Book Review – Zoo Station by David Downing
Zoo Station by David Downing My rating: 4 of 5 stars This is the first book that I have read entirely in 2015. Amazon had the whole series as a deal of the day for 99p each. I'd had this one, the first in the series, for a little while so I dipped in to see if the rest were worth buying. I got hooked and spent a fiver! I bought this one as an amazon recommendation. I've been buying first hand accounts and histories of the SOE for decades. I picked up the pace a bit a year ago when doing background reading for the short story Hunting Nazis which I used for the end of module on A215. I also read cold war spy fiction too. So amazon recommended me Downing's series. The link is fairly obvious. This…
L/Cpl William Kemp – Killed in Action
Lance Corporal William Kemp of the 2nd Scottish Rifles was killed in action one hundred years ago. I grew up seeing his name on the local war memorial, as did my father who was also named William Kemp. My dad was keen on family history, he could tell me all the living relatives and knew their exact relationship to us. He believed that all the Kemps in the Old Kilpatrick are were interrelated. So I've always seen L/Cpl William Kemp as part of my family, even though I cannot directly connect him from further research. William was almost certainly a regular soldier before WW1, either that or a recalled reservist. The Scottish Rifles were a regular battalion and started the war in Malta. However they were recalled and sent to France arriving in November 1914. William's Medal Index Card shows that he…
Opinion Polling Accuracy
In September I did a series of factual posts on the opinion polls for the referendum. There is stuff we can learn from comparing the actual result to what the polls said beforehand. Especially as we have a General Election in a few months. It is also worth pointing out that my day job is politically restricted and so I can only offer factual analysis and need to avoid political partisanship. That said I may say positive or negative things about party positions, that shouldn't be construed as support for any party. Many political positions are not supported by relevant evidence but the public doesn't often know or listen to evidence and politicians that want to be elected must listen to the public. Many people, mainly pro-independence supporters, were surprised by the 55% no vote. The polls had narrowed in…
Six Steps to Blog Posts People Read
One of my oldest friends asked me for some advice on writing a blog and attracting a following. He asked me because I've been blogging for decades and have written hundreds of posts, the most popular of which get thousands of hits. It made me think, here's how I think you should write a blog that people will want to read. NB lots of people bang on about SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) but if you write good content in a readable way then it ought to hit the search engines fine. Well written and thought provoking content presented well will beat keyword stuffing any day of the week. 1. Pick a subject and be insightful By this I mean write about something you really know and care about. A topic you think about and can make insightful or thought provoking commentary…
East End Explosions
I've been exploring the world of Perfects with some friends by running a roleplaying session with the Full Moon games group playing the senior officers of a police counter-terrorism group. More details on Operation Hawkeye. I couldn't resist writing some press stories as a result of the session. East Ended! Brave cops foil GM terror group in dawn raid. Silverton residents were woken by automatic gunfire and a bomb blast as terrorists fought off a police raid. Brave officers stormed through a hail of fire to take out the terrorists. One terrorist was confirmed killed by police, although not before two officers were wounded. Another is believed to have blown themself up in a suicide bombing. Commander Coalfield, the Counter Terror Chief, called on citizens to lookout for accomplices to the GM terrorists that may have escaped. Forensic teams are scouring the…