's to England, God knows she needs all the help she can get."

As for myself I'm babysitting the Englishettes tonight so no drinks with Mr FM and The Good Colonel - which might be good for my liver for once.

With the girls asleep; as Pope Gregory would have said:
Responsum est, quod Angli vocarentur. At ille: "Bene," inquit; "nam et angelicam habent faciem, et tales angelorum in caelis decet esse coherides." it is time to crack open a bottle of Lidl's best Red Wine.

I consider it self financing now with my new money making scheme. It might not quite be up there with The Worstall's schemes but it works. The trolleys unlock with Pennies as well as Pounds, so I pop in and unlock a trolley with 1p - wait for an old dear to look confused as she searches for a Sov and offer her my trolley - take the odd coins she has and I'm 99p up on the deal. Do it three times before the first old girl has made it past the checkout and pop in for a bottle of Vino on offer at �2.97. Easy.

Cheers and tootle pip!

Posted by The Englishman at 8:49 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

Help - a reader writes..

I am looking for some good quality adhesive English flags with the dragon to stick them on my kayak?

Have you any tips?

By the way, you will love this one. Our mad scientist government is to change the Civil Code on marriage. Domestic work is to be shared equally between husband and wife. I wonder how are they going to keep track of infringements ... I bet that social services will come up with a task force. The witches of Salem revisited with that goody-goody flair.

Maybe next thing would be a enforceable policy of being nice to old people or perhaps, compulsory daily showers.

Thank you in advance,

Ignacio-Wenley Palacios Iglesias
Journal on open sea and coastal kayak paddling - Journal

Ah - Wenley old mate - the ones with the Dragon on are not English - try the top blog...

Posted by The Englishman at 7:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Red Rose Ban

Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Lib Dem Council Bans St George's Day Red Roses

A Liberal Democrat council has banned its staff from wearing red roses on St George's Day.

Pen dipped in vitriol - ready to write, Lib Dems, council banning, St George oh this is going to be good.

Oh - actually no -

A Stockport Council spokesman said: �The red rose initiative for St George�s Day was organised last year by the market traders and we contributed to the cost of the celebration, which included roses to be worn by the traders themselves.

�However, we now have legal advice that if we used public money to fund the issue of red roses this year, during the run-up to an election, there would be a real risk that it would be unlawful, since the red rose is the symbol of a political party.

�Instead, this year we are making arrangements to get in stocks of hundreds of small St George�s Day flags and bunting to help the market celebrate that day.

�The plan is for little flags, rather than red roses, to be funded. In addition, Stockport Town Hall and the Market Place will be flying the flag of St George on the day.�

Oh, that sounds fair enough.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:26 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

April 20, 2005

Cry for St George

BBC NEWS | England | Shopkeeper in St George's Day row

A shopkeeper has been ordered to remove his flags celebrating St George by council officials who say they breach health and safety rules.
Phil Moffat has been told the 20 flags hoisted from lampposts near his shop in Tuebrook, Liverpool, are dangerous..a council spokesman said: "We are not trying to be spoilsports.

"There is a clear danger to Mr Moffat himself and an obvious road safety hazard. The flags could distract drivers, fall off and hit cars or pedestrians and it could encourage others to follow suit."

I suggest a few Council spoilsports tarred and feathered hanging from the posts would be a suitable alternative.

UPDATE : "A council which ordered a patriotic shopkeeper to remove England flags from outside his business has backed down. "

Posted by The Englishman at 10:25 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 19, 2005

Fitting Tribute

Telegraph | News | Emotional tribute to sailors who helped Nelson rout the French

As the sound of Last Post drifted across the Commonwealth war cemetery in Alexandria, five simple wooden coffins, draped in Union flags, were carried to their final resting place by Royal Navy sailors in crisp, white uniforms. The coffins were lowered into the graves and three volleys of gunfire provided a final salute.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:55 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Pass me the Cluebat

One of the BBC's voter's panel

Name: Paul Holdsworth
Age: 19
Lives: Aberystwyth, Wales
Works: Student
"At the moment the US is able to get away with a lot of actions that I find appalling, simply because there is no political block powerful enough to challenge it.

I see Europe as a vital structure representing people who share a more common sense and ethical view of the world...

The European Union can do a lot for its citizens but only if it is handed more power.

Just that stupid student grin makes me want to smack him - and the more I read the more I want to see his teeth meet his sphincter, the pretty way down.

Posted by The Englishman at 12:21 AM | Comments (16) | TrackBack

April 14, 2005

What did the Romans ever do for us?

Telegraph | News | Romans introduced the rabbit

Years of division among academics over whether the Romans or the Normans introduced rabbits into Britain appears to have been resolved...

So they brought the Rabbit huh! - Well it was an Ancestor of The Englishman who introduced the Rabbit to Australia - won a Medal and Cash prize in gratitude for doing so - funny the last Oz farmer I mentioned this to didn't seem as grateful....

To save you looking it up here's the Monty Python - What have the Romans ever done for us? sketch from Life of Brian.

REG:
Yeah. All right, Stan. Don't labour the point. And what have they ever given us in return?!
XERXES:
The aqueduct?
REG:
What?
XERXES:
The aqueduct.
REG:
Oh. Yeah, yeah. They did give us that. Uh, that's true. Yeah.
COMMANDO #3:
And the sanitation.
LORETTA:
Oh, yeah, the sanitation, Reg. Remember what the city used to be like?
REG:
Yeah. All right. I'll grant you the aqueduct and the sanitation are two things that the Romans have done.
MATTHIAS:
And the roads.
REG:
Well, yeah. Obviously the roads. I mean, the roads go without saying, don't they? But apart from the sanitation, the aqueduct, and the roads--
COMMANDO:
Irrigation.
XERXES:
Medicine.
COMMANDOS:
Huh? Heh? Huh...
COMMANDO #2:
Education.
COMMANDOS:
Ohh...
REG:
Yeah, yeah. All right. Fair enough.
COMMANDO #1:
And the wine.
COMMANDOS:
Oh, yes. Yeah...
FRANCIS:
Yeah. Yeah, that's something we'd really miss, Reg, if the Romans left. Huh.
COMMANDO:
Public baths.
LORETTA:
And it's safe to walk in the streets at night now, Reg.
FRANCIS:
Yeah, they certainly know how to keep order. Let's face it. They're the only ones who could in a place like this.
COMMANDOS:
Hehh, heh. Heh heh heh heh heh heh heh.
REG:
All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?
XERXES:
Brought peace.
REG:
Oh. Peace? Shut up!

Posted by The Englishman at 7:28 AM | Comments (22) | TrackBack

April 12, 2005

Yob culture

Telegraph | News | Man beaten to death with plank after challenging vandal gang

A man was killed in an affluent village yesterday after confronting yobs who police were said to have repeatedly failed to tackle.

No wonder people walk past on the other side.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 11, 2005

As others see us...

Telegraph | News | French book casts Britons as un-erotic, pet-obsessed drinkers

The French are being offered a new guide to the English that portrays les rosbifs as a binge-drinking, pet-obsessed race which still leads the world in pop music and humour but dresses with dubious taste and treats sex as a subject of national embarrassment.

Agn�s Catherine Poirier, a writer and broadcaster, bases her conclusions on the "strange, insular people" of Britain on the 10 years she has spent observing its inhabitants while living in London.
In her book, Les Nouveaux Anglais, published in France this week, she says many stereotypes that spring most readily to French minds when reflecting on their cross-Channel neighbours are already things of the past.

Sound about right.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

April 5, 2005

A short film

The English Progressive and Liberty Party - no idea who they are - but this film is good stuff.

Posted by The Englishman at 3:08 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

April 4, 2005

I'll subscribe!

BBC NEWS | UK | Rope needed for replica Victory

A search is on to find 13 miles of old rope to rig a replica of Horatio Nelson's warship HMS Victory which is to be set on fire for charity.

I hope the Yard Arms are good and strong, because with 13 miles of rope to quote Gilbert and Sullivan�s Lord High Executioner of The Mikado:. �I have a little list, of those that won't be missed...."

Posted by The Englishman at 7:13 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 29, 2005

Military Maths

England Expects reports:

According to Le Monde "Les Pays-Bas avaient un contingent de 1 400 soldats pr�sents dans la province d'Al Muthanna (sud) et qui doit �tre remplac� par quelque 600 Britanniques."
Which by my reading suggests that one British Tom is worth 2.3 Dutchmen.
Which is interesting given the 850 Black Watch replaced 4,000 US troops in the run up to Falujah in October last year.
Which in turn suggests that one Dutchman is worth 1.7 Americans....

Posted by The Englishman at 8:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 28, 2005

A true Gentleman

Telegraph | News | Wartime injury finally brings Sir Patrick down to Earth

"But there you are. I have had a very good innings and done most of the things I am capable of. I mustn't grumble."

Posted by The Englishman at 7:16 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 24, 2005

Thank goodness for men and machines such as these.

Telegraph | News | Spitfire pilot, 92, takes controls of his old plane after 60 years

One of Britain's finest pilots took to the skies above East Anglia yesterday in a Spitfire he last flew more than 60 years ago.
Alex Henshaw, 92, was the chief test pilot at Castle Bromwich, near Birmingham, the largest factory producing Spitfires and Lancaster bombers during the Second World War, and was responsible for taking hundreds of aircraft into the air.
Yesterday he was once more at the controls of a Mark IV Spitfire, lovingly rebuilt after surviving the war only to crash 55 years later.

Although another pilot took off and landed the aircraft, Mr Henshaw flew it over the Cambridgeshire countryside using its dual controls.

"It brought all the memories flooding back," he said. "Those young men went into combat with only five or six hours' flying experience in it. If it had not been for the Spitfire, a wonderfully easy aircraft to fly, they would not have survived. If it had not been for the Spitfire, Britain would not have survived. It has been such a privilege flying one again today."

Mr Henshaw ended his 30-minute flight with a loop-the-loop and a string of victory rolls.

The aircraft is the property of Karel Bos, 76, a millionaire industrialist who fell in love with Spitfires after seeing them in action above his home in Alkmaar, in the Netherlands.

What a great story!

Posted by The Englishman at 7:05 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

March 23, 2005

Time to book up.

Cheese Rolling with DoctorDanger.com

The famous "Coopers Hill Cheese Rolling and Wake" is an ancient event which takes place annually on the Spring Bank holiday in lovely Gloucestershire (UK).
The rules of the game are simple, you show up, you chase cheese off a cliff, you tumble for a couple hundred yards, then you go to either the pub or the local hospital.

Oh Blow - looking in my Diary I am sorting my record collection that weekend - otherwise I would go along - I wonder if I can persuade our resident hillrunner Mr NBC to go along and report back...

Posted by The Englishman at 7:03 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Its about bunnies and chocolate, init?

Telegraph | News | Meaning of Easter lost on British adults

Less than half of Britons know why Christians celebrate Easter, according to new research. Only 48 per cent of adults questioned for a survey were aware that the festival marks the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

No wonder that Tony Blair
appealed to Church leaders not to bring religion into the general election, he said Churches made a "visible, tangible difference" for the better in society.
Mr Blair rejected talk of a decline in religion and the Churches in national life, saying he had been struck by their revival in social action in local communities.
Christian organisations had a crucial role to play in helping young people. Jewish and Muslim community organisations were also doing a "fantastic job".

Anyway, as I have told the Staff; Easter is cancelled - no taking time off. They have found the body, it was behind the sofa all the time.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:55 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

March 21, 2005

Brit Blogger

Albion's Alchemist is an excellent addition to the fold! Welcome.

Posted by The Englishman at 11:09 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 18, 2005

Hero rewarded

BBC NEWS | UK | Soldier wins VC for Iraq bravery

"At the time I was just doing the job, I didn't have time for other thoughts," he said of his actions.
"I want to return to service, but I don't know when that will be and I would go back to Iraq if I had to."

Posted by The Englishman at 6:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 14, 2005

Celebrate!

The Scotsman reports:
The English should celebrate St George�s Day in a bid to renew national pride, former home secretary David Blunkett said today.

English national identity has been �diluted and deliberately played down� over centuries, he said.

Can't argue with that but I have a feeling he is trialling a focus group suggestion to see how it plays - out of Government he is deniable if it goes wrong, part of the family if it goes right. Still the wind is in the right direction.

Posted by The Englishman at 8:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

March 13, 2005

Another one joins the usual suspects:

a very British insurgency
Blogroll:

Airstrip One
An Englishman's Castle
Biased BBC
Copper's Blog
EU Referendum
EU Serf
Majority Rights
Melanie Phillips
Public Interest
The England Project
UK Future

Posted by The Englishman at 10:47 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

March 7, 2005

A simple thing you can do for England's sake

If you live in England and you don't like Prescott's and Europe's Regionalisation of England here is something quick and easy you can do that will be really effective. Neil Herron has done the homework on how to put the wind up the Members of the Regional Assemblies, so much so that it is causing cracks to appear in the whole project. All it needs is more people to push. So all you have to do is Download this word document and fill it in and send it off.

As Neil Herron reports on Christopher Booker's column.

The survival of the eight unelected assemblies that he hoped would be retrospectively legitimised by referendums, and which are part-funded by local authorities, is now looking increasingly shaky.

One reason for this disintegration is the growing panic among council nominees on these assemblies that, because of the dubious status of most of these bodies as "unincorporated associations", councillors may be personally liable in law for their assembly's financial obligations, including the contractual and pension rights of hundreds of employees....

..the sharp-eyed Neil Herron, who led the "No" campaign in the North-East, has just formally brought it to the attention of his local council, Sunderland, that the councillors who sit on the North-East Assembly seem to be in serious breach of various statutory provisions. For a start, since the councillors are personally liable for the Assembly's financial obligations, this gives them a personal and pecuniary interest in its decisions, which in law disqualifies them from participating in those decisions.

Furthermore, under the Local Government Acts, it is illegal for councils to give money to bodies which may be acting against their interests. Since the North-East assembly recently voted for a regional planning strategy which some participating councils strongly oppose, for them to fund a body against their ratepayers' interests appears to be breaking the law.

Prior to lodging a complaint with the district auditor, Mr Herron has fired off a set of searching questions to Sunderland's chief legal officer, to which he has been promised "a substantive reply".

The letter you have downloaded is based on his complaint - either just fill in the blanks or embellish it a bit more. But do it and pass it on. It is important.

External Links

• East of England Regional Assembly
• East Midlands Regional Assembly
• North East Regional Assembly
• North West Regional Assembly
• Regional Assembly for Yorkshire and the Humber
• South East Regional Assembly
• South West Regional Assembly
• West Midlands Regional Assembly

Then go and hunt out your local Assembly member - for instance mine is listed on http://www.southwest-ra.gov.uk/swra/downloads/assemblymembers/Assembly_Members.pdf

Posted by The Englishman at 8:40 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

March 6, 2005

Too much Good stuff

Tim Worstall: BritBlog Roundup # 3 - there are far too many talented bloggers out there - I can't afford the time to read them all so will you do it for me. Thanks.

Posted by The Englishman at 10:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 18, 2005

Silent - but not for long

For the horn of the hunter 's now silent,
On the banks of the Ellen no more,
No in Denton you'll hear its wild echo,
Clear sound o'er the dark Caldew's roar.

For forty long years have we known him,
A Cumberland yeoman of old,
And thrice forty years shall have perished,
Ere the fame of his deeds shall grow cold.
No broadcloth nor scarlet adorned him
Nor buckskin that rivals the snow.
But of plain Skiddaw gray was his garment,
And he wore it for work, not for show.

Chorus
For the horn of the hunter 's now silent,
On the banks of the Ellen no more,
No in Denton you'll hear its wild echo,
Clear sound o'er the dark Caldew's roar.
When darkness at night draws her mantle,
And the coal round the fire bids us still,
Our children will say, �Father tell us
Some tales of the famous John Peel.�
We'll tell them of Ranter and Royal,
Of Britain and Melody too,
How they put up our fox at Keswick
And chased him from scent to full view.

Chorus

From Denton to Brighton to Skiddaw,
Through Isel, Bewaldeth, Whitefield,
We galloped like madmen together,
To follow the hounds of John Peel.
So long may we hunt with each other,
Till the hand of old age you can feel,
And men feel like sportsmen and brothers,
So remember the hounds of John Peel.

Posted by The Englishman at 12:01 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 17, 2005

Made my evening

Pasty faced Labour MP is sent packing.

Some nulabour nark, "Dan Norris", thought it would be a good idea to go to the Home of Hunting for the television. - It made great viewing as he was pelted with cream and eggs as he was forced to run away - thank goodness he was wearing dark trousers as I could smell the fear over the ether!

�How dare this man come to our village,� A local said. �He has just ruined the villagers� lives. Why come to Badminton, which has been the home of the Beaufort hounds since 1650, to gloat about what he and his fellow backbenchers have achieved? We have been treated in the most crass way imaginable.�

She added: �I think he was asking for it.�

Posted by The Englishman at 9:36 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Potemkin Bollocks for the IOC

Telegraph | Picture Gallery

Members of the public gathered at Stonehenge to demonstrate that the whole country is in favour of hosting the Olympics...

Yes, Glorious Comrades a spontaneous outpouring of love and support from the Public (who just happen to have a huge professionally produced banner!)
How like in Dec 1939 when the order was sent out "COMRADES WILL REPORT IN THE RED SQUARE TOMORROW AT NINE O'CLOCK FOR A GREAT SPONTANEOUS DEMONSTRATION".

And this is from The Telegraph - who should have a sense of reality and they call it professional reporting.
A Pound to a Penny the "happy smiling" members of the public were bussed in by their employers - Local Government, or other tax-payer funded organisations. They seem to be following the example, of for instance, the front page of the newspaper Labor[Trud], Dec. 30, 1936. "The whole country exalts, laughs, and gleams with merriment/because children live joyfully/the country is marvellous for them/and each hour, whether study or leisure/has become unusually joyful/because, for us children/our great Stalin is our best friend."

Posted by The Englishman at 6:54 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

February 3, 2005

Welsh pull a sickie

It had passed me by until the CEP pointed it out but we are further subsidising the Taffies - Prescription charges in the UK: - devolution, don't get caught out!

In Wales the level of charge is �5 as of 1 October 2004 and everybody under 25 gets free prescriptions.
(In England) The charge for each item is �6.40 Young people aged 16-25 are only entitled to free prescriptions if they qualify for some reason other than simply their age..
The current phrase is "Postcode Lottery" for Healthcare - here is an example of discrimination that I haven't heard my MP complain about.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:09 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

England - what England?

The CEP point out that Kinnock's lovely lovely British Council is saying "Screw you England!".
Please visit to support them.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:03 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

February 2, 2005

Date for the Diary

Sort of via Mr FM I found this usefull reminder and link to the map etc of the Waterloo Cup meet.

It has been brought forward to beat the ban - it will be held on 14 February, 15 February, and 16 February.

An historic day out - I would like to go but the Heir is due to be under the knife those days...

More details...

WATERLOO CUP 2005

The Waterloo Cup is the Blue Riband of coursing. Run at Altcar in Lancashire since 1836, it is the ultimate test of a greyhound. Sixty four of the best coursing greyhounds in Britain and Eire will contest the historic prize. This year's meeting will be held on 14 February, 15 February, and 16 February.

The first brace of runners will be put into slips at 9.30am each day. Spectators are advised to arrive by 8.30am to be in good time for the start.

Coursing meetings last for as long as necessary to run out each day's programme. As a rough guide expect the first day to be the longest, (until 4.00pm approx,) and the third day to be the shortest, (until 2.00pm approx.) Refreshments are available on the ground.

Entry from �15 each person, car parking free.

How to get there.

Monday, 14 February "The Withins"

Take M62 and then M57. At the end of M57 follow A565 towards Formby and Southport. On the Formby by-pass turn right at traffic lights on to B5195 (at Tesco Superstore) and follow the road through Great Altcar. The turning to the field is on the right on the far side of the village.

Tuesday, 15 February "Lydiate"

Take M62 and then M57. At the end of the M57 follow A59 and then A5147 towards Scarisbrick and Southport. In Lydiate village take second left and follow to where the old Lydiate Station and railway line stood. The coursing field is beyond the old line.

Wednesday, 16 February "The Withins" again.

If you need overnight accommodation, most people stay in nearby Southport where there are any number of hotels and B&Bs. For advice, 'phone the Southport Tourist Office on 01704 533333.

The call over of the card, with bookmakers in attendance to offer long-odds on all runners, will take place at the Prince Of Wales Hotel, Lord Street, Southport at 7.00pm on Sunday, 13 February.

Posted by The Englishman at 12:50 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 27, 2005

Tanks lottery

BBC NEWS | England | Dorset | Tank museum scoops �8.5m funding

Backers of a military museum in line for a �15m redevelopment have been awarded a �8.5m lottery grant.
The money will go towards building a new display hall and preserving the hundreds of vehicles at the Tank Museum in Bovington, Dorset.

One of the best days out - I'm glad it is going to get even better.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:53 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

January 25, 2005

A361 GIGO

Not everyone is familiar with the "magical" UK Road A361 - they don't know what they are missing.
Recently I took the piss out of MSN mapping for route planning in Norway - today I tried to find out the distance up the A361 from Frome to Devizes. Simple - not according to Multimap - join the numbers on the map I got from them (I put via Seend to try and keep it on the A361.) Garbage in - Garbage out.

Posted by The Englishman at 9:31 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

January 24, 2005

Dear Mr President

May I and the English people congratulate you on securing four more years as president of the United States of America. I, like many others watched on television being sworn in as President and the commitment that you gave to continuing the global fight against tyranny and oppression and giving less fortunate countries around the world some basic rights such as Liberty, Freedom and democracy.

As you know and have stated on many occasions, the relationship between England and America is so cemented that we are more like members of the same family than different countries. Over the years, one another has come to one another's aid in times of strife and hardship, our peoples are so alike, we almost share the same handshake and we, like you look upon freedom, liberty and democracy as an absolute minimum that a country and its peoples should
expect.

Therefore, I offer you and open invitation to come and invade Britain and free the English people from tyranny and oppression. Because, today we do not have the basic rights that you and the American people have or the basic rights that you want to instil on countries around the world who don't currently have these ideals.

Mr President, did you know that -

England is the world's largest democracy to be governed by foreigners.
In England, we the peoples of England do not have basic rights such as
Liberty.
We the peoples of England do not have the right for Self-Government.
We the peoples of England are refused the fundamental right of Democracy.
We the Taxpayers of England are being drained of over �30 billion every year to subside countries outside of England.
We the peoples of England are not allowed a voice and if we try to voice our concerns, we are called Racists or Extremists.

Therefore, Mr President, seeing as though you have told the world that you will champion the causes of Liberty, Freedom and Democracy and where the peoples of countries demand these basic rights, voice these demands, you will, with the full force of the American might, enforce these countries to give their peoples liberty, freedom and democracy. We the people of England look forward to you invading Britain and giving the English people these basic rights that the modern world enjoy.

I ask you one final question, I know that you are passionate and patriotic, do you consider yourself a racist or an extremist for having these virtues.
Perhaps you should ask Mr Blair what he thinks, as he labels us English with these tags because we are proud and passionate of who we are and all of what England stands for.

Any problem with directions, then let me know, we are the little island that stuck in the North Sea, just of the coast of Europe, you know the one, the one who's given more to this world than any other nation in history.

See you soon

Ed Abrams
Regional Chairman
North West England
English Democrats
(On behalf of the English People)

Posted by The Englishman at 8:04 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

40 Years Ago

Forty years ago my Brother was having a birthday party, I was aged 3 and a half and I was placed in front of the old 1952 405 line Bush Television for the day. This never happened - Television was for half an hour Watch with Mother and then the Six o'clock news. I can remember my confusion and also I couldn't work out why my Mum and Dad were upset when it didn't seem to be anyone of our family that they were talking about on the Television. So this is my earliest dateable memory - I'm pleased to be able to see the video clips:
BBC ON THIS DAY | 30 | 1965: Last farewell to Churchill

Posted by The Englishman at 10:33 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

January 22, 2005

Fore!

BBC NEWS | England | Merseyside | Birthplace of Englishness 'found'

The Chronicle recounts how the English advanced and began pursuing the invaders up what is now the fairway of the par 4 11th hole at Brackenwood Road golf course.

I'm not a golfing man but I presume they would have beenusing an "iron" or something.

Hat tip to the CEP

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January 11, 2005

The view from The Castle this morning

Click for very large version

More pictures below:

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January 7, 2005

What about England's Indigenous People?

I can't find which blog I saw this on, so sorry for that:

BBC NEWS | World | Americas | Mixed views on UN indigenous decade

After 10 years of hard work, the UN's decade for indigenous people ended this month without a bang.
In 1994, hopes were high that the agency could fight their cause and secure a declaration on the rights of indigenous people, to stand alongside the universal declaration on human rights.

"Indigenous peoples are the third-class citizens ... in virtually every country they live in."
Their land has been taken away, their sustainable use of land dismissed, and their cultures have been denigrated, he says.

"People need to realise that there are different ways of living and these people shouldn't be seen as backwards," says Stephen Corry, director of Survival International...

For societies that survive on hunting, gathering and fishing, the loss of legal rights over land they may have lived on for centuries is particularly hard.

UN: The Rights of Indigenous Peoples

...For indigenous peoples all over the world the protection of their cultural and intellectual property has taken on growing importance and urgency. They cannot exercise their fundamental human rights as distinct nations, societies and peoples without the ability to control the knowledge they have inherited from their ancestors...

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January 5, 2005

Concrete them over. Pt. II

I have mentioned it before that the best thing to do with the railways is to Concrete them over.

Looking back I noticed this comment -

What makes you think that road transport can carry more people per hour, is less polluting and safer than rail? None of these things is remotely true. And have you any idea how many coaches would be needed to replace trains (for example, to carry a quarter of a million people into London every day), and what they would do to our already congested roads?
Bit late for an April Fool suggestion.
Posted by: Goswell Frand at April 5, 2004.

Well dear old Gossie the answer is here - ( I hope you still drop by to read this) Transport Watch UK - Road/rail comparisons across the uk

Very much against public and political sentiment roads managed to avoid congestion would offer 3 to 4 times the capacity to move freight and people at one quarter the cost of rail while using 30% to 40% less energy and reducing casualty costs suffered by rail passengers by a factor of 2.

The problem with the proposition is that (a) it is so very much against expectation (b) the numbers are so overwhelming as to inspire disbelief rather than belief (c) few people have ever seen a motor road managed to avoid congestion - the UK road network is (with the exception of motorways and some modern single carriageways) a collection of access roads never designed for motor traffic (d) rail is so romantic.

The primary proposition is expanded below. Nearly all the statements were tested at the Public Inquiry into the West Coast Main Line Modernisation Programme. There, Railtrack's immensely expensive Inquiry Team could do nothing in the face of the research presented. Any person who doubts that may have copies of the relevant closing statements in PDF Format. Additionally, the whole is supported by a series of facts sheets also available in PDF format, list appended.

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January 4, 2005

Imber

Took the brood out for a quick trip to a local village about ten miles from here:

Imber... an isolated village on Salisbury plain was requisitioned by the War Office a week before Christmas 1943. Villagers were told at the beginning of November that they had to pack up and leave. In just over a month the area was evacuated and the village literally vanished off the map.
The villagers, praised for the sacrifice they were making towards the war effort, were promised that their village would be returned to them after the Second World War.
It never happened and the villagers remained in exile.

Very poignant - especially with families and tiny children cycling up the barren street..
How it was.. A gallery of photographsof how it is now.

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December 30, 2004

The official Great Britons of 2004

The Telegraph presents a list of contenders for some Great Britons award and I have tried to help you identify them - not being a proper journalist I couldn't be arsed to do any research - but I think I have got them right (if not apologies).

Sir Bill Morris - last of the Trade Union leaders and black so gets the Guardian vote.
John Peel - Dead Disc Jockey so gets middle age trendy nostalgic for punk vote.
Lord Deedes - Reporter who is very old - gets nobody's vote.
Ken Loach - Arty film maker - luvvies vote.
Philip Pullman - writer of teenager books - but they won't vote.
Sir Simon Rattle - wild haired conductor - gets bus users vote.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee - Geek candidate - but is old news now.
Roger Penrose - sued toilet paper makers for using his patented pattern - ubergeek vote.
Jane Goodall - cuddly chimp botherer - gets the Ahhh! vote.
Benjamin Zephaniah - black poet - gets the Hackney vote.
Jane Tomlinson - Should know but don't.
Matthew O'Connor - No idea.
Gurinder Chadha - No idea but can guess whose vote this person will get.
Sir Tim Berners-Lee - Haven't we have had him already?
Lord Foster - Trendy architect - Gherkins and Bridges. Dahling vote.
Lord Browne - Sorry mate - don't know who you are.
Sir Paul Smith - a clothes cutter another Dahling vote.
Perween Warsi - from Star Wars?
Ellen MacArthur - has to sail around the world on her own probably because of personal hygiene issues. Transatlantic sailors vote.
Kelly Holmes - runner or jumper - gets the sporting vote.
Tanni Grey-Thompson - another runner or jumper but in a wheelchair so gets the sympathy sports vote.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:39 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

December 28, 2004

Boxing Day scenes

BBC NEWS | In Pictures | In pictures: Christmas Hunt The BBC website has done a good job of presenting the various Boxing Day hunts - it is always photogenic!

For myself, Mr Free Market very kindly took the son and heir out for his first pheasant shoot - a great time was had by all (except maybe for a couple of brace of pheasants). And driving back across the Plain it was a joy to meet the Hunt hacking home.
Merry England!

Posted by The Englishman at 6:36 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

December 20, 2004

A must read Article

Prisoner JW7874

So you think you live in a free country?
You really think that? Well, let me tell you that you do not. On Saturday night, 11.35pm, I had two uniformed policemen at the door, threatening to kick it in unless I opened it. When I opened the window to talk to them, one pushed the window fully open, sweeping the china onto the sink, and climbed into the house.

Were they attending the scene of a serious crime? Forget it - that takes days. Were they dealing with a serious criminal? Well you judge that. While the usual Saturday night mayhem was breaking our in Bradford centre, stretching police resources to breaking point, these policement were out debt collecting - on behalf of the state...

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December 14, 2004

Otis - I'm not a sheep

BBC NEWS | UK | Commons hunt protesters charged

Otis Ferry, a former Eton pupil and joint leader of the South Shropshire Hunt, said: "I have no regrets.
"We have done nothing wrong beyond the obvious which was to stand up for our rights and not act like a sheep".

Sensible lad with the way the Police are treating errant sheep these days! And remember it took "four vans of officers and dogs, three marked cars and two unmarked cars" to search his home and remove a couple of legal guns he used as tools of his trade.

"Disorderly Conduct" is pretty low on the scale when originally they were threaten with burglary, treason, regicide etc. Hope they get off!

Posted by The Englishman at 6:59 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

December 13, 2004

More on that Sheep on a Roundabout.

Times Online - Newspaper Edition

AFTER a four-hour stand-off in the middle of a busy roundabout, armed police sparked controversy yesterday when they shot their victim dead for refusing to move..

Of course I'm old enough to remember when a sheep tied to a lampost on a roundabout was THE leisure centre for Swindon...

Posted by The Englishman at 9:42 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

The Rock

Telegraph | News | Gibraltar rocks to Hebrew 'God Save the Queen'

The words of God Save the Queen sung in Hebrew reverberated round the Shaar Hashamayim synagogue in Gibraltar as part of a weekend of celebrations commemorating the rock's centuries-long role as a haven from anti-Semitism.
"In the dark times of expulsion and inquisition, Gibraltar lit the beacon of tolerance,"

Strangely the Treaty forbids "Papists, Moors and Jews" from living on The Rock but this condition has always been soundly ignored leading to the most diverse integrated community in the world. Shows what a bit of common sense can do.

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December 6, 2004

Bloody Americans

Trying to earn a few honest bob by flogging a couple of Boxes of Cuban cigars on Ebay.co.uk to people in this country and I find that I can't:
eBay UK: Help : Community Standards : Policies and Guidelines : Embargoed Goods and Prohibited Countries

EBay.co.uk Policy on Items From Cuba - As a subsidiary of a US company, US government trading restrictions also apply to eBay.co.uk.
If you Yanks want to have a hissy fit over some smokes in your own country that is up to you - but over here we can smoke what the hell we want to - well almost.
Where is that Stars and Stripes so I can burn it? Sometimes it is easy to understand why Anti Americanism is popular.

Anyone want to buy some cigars?
25 Cuban Romeo y Julieta Churchill Cigars
Three packets of 5 Sigolov Cohiba.......

Posted by The Englishman at 10:12 PM | Comments (13) | TrackBack

December 3, 2004

Now is the time to vote

2004 Weblog Awards: Best UK Blog voting!
At the moment the front runners are "a crude Yank crashing the Brit party" and a "bunch of sinister and heavily armed globalist illuminati who seek to infect the entire world". Dear Reader, is that what we really want to represent :
This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle,
This earth of majesty, this seat of Mars,
This other Eden, demi-paradise,
This fortress built by Nature for herself
Against infection and the hand of war,
This happy breed of men, this little world,
This precious stone set in the silver sea,
Which serves it in the office of a wall
Or as a moat defensive to a house,
Against the envy of less happier lands,--
This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England.

No I say - go forth and vote!

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December 2, 2004

Proud of Britain

attempting escape asks for help - and I'm always one to help students and his cause is a good one : nuLabour has some odious campaign called Proud of Britain, if so go to the Proud of Britain website so you can make your views known about how proud of Britain you are.

FYI this is an attempting to help with a Google Bomb on Labours new site http://www.proudofbritain.org.uk/. Proud of Britain.net is even now climbing up the google ranking and is above Labours site. Please help it get to number 1.

Posted by The Englishman at 7:11 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 23, 2004

What happens if you protest...

Mirror.co.uk - TALLY BLOW

HUNT protester Otis Ferry has had guns seized by police after a raid on his home.
The 21-year-old - who led the storming of Parliament by pro-hunt campaigners - had a .22 rifle and 12-bore shotgun taken away.
Police said they removed the legally held weapons because of concerns over the behaviour of rock star Bryan's son during protests.
His cottage in Shropshire was searched for six hours.
Ferry, who had licences for the firearms, is the youngest Master of Foxhounds and a member of the South Shropshire Hunt.
A police source said: "This was a thorough operation involving more than a dozen officers. The premises were searched for six hours and every room was looked at.
"A .22 rifle and a 12-bore shotgun were removed.
"A computer was also taken away.
"I understand Mr Ferry believes the measures were heavy-handed, but the officers had a job to do." Police from the West Mercia force sent four vans of officers and dogs, three marked cars and two unmarked cars to Ferry's home.
Police trained in search techniques even climbed into his attic.

Nice to know the Police have the resources when they need them. It is fairly obvious the message they are trying to send out to protestors. Remember Otis, as far as I know, has never been involved in or threatened any violence to anyone. Maybe he should have swung a punch when he had a chance in The Commons....

Posted by The Englishman at 8:31 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

November 20, 2004

For the horn of the hunter 's now silent,

Source

For the horn of the hunter 's now silent,
On the banks of the Ellen no more,
No in Denton you'll hear its wild echo,
Clear sound o'er the dark Caldew's roar.

For forty long years have we known him,
A Cumberland yeoman of old,
And thrice forty years shall have perished,
Ere the fame of his deeds shall grow cold.
No broadcloth nor scarlet adorned him
Nor buckskin that rivals the snow.
But of plain Skiddaw gray was his garment,
And he wore it for work, not for show.

Chorus
For the horn of the hunter 's now silent,
On the banks of the Ellen no more,
No in Denton you'll hear its wild echo,
Clear sound o'er the dark Caldew's roar.
When darkness at night draws her mantle,
And the coal round the fire bids us still,
Our children will say, �Father tell us
Some tales of the famous John Peel.�
We'll tell them of Ranter and Royal,
Of Britain and Melody too,
How they put up our fox at Keswick
And chased him from scent to full view.

Chorus

From Denton to Brighton to Skiddaw,
Through Isel, Bewaldeth, Whitefield,
We galloped like madmen together,
To follow the hounds of John Peel.
So long may we hunt with each other,
Till the hand of old age you can feel,
And men feel like sportsmen and brothers,
So remember the hounds of John Peel.

Chorus
----------------------
- The other song is:

"John Peel"
Do ye ken John Peel
with his coat so gay?
do ye ken John Peel
At the break of day?
Do ye ken John Peel
When he's far, far away
With his hounds and his horn
In the morning
Twas the sound of his horn
Brought me from my bed
And the cry of his hounds
Aas me oftimes led
For Peel's view holloa
Would wake the dead
Or a fox from his lair
In the morning
Do ye ken that hound
Whose voice is death?
Do ye ken her sons
Of peerless faith
Do ye ken that a fox
With his last breath
Cursed them all as he died
In the morning?
Yes, I ken John Peel
And auld Ruby, too
Ranter and Royal
And Bellman so true
From the drag to the chase,
From the chase to the view
From the view to the death
In the morning
And I've followed John Peel
Both often and far
O'er the rasper fence
And the gate and the bar
From Low Denton Holme
To the Scratchmere Scar
When we vied for the brush
In the morning
Then here's to John Peel
With my heart and soul
Come fill, fill to him
A brimming bowl
For we'll follow John Peel
Thro fair or thro foul
While we're waked by his horn
In the morning

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November 18, 2004

Oh to be in England now that nuLabour's here

This post from The Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler is spot on - and he hasn't added in the punishment you will get if your terrier chases a Hare and not a Rabbit...

Ah, to be an Englishman at home in England, enjoying the liberties that only an Englishman doth possess. continues

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Parliament has decided

BBC NEWS | Politics | Hunt ban forced through Commons

Mr Gray said passing a ban with no delay would send a hidden message to the countryside: "a message which reads 'Cry havoc and let loose the dogs of war'."

Posted by The Englishman at 9:54 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

Go Hunting!

Want to go hunting? Don't know where to go?
http://www.btinternet.com/~countryside.webservice/huntfoxindex.htm has all the links and contacts.
Tally Ho!

Posted by The Englishman at 11:08 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The view from the countryside

BBC NEWS | England | Coventry/Warwickshire | Hunt supporters 'defiant, determined'

"The countryside is fed up. We're a law-abiding community. I've never been in trouble in my life, but I'm prepared to stand firm on this.
"People here are very, very angry. This bill pleases no-one. It's just a law that is appeasing anti-hunting MPs."

My thoughts exactly.

Posted by The Englishman at 9:27 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

November 17, 2004

Vote (please)

Crossofstgeorge Debate :: View topic - Neil Herron

The Daily Telegraph are running a series of awards, described below...

This is your chance to endorse this man's efforts on our behalf to
challenge the political class. A process which is gathering momentum
and will continue to do so.

Please spare two minutes of your time and make your vote count.
Vote for Neil Herron.
Remember, democracy is not a spectator sport.

To vote...

Please click here www.greatbritons04.co.uk

Then click on 'VOTE NOW' on the right hand side and then mark the
'CAMPAIGNER' category and follow the instructions.
Many thanks.

As a Director of the North East No Campaign I have nominated the
Campaign Director, Neil Herron in the category of Campaigner. His
tireless efforts over the past two years were instrumental in
delivering the massive landslide of a 78% 'No' vote in the recent North
East Referendum. Although based in the North East he has become
recognised as the most formidable people's representative in the
campaign business nationally. The emphatic result was testament to his
ability to challenge and expose the political classes and take the
people along with him.

Also as Campaign Director of Referendum04 last year he created the
campaign which forced Blair to concede to a referendum on the European
Constitution.

The massively supported Metric Martyrs Campaign which first brought him
into the arena some four years ago is still ongoing and his
intervention has ensured that there have been no further prosecutions
under the 'Metrication Regulations' since 2000.

This is your chance to endorse this man's efforts on our behalf to
challenge the political class. A process which is gathering momentum
and will continue to do so.

Please spare two minutes of your time and make your vote count.
Vote for Neil Herron.
Remember, democracy is not a spectator sport.

Yours faithfully,
Colin Moran
Director
North East No Campaign
Frederick Street
Sunderland
SR1 1NA
Tel. 0191 565 7143

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November 16, 2004

Quite right old chap

BBC NEWS | UK | Britons 'funny but drunken' breed

Americans in Chicago said British politeness and pride were positive, but others, especially the Milanese, said British politeness was "off-putting" and Britons were reserved, uptight and snobbish.

The Italians also thought Britons were tied to outdated traditions and customs.

Posted by The Englishman at 11:06 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

November 12, 2004

The State we are in

The Washington Dispatch

What's So Great about Great Britain?
-----------------------------------
Commentary by Martin Kelly

...the liberals control social policy with a rod of iron. Children are presented with images of sexuality from the earliest age - politicians express shock when they start having sex young. Intercourse is presented as an entertainment without consequences - the Sunday Telegraph has recently reported that the taxpayer-funded British Pregnancy Advisory Service is sending women to Spain in order to obtain abortions that are illegal in the UK due to the stage of their pregnancy. The debris of this ruinous liberalism wanders round our towns at all hours of the day and night. The institutions of the state, provided by the citizen for their own protection, do not function unless in this liberal atmosphere. The citizen is not permitted to protect his home without having to make a lawyerly judgment in a split-second decision in combat against intruders, in the middle of the night. So paralysed is the police service by its institutional liberalism that it cannot keep the streets of Nottingham and Birmingham free from a gun culture that would shame LA's ganglands.

This is Great Britain now. This is your ally.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:08 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

November 11, 2004

At the going down of the sun..

If I should die, think only this of me:
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's, breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

Rupert Brooke, War Sonnet V, The Soldier

Posted by The Englishman at 8:45 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

November 10, 2004

11th of the 11th

BBC - Remembrance - How we Remember - this is what the BBC can be good at - a collection of articles and clips from the years.

Posted by The Englishman at 9:26 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 9, 2004

Lardy speaks

Baron Hattersley gives his opinion on losing the vote:

I do not believe that the North East is opposed to regional assemblies.

I was on the winning side. We had triumphed in the arguments and our leaders were far more attractive and articulate than their opponents.

No you weren't you oleagenous pompous twat - the people gave a clear view - 80:20 against. Sometime you will have learn to accept the peasants are right - and now would be a good time to get your nose out of the trough and smell the coffee..

Hat tip to The Road to Euro Serfdom (Blogger trackback not working again for me..)

Posted by The Englishman at 9:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Non German Humour

FREE MARKET FAIRY TALES brings graphic pictures of Beer adverts for Spitifre Ale - an excellent sup.

In a miracle of sense previous adverts weren't banned:

Adverts poking fun at Germans and gay men have been cleared by watchdogs.

The Bottle of Britain ads for Spitfire ale used on the London Underground were accused of being racist and homophobic.

The Advertising Standards Authority received 19 complaints, but ruled they did not cause serious offence

Advertisers had argued that to ban the advertisements would be overzealous political correctness.

The posters carried statements such as "Votz zo funny about zeez posters?", "German Beer is Pants" and "Have the sunbeds. We're going to the bar" .

In an apparent reference to gay men, another of the posters read: "Rear gunners drink lager shandy."

Spitfire beer was launched to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Britain and a proportion of its revenue is donated to the Royal Airforce Force Benevolent Fund.

The advertisers argued that the tongue-in-cheek campaign merely reflected an aspect of British cultural history.

And they said that in their experience Germans were capable of finding the campaign humorous.

Posted by The Englishman at 4:34 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

November 5, 2004

You thought you had a bad week..

Neil Herron: Oh Mr. Anderson...and we thought you were a gastronome and europhile

Councillor Anderson can't be a happy man this weekend - and that gives me an excuse for a minor happy dance on my way down to the pub....

Posted by The Englishman at 9:31 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 4, 2004

Prison hulks

BBC NEWS | England | Dorset | 'Costly' prison ship may be shut

The UK's first prison ship for 200 years could be closed unless an expensive facelift is carried out.

The ship, opened in 1997 off Portland, Dorset, is "unsuitable, expensive" and "in the wrong place".

Of course it is in the wrong place - once it is full up it should be going off to Australia not languishing in Dorset. Full steam ahead!

Posted by The Englishman at 7:12 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

Beer!

S. Worthen | weblog reports:

A spokesman for a major British brewing company was feeling combatative when he was interviewed by the BBC on the degree to which wine is infringing on beer's place in Britain's alcohol consumption.

"I have seen the odd occasion where I have walked into a pub and seen a man drinking a glass of wine," he says. "I find that totally unacceptable."

Quite - interesting article on the different perceptions of wine and beer over here - wine is for meals, beer is for drinking!

Posted by The Englishman at 6:30 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 2, 2004

Are Parking tickets illegal?

More and more Jobsworths are being given the right to issue on the spot fines so I was interested in the following:

BWMA/Parking ticket campaign

Bill of Rights Act 1689:
"That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void".

I have pasted the whole article in below because I can't find it on the BWMA site now so have linked to the Google cache.

I almost can't wait for my next ticket....

A member of the public who received a parking fine through the post appears to have brought the collection of the fine to a halt by quoting the Bill of Rights Act 1689:

"That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void".

"Before conviction" means that no fine can be imposed until and unless the individual is convicted in a court of law. Of course, under constitutional law, the Bill of Rights Act 1689 is repealed by the Road Traffic Act 1991. This is because the Road Traffic Act provides for fining outside of a court and, under British law, it is always the later Act that takes precedence.

However, Lord Justice Laws said in the 'Metric Martyrs' judgment (sections 62 and 63):

"We should recognise a hierarchy of Acts of Parliament: as it were "ordinary" statutes and "constitutional statutes". The special status of constitutional statutes follows the special status of constitutional rights. Examples are the Magna Carta, Bill of Rights 1689, The Act of Union � Ordinary statutes may be impliedly repealed. Constitutional statutes may not�"

Thus, he ruled, the European Communities Act 1972, requiring metric, could and must repeal the Weights and Measures Act 1985 (allowing lb/oz), because the former was "constitutional" and the latter "ordinary". This point led to Steven Thoburn's conviction.

Herein lies the conflict. If the Lord Justice Laws judgment is true, every Local Authority, Government agency and police force that fines people through the post, or on the spot, is now acting illegally, since the Bill of Rights Act 1689 was specifically named by Laws as a "constitutional Act". The Road Traffic Act 1991, by contrast, is an "ordinary" Act. Unless the Road Traffic Act expressly refers to the Bill of Rights Act in its text (which it does not), it must fall by the wayside, since the Bill of Rights Act cannot be impliedly repealed.

So, if the Laws judgement is sound, and constitutional Acts like the Bill of Rights and the European Communities Act cannot be impliedly repealed, why are public authorities still collecting revenue from the public outside of the court process? Obviously, Local Authorities do so because they do not agree with Lord Justice Laws; they, like BWMA accept that the Bill of Rights Act was repealed in 1991 to the extent that it conflicts with the 1991 Act. But, if this is so, what is the legal basis for prosecuting traders using pounds and ounces?

Got a parking ticket? Fined for not paying the London Congestion Charge? Take action!

1) Write or email the fining authority, asking it to identify the Act providing for its legal authority to levy the fine.
2) Look up the Act on the internet using a search engine, for example, http://uk.altavista.com/ or http://www.google.co.uk
3) Search the text of the Act for the words "Bill of Rights" or "1689" (this is made easy by going to Edit on your tool bar, and selecting Find from the drop-down menu)
4) If there is no reference to the Bill of Rights Act 1689, print out the following:
- Extract from Bill of Rights Act 1689
- Extract from "Metric Martyrs" Judgement, February 18th, 2002
5) Copy-paste this proforma letter into a word processing file and edit it to suit your particular circumstances.
6) Send the letter and enclosures and await the response

If you never hear from your authority again, it means that it does not consider the cost of arranging a court hearing to collect your fine as viable in which case you may never pay the fine. Please note, there is nothing unlawful in this, since the proforma letter makes it quite clear you are prepared to pay the fine if the correct procedure is followed.

------
BILL OF RIGHTS ACT [1689]

An Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown

[Extract]

And thereupon the said Lords Spiritual and Temporal and Commons, pursuant to their respective letters and elections, being now assembled in a full and free representative of this nation, taking into their most serious consideration the best means for attaining the ends aforesaid, do in the first place (as their ancestors in like case have usually done) for the vindicating and asserting their ancient rights and liberties declare:

That the pretended power of suspending the laws or the execution of laws by regal authority without consent of Parliament is illegal;
That the pretended power of dispensing with laws or the execution of laws by regal authority, as it hath been assumed and exercised of late, is illegal;
That the commission for erecting the late Court of Commissioners for Ecclesiastical Causes, and all other commissions and courts of like nature, are illegal and pernicious;
That levying money for or to the use of the Crown by pretence of prerogative, without grant of Parliament, for longer time, or in other manner than the same is or shall be granted, is illegal;
That it is the right of the subjects to petition the king, and all commitments and prosecutions for such petitioning are illegal;
That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law;
That the subjects which are Protestants may have arms for their defence suitable to their conditions and as allowed by law;
That election of members of Parliament ought to be free;
That the freedom of speech and debates or proceedings in Parliament ought not to be impeached or questioned in any court or place out of Parliament;
That excessive bail ought not to be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted;
That jurors ought to be duly impanelled and returned, and jurors which pass upon men in trials for high treason ought to be freeholders;
That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void;
And that for redress of all grievances, and for the amending, strengthening and preserving of the laws, Parliaments ought to be held frequently.

-------

"Metric Martyrs" Judgement, Divisional Court, 18 Feb 2002

[Extract]

62 Where does this leave the constitutional position which I have stated? Mr Shrimpton would say that Factortame (No 1) was wrongly decided; and since the point was not argued, there is scope, within the limits of our law of precedent, to depart from it and to hold that implied repeal may bite on the ECA as readily as upon any other statute. I think that would be a wrong turning. My reasons are these. In the present state of its maturity the common law has come to recognise that there exist rights which should properly be classified as constitutional or fundamental: see for example such cases as Simms [2000] 2 AC 115 per Lord Hoffmann at 131, Pierson v Secretary of State [1998] AC 539, Leech [1994] QB 198, Derbyshire County Council v Times Newspapers Ltd. [1993] AC 534, and Witham [1998] QB 575. And from this a further insight follows. We should recognise a hierarchy of Acts of Parliament: as it were "ordinary" statutes and "constitutional" statutes. The two categories must be distinguished on a principled basis. In my opinion a constitutional statute is one which (a) conditions the legal relationship between citizen and State in some general, overarching manner, or (b) enlarges or diminishes the scope of what we would now regard as fundamental constitutional rights. (a) and (b) are of necessity closely related: it is difficult to think of an instance of (a) that is not also an instance of (b). The special status of constitutional statutes follows the special status of constitutional rights. Examples are the Magna Carta, the Bill of Rights 1689, the Act of Union, the Reform Acts which distributed and enlarged the franchise, the HRA, the Scotland Act 1998 and the Government of Wales Act 1998. The ECA clearly belongs in this family. It incorporated the whole corpus of substantive Community rights and obligations, and gave overriding domestic effect to the judicial and administrative machinery of Community law. It may be there has never been a statute having such profound effects on so many dimensions of our daily lives. The ECA is, by force of the common law, a constitutional statute.

63 Ordinary statutes may be impliedly repealed. Constitutional statutes may not. For the repeal of a constitutional Act or the abrogation of a fundamental right to be effected by statute, the court would apply this test: is it shown that the legislature's actual � not imputed, constructive or presumed � intention was to effect the repeal or abrogation? I think the test could only be met by express words in the later statute, or by words so specific that the inference of an actual determination to effect the result contended for was irresistible. The ordinary rule of implied repeal does not satisfy this test. Accordingly, it has no application to constitutional statutes. I should add that in my judgment general words could not be supplemented, so as to effect a repeal or significant amendment to a constitutional statute, by reference to what was said in Parliament by the minister promoting the Bill pursuant to Pepper v Hart [1993] AC 593. A constitutional statute can only be repealed, or amended in a way which significantly affects its provisions touching fundamental rights or otherwise the relation between citizen and State, by unambiguous words on the face of the later statute. 64 This development of the common law regarding constitutional rights, and as I would say constitutional statutes, is highly beneficial. It gives us most of the benefits of a written constitution, in which fundamental rights are accorded special respect. But it preserves the sovereignty of the legislature and the flexibility of our uncodified constitution. It accepts the relation between legislative supremacy and fundamental rights is not fixed or brittle: rather the courts (in interpreting statutes, and now, applying the HRA) will pay more or less deference to the legislature, or other public decision-maker, according to the subject in hand. Nothing is plainer than that this benign development involves, as I have said, the recognition of the ECA as a constitutional statute.

--------

Proforma Letter - amend as necessary

Chief Executive [Address of Local Authority]

Dear [name],

Please find enclosed a copy of Parking Ticket [insert reference number] which I received on [date]. It was issued by [name of company issuing ticket] on behalf of [Local Authority] and is attempting to impose a 'Penalty Charge' of �XX (reduced to �XX if paid within XX days).

Upon checking the legislation, I was surprised to find that [Local Authority], or its agents, appear to be attempting to extort money from me in an unlawful manner. Please find enclosed a copy of the Bill of Rights Act 1689, enacted and formally entered into Statute following the Declaration of Rights 1689. I draw your attention to the section that I have highlighted:

"That all grants and promises of fines and forfeitures of particular persons before conviction are illegal and void".
This states that a conviction is necessary before a fine can be imposed. As stated in the 'Metric Martyrs' Judgment in the Divisional Court (18th February 2002) by Lord Justice Laws and Mr Justice Crane (I will paraphrase, but have included a copy of the judgment's relevant sections 62 and 63):

62."We should recognise a hierarchy of Acts of Parliament: as it were 'ordinary' statutes and 'constitutional statutes.' The special status of constitutional statutes follows the special status of constitutional rights. Examples are the ... Bill of Rights 1689 ... 63. Ordinary statutes may be impliedly repealed. Constitutional statutes may not�"
The Divisional Court states that the Bill of Rights is a "constitutional statue" and may not be impliedly repealed.

I also enclose a copy of the contents of the [insert contents list of relevant Act eg Road Traffic Act 1991] which, as you can see, makes no reference to repealing the Bill of Rights 1689.

Therefore, it would appear that [Local Authority] and its agents have no lawful authority to demand money for any alleged offence until or unless it has been dealt with by a Court of Law. Please accept this letter as formal notice that I require any allegations against me to be referred for trial in a proper and orderly manner, should you wish to proceed against me for the alleged offence.

Please also confirm to me in writing that you have advised the relevant officers of the Council and its agents that they are breaking the law by attempting to claim powers which are forbidden to them, and that all issuing of fines is being done only after conviction by a Court of Law.

Yours sincerely, etc

ENCLOSURES
1. Photocopy of Penalty Charge Notice
2. Copy of [contents list of relevant Act]
3. Extract of the Bill of Rights Act 1689
4. Extract of Metric Martyrs Judgment, sections 62 and 63.

Posted by The Englishman at 5:53 AM | Comments (17) | TrackBack

October 30, 2004

England, what England?

The CEP brings to our attention how Nick Raynsford explains the position of nuLabour on England and English home rule:..

" the position is different in Scotland because Scotland is a nation in its own right and similarly Wales".

Silly me, England isn't a country but a collection of regions! Bastards, double bastards, they must be stopped....

Posted by The Englishman at 4:49 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

October 22, 2004

Revolting Peasants

theruralarmy

Posted by The Englishman at 7:10 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 11, 2004

Important one to watch

Neil Herron's Blog - run, don't walk to go there.

"democracy is not a spectator sport"

Posted by The Englishman at 11:50 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

We are the Champions!

BBC NEWS | In pictures: World Conker Championships

"This is a little bit of old England, a fast vanishing heritage that just keeps on going here."
Dave Pitcher: "I'm a mild person. I got all my aggression out of me years ago - just be happy and enjoy the day. This place cocks a snoop at the political correctness crowd, which is great."

Darren Foster, a 34-year-old hairdresser from Peterborough claimed the men's title from a fellow snipper.

Alison Everett, 27, from Northampton, beat a finalist from the Dordogne in France to win.

She said: "It was good to beat the French � but to be honest I just think I had a lucky conker."

Posted by The Englishman at 7:17 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

October 9, 2004

A "must read"

IHT: Always an England? The Scots say no
..
England (is) in danger of being abolished. How could that happen? The answer lies in Britain's curious constitution, which makes England the only major democratic country in the world to be governed by foreigners. For centuries, England, Scotland and Wales have pooled their sovereignty under the British banner, with the British Parliament legislating on all matters affecting them. Then in 1998 Tony Blair established a Scottish Parliament, through which that country largely governs itself, and a Welsh Assembly with more limited powers. But the English continue to be governed by the British Parliament, to which the Scots and the Welsh elect members as they always did.
.
What sort of people could have created a system that so obviously discriminates against the English? The Scots of course. Though Tony Blair, who was born and educated in Scotland, has convinced the English that he's one of them, in many ways he's as Scottish as a plate of haggis, and so are his chancellor and several other leading ministers.
.
Their motivation for denying England a Parliament is certainly political, and, in the view of some, insidious. An English Parliament would not only revive the opposition Conservative Party - which always fares better in England than elsewhere - but, worse, will make people feel more English. And that's an embarrassing habit that the Scottish-led government seems intent on discouraging......

Posted by The Englishman at 7:51 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

October 7, 2004

One for a whipround.

BBC NEWS | England | Merseyside | Flyer fined for Dambusters song

A rugby player has been fined more than �1,000 after his stag party friends sang The Dambusters theme while on board a plane with German passengers.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:30 AM | Comments (8) | TrackBack

October 4, 2004

Lack of Tory Balls

Oliver Letwin's taxing questions

Oliver Letwin wants to talk about tax. He wants tax cuts, and so do his party.

But the Tory's are running scared of wanting cuts in services - so they are in a no win situation. To get real cuts in Tax, services have to be cut. People know that. Otherwise it is just a choice between two spotty MBAs as who can streamline management better. Now obviously the Tories have judged that they can't win by promising cuts in services. But they won't win by being nu-nu-labour either.
So wouldn't it be worth trying the gambit of being a radical party that promised real tax cuts? - and pointing out that people are better judges of how to spend their own money than politicians. At the moment I can't work out why I should care whether Labour or Tory run the economy. And that the Tory's real problem.

Posted by The Englishman at 9:36 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

October 3, 2004

No Taxation without representation"

Campaign for an English Parliament

"There is, they say, no need for an English Parliament. Well they would say that, at present Scots have:

- over �1000 per head per year more than the English in government spending
- a disproportionately large representation at Westminster.
- a predominance of Scottish and Welsh MPs in UK ministerial positions.
- their own parliament and executive up in Scotland
- no requirement to ratify Scottish legislation in the house of Lords
- no English representation in the Scottish Parliament or Executive
- imposed top-up fees on English students when their constituents do not have to pay them.
- imposed foundation hospitals on England when the Scottish Parliament has rejected them for Scotland."

Posted by The Englishman at 6:25 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

October 1, 2004

One for Mr Free Market

Animal Aid calls for an end to bird breeding for sport shooting
In the wake of the government's decisive move to end hunting with hounds, Animal Aid has published a shocking dossier making the case for a ban on another major British bloodsport - the mass production of pheasants for 'sport shooting'.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:58 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 29, 2004

Let us pray

The Free Church of Country Sports

Posted by The Englishman at 3:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Please Copy

Please copy and adapt this and send to your favourite old media outlet.

Wednesday, 29 September 2004

The Editor
The Daily Telegraph
By email
dtletters@telegraph.co.uk

Dear Sir

May I remind your readers that according to Government Guidelines - available at: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/about/ethnic_group_statistics/downloads/ethnic_group_statistics.pdf people are free to "self-define" which ethnic group they belong to.
Quote "Is a person's ethnic group self-defined?
Yes. Membership of an ethnic group is something that is subjectively
meaningful to the person concerned, and this is the principal basis for ethnic categorisation in the United Kingdom."

And that "ethnic groups, however defined or measured, will tend to evolve depending upon social and political attitudes or developments".

And "an ethnic group would be defined as a community whose
heritage offers important characteristics in common between its
members and which makes them distinct from other communities.
There is a boundary, which separates 'us' from 'them', and the distinction would probably be recognised on both sides of that boundary."

I think it is obvious that traditional country people have a different "heritage" to the urban elite and the evidence is that there is a clear "them and us". We are our own Ethnic Minority, all we have to do is "self-define". So let me publicly self-define myself to be "Traditional English" and that "Traditional English" is a separate Ethnic Group to any other, including the majority "English".

Any insults, discrimination or attacks against the heritage of "Traditional English" is now covered by the Race Relation Acts etc. and I will expect the full protection of the Law.

Any reader who also feels they are a member of this Ethnic Minority and has suffered because of their membership should make their local police and authorities aware of the serious crime that has occurred against them.

Yours sincerely

Posted by The Englishman at 7:05 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

September 23, 2004

Deep Joy

"Alun Michael.(Minister for the Country side).. showered with abuse and pelted with eggs - and then worse" Video

Posted by The Englishman at 6:15 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

September 16, 2004

An Elegy

Last weekend we christened the youngest Englishette - Saturday night was spent preparing the house, surrounded by family with the Last Night of the Proms on in the background. I went to bed happy, full of good wine, food and love and the tunes of great traditional music still ringing in my ears.
On Sunday I walked out to see what the archaeologists were finding and seeing how people have lived and farmed here for at least three thousand years. Later the family gathered in the stone built church, some of it a thousand years old, to welcome my daughter into The Church of England, in the same font her sister and brothers, her cousins, her uncle and I were baptised. Her name joins ours on the wall beside the "Roll of Honour" and family monuments dating back through the centuries. More wine and laughter followed.
This morning rose bright and clear, the air cleansed by yesterday's rain. The hedgerows are rich with fruit, elderberries, blackberries, sloes, hips and damsons. The rich soil is being turned after harvest to be planted again. Nowhere is more beautiful. By I was depressed and saddened - I felt almost stateless.
I have never hunted and never wanted to. The Commons banning it came as no surprise; so why did it upset me so much? I think it was the final realisation that the traditional world my ancestors and I grew up in has been humiliated and destroyed for the sake of a short term political advantage by a bunch of shits.
I suddenly had a feeling that this was no longer my England, that the Vichy regime controlling us had stamped down on us just once too often. And that the point of the forthcoming protests is not about changing this particular law back; we want our country back, and if we can't have it - well fuck them, we will just enjoy the mayhem as revenge.

Posted by The Englishman at 8:29 PM | Comments (22) | TrackBack

September 13, 2004

Stuff happens

David Hare has written a play about Tony and Dubya and Iraq etc. Tony's a poodle, George is thick, Rumsfeld is the devil etc etc I believe. Fine, that is his opinion and I'm sure he can string words together better than the next man. But it is nothing new and different, is it? It is the same tired old Guardian leader and the spouting of a couple of blogs. But if people will pay good money to come and have their prejudices reinforced for an evening, good for him.

But he isn't making money out of the punters, or even paying to express himself as Bloggers do. No he is part of the Great British Theatre Taxpayer Robbery;
To quote:National Theatre : FAQs : Finance

Offering the public a wide choice of plays, both modern and classical, given concurrently in repertoire and continually changing, is very expensive. Even with capacity audiences, it is a form of theatre that demands heavy government subsidy.

Darling, you might demand heavy Government subsidy but I can't see why we give you �12.5 million (2000/1) a year so you can ponce about parading predicable prejudices.

And yes I would just be as pissed off if, for instance, the great Kim du Toit himself was given large amounts of money to put on the sort of plays he might write, even though I bet they would be more entertaining.

Posted by The Englishman at 8:19 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

September 10, 2004

Latest from the Countryside

Countryside Alliance:

Yesterday's statement by junior DEFRA Minister Alun Michael revealed the true depths to which the Government has stooped in its treatment of our community. We all know that the Government's decision to move against us has nothing to do with hunting or animal welfare, but is just a chaotic and underhand attempt to manage its backbenchers. It is corrupt.

What is more Alun Michael has succeeded in losing control of the Government's policy on hunting, delivering it meekly into the hands of Tony Banks.

No one can be surprised either that his comments ignore all the evidence and principle upon which the Government claimed it would resolve the issue. It flatly contradicts the definitive inquiry into hunting with dogs which Lord Burns delivered to the Government just four years ago. The Minister knows that it is nothing but a corrupt attempt to justify Government-sanctioned discrimination.

The Government's position is now clear. The Hunting Bill will now be re-introduced to Parliament next week in the same form as it was previously presented. It will be rushed through the Commons next week in a single day using emergency procedures and go straight to the Lords. If the Lords reject or amend the bill the Parliament Act 1949 will probably be used by the Speaker to drive the Bill through in the form it left the Commons. The Act will then receive Royal Assent and become effective law three months later - hunting could be banned by early 2005. But please read on.

In a complex development, a second, 'amending motion' will also travel the Parliamentary route amending the three months commencement period in the Bill (for hunting but not coursing) to two years. To be law, this would have to pass all hurdles in both houses. Either way the legal position remains that the validity of the Parliament Act 1949 will be challenged, as can any infringement of the European Convention of Human Rights.

Whatever happens politically or legally it remains vital that we continue to behave in a manner that retains the respect for our cause for which we have worked so hard. I completely understand that many of you, like me, feel a burning sense of frustration and anger.

But if Harold Wilson was right and 'a week is a long time in politics', then three months is a lifetime, (and two years an age).

Despite the stark analysis that I have outlined above there is much to play for, and the reaction of members and supporters in the last 24 hours - especially those who listened to Alun Michael on the 'Today' programme - confirms widespread resilience and determination.

We have much to do, legally and within Westminster and the media. If you have not seen it, today's Times leader sums up the position pretty well. Please see it on our website and pass it to your friends.

Please keep in touch, watch the website, and await developments. Our battle is now not just about hunting it is about prejudice and discrimination, which is why increasing numbers of people - many from non hunting or rural positions - are getting angry about the manner in which the Government is behaving.

Our job is to stop this, and I remain wholly confident that together we can.

2. Second Reading Demonstration - be in Westminster next Wednesday

The phoney war may now be over but the real battle is only just beginning. Our plans are now clicking into place and we need you, your family and friends to come to Parliament Square on Wednesday 15th September to launch the next phase of our campaign. We will:

Show that the Government has given in to prejudice
Show that the Government is persecuting a law abiding minority in a vindictive manner
Show that the Government cannot be trusted to honour its commitments
Show the value of our cause and our intention to fight
Show our resolve, determination, anger and spirit
Show that the Government's priorities are not those of ordinary people
Show the nation that a ban is not inevitable, is not needed, and will be fought at every point
Our demonstration will be large, forceful and lawful.

Please make your way to Parliament Square by 12 noon. The main demonstration will end with a suitable 'finale' at 5.30pm which is when the vote on the Second Reading of the Hunting Bill will take place. Further stages will take place after that so do feel free to stay.

3. What you can do today

Make sure you and your friends come to the weekend campaign meetings - click here http://www.countryside-alliance.com/content/view/430/ for details.

Get ready for your 'No Ban' bonfires

Download your new campaign poster and a special Westminster poster to hand out locally advertising next Wednesday's demonstration - click here http://www.countryside-alliance.com/content/blogsection/1/127/

Write to your local press

Forward this email to your friends, family and colleagues and encourage them to get involved.

Posted by The Englishman at 9:08 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack

September 9, 2004

Cynical Tony

Guardian Unlimited | The Guardian | 'It is an abuse of parliament' qotes several good points from other papers including this from The Daily Mail.

"Iraq is in the grip of anarchy. Our health and education services are... woefully inadequate. And constitutional reform remains a shambles. So what does Mr Blair do? Why, revive a ban on fox hunting... Time and again he has reached for anti-hunt legislation when his backbenchers get angry or cabinet members become bolshy... It speaks volumes that a decision to force through a measure that will affect many thousands of jobs is decided not on principle, but at the political convenience of the prime minister."

Posted by The Englishman at 6:36 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

September 2, 2004

Another fat Tory goes on the list

Lord Howe - like Heath, Patten, Britten etc make up the fat self-satisfied eurocentric condescending luncheon faction of the Tory party. Bastards all.

He deserves a special mention for his starring role in this little article.
BBC NEWS | Magazine | Will we ever go completely metric?

Posted by The Englishman at 6:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Council gags

In Derby the council are pushing ahead with an inner ring road, some residents are against it and have put up temporary banners on their homes, just like hundreds of pubs and businesses do without. But it annoyed the council so;
"Richard Butler and Trevor Lloyd-Davies are being prosecuted by Derby City Council for displaying anti-Connecting Derby banners on their properties. Mr Butler is to lose part of his front garden at Five Lamps as a result of Connecting Derby Phase 3B which will also see the destruction of 40 West Avenue. Mr Butler believes he has a right to protest at what the City Council is planning to do to his home and his neighbourhood."
He should remember the Council are only here to help you and if you commit the thought crime of doubting them, then for your own good they will show you the errors of your ways. Free speech is dangerous and can cause confusion so should be limited to responsible bodies....

Bollocks to them, I hope Derby Council is fulfilling the primary duty of all councils; ensuring that there are enough lamposts so that come the glorious day there is one for every member to be strung up from.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 26, 2004

Happy happy people

Rural rejoice
Mood change in countryside ushers new era of optimism ... says the BBC .

No longer are worried about stuffy old things like the F&M which is now "curable", the threatened fox hunting ban or arable farmers suffering from rock bottom market prices. No we are happy because "rural Britain (is becoming) more urban."

So headlines like Farmers face ruin as rain blights harvest or the silly worry that Tony will throw country sports, liberty and livelihoods to the Labour dogs to cheer them up are just
so irrelevant. Remember:
"Cool Britannia was urban. Rural Britain seemed to love conservation, protection and stasis." And now Nu-labour has worked its magic on us country dwellers and were are cool as well.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:52 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack

August 19, 2004

Let off

BBC NEWS | England | Lancashire | Man commits sex act on cenotaph

A man who desecrated a cenotaph in Blackpool on the day marking the 90th anniversary of the start of World War I, has escaped a jail sentence.

Iraqi Harkan Amin, 32, a failed asylum seeker from Oldham, Greater Manchester, admitted outraging public decency by behaving in an indecent manner.

The Royal British Legion and Russian Convoy Association had laid wreaths which were ruined after the sex act.

Amin was unable to pay the �2,000 fine imposed at Blackpool Magistrates Court.

He was ordered to spend one day in prison in lieu of payment, but as he had already been in custody for two weeks he was released immediately on Thursday.

Amin was spotted on CCTV leaning against the cenotaph eating chips.

He then performed a sex act, wiped his hands on wreaths, continued eating his chips and walked off.

Amin came to the UK in April 2002 but has been refused asylum seven times.

WTF is going on? I'm not sure I can think of an appropriate punishment but a fine which he can't pay so he just walks free doesn't seem right. My suggestions wouls probably upset those of a more delicate sensibility. And I'm not sure I understand why an ayslum seeker who has been refused SEVEN times is still walking around the streets. Oh, is it he is seeking ayslum FROM Oldham, which is how the BBC has written it?

Final thought - imagine if an American soldier had been filmed beating himself off against a Mosque in Iraq and cleaning his fingers on a Koran, what would the headlines have been?

Posted by The Englishman at 7:07 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 18, 2004

Fox hunting

Just checking on Tony's plan to use the introduction of a fox hunting ban as a sop to the labour Loyalists this autumn I came across this:
Scotsman.com News - Latest News - Hunter 'Mistook Wildlife Watcher for Fox'

A badger spotter was left fighting for his life after a hunter mistook his night vision goggles for a fox's eyes and shot him in the chest, a court heard today.

Conservationist Trevor Lawson spent two days in intensive care and had to have a lung removed after being shot while out watching wildlife on farmland in April last year.

Anthony Burns, 52, fired a high-powered hunting rifle after a friend's red filter lamp picked up what appeared to be a "massive set of eyes".

Well that is another good reason for keeping fox hunting, in crowded England it is saferto use hounds rather than "high powered hunting rifles" (unless, of course, you are Mr FM obviously).

Posted by The Englishman at 6:53 AM | Comments (3) | TrackBack

August 12, 2004

Bishop Piffle

BBC NEWS | England | Manchester | Call to ban 'nationalistic' hymn

An Anglican bishop wants to ban the hymn I Vow To Thee My Country - because it echoes Hitler's Germany and is "heretical".
The Bishop of Hulme, the Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, attacked English nationalism in a diocese newsletter.

Well he can piss off, a tearjerker of a hymn if ever there was one, set to great music, I will take that to happy-clappy guitar sing songs anyday:

All together now:

I vow to thee my country, all earthly things above,

Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love:

The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,

That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,

The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

Posted by The Englishman at 6:27 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack

August 10, 2004

A F***king Hero

Tonight's television treat, a proper Englishman!

channel4.com: THE F***ING FULFORDS

One of Britain's oldest families, the Fulfords preside over a huge estate set in over 3,000 acres of countryside, passed on to the eldest son of each generation for over 800 years.

But the Fulford dynasty is under threat due to financial troubles. Head of the house Francis spends much of his time devising money-making schemes to help him raise the annual �30,000 needed to keep the house running, not to mention the cool million required to stop it becoming derelict.

Wife Kishanda has the thankless and never-ending task of attempting to keep such a huge property tidy while looking after the four children - Humphrey, Edmund, Matilda and Arthur, eldest son and heir to the estate.

It's English eccentrics against the rest of the world as the Fulfords fight for survival. Expect high blood pressure and expletives galore in this look at one man's fight to save his corner of England.

Posted by The Englishman at 10:06 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

August 5, 2004

Statistics on the English vote

Careful analysis of the 2004 Euro English results shows a staggering 3,000 % increase in �English� vote between 1999 and 2004 in the European Elections

In 1999 the �English� vote of was as follows

English Independent Humanist Party 1,049 & (North West)

EDP English Freedom Party 3,066 (West Midlands)

Total = 4,115 Votes

In 2004 English Democrats in the North West achieved 34,110

Representing an increase in the North West of 3,251 % increase in the �English� vote

Across Five English Regions the English Democrats picked up in 2004 130,056 votes

Thus representing an increase of 3,160 %

With the same increase in 2009 the English Democrats are on target to pick up

4,109,769 Votes!

Only 200,000 votes behind the Conservatives 2004 total

Food for thought...

Thanks Steven!

Posted by The Englishman at 9:17 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Poor old England

England's pastoral paradise lost? | csmonitor.com

SALFORD PRIORS, ENGLAND � This village, a stone's throw from the birthplace of William Shakespeare, is postcard- perfect. There are rolling fields, undulating country lanes, thatched cottages, and a rugged Norman church. It's the rural idyll that inspired some of Britain's finest poets.
But behind the Cotswold stone and half-timbered exteriors lurks a malaise. Country life is seriously threatened...deprivation is now stalking the countryside....

Posted by The Englishman at 6:55 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

The Shame of Scotland

Tim Worstall points out:

Public spending in England has now risen to �5,453 for every inhabitant (2002-03 figure) but in the Chancellor's beloved homeland, following yet more subsidy in his latest spending review, the figure will be a stonking �11,000 for every man, woman and child.

When you consider how Scottish energy, inginuity and philosophy powered the great economic growth of Britain and America two hundred years ago it is sad to see it now as a dependency culture, whining and shuffling along the street looking for handouts and blaming everyone else for its misfortunes.

If only they read more John Blundell for instance : The 10 Greatest Scots of all time

Posted by The Englishman at 6:28 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack