Tag archives for London
Extinction Rebellion London
Extinction Rebellion have been protesting in central London around Westminster. The protest started on Monday and is planned to last two weeks. There's a good overview of it on their website, along with a fab map. The objective is to get the UK government to acknowledge the climate change emergency and to bring forward the net zero carbon target to 2025. Extinction Rebellion in London As regular readers are likely to know my day job is in Westminster. So I've been walking past the protesters, and stopping to have a look and take pictures. It's a pretty good natured protest, feeling more like a festival than anything else. There's music and dancing and people talking about the climate emergency. The streets are even full of tents and flags! As well as protesters there are also loads of police, and they…
German Penetration of SOE by Jean Overton Fuller [Book Review]
English: Hon. Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat Khan (code name Madeleine), George Cross, MiD, Croix de Guerre avec Etoile de Vermeil. Noor Inayat Khan served as a wireless operator with F Section, Special Operations Executive. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The German Penetration of SOE by Jean Overton Fuller My rating: 4 of 5 stars I've been reading about SOE for more than three decades. This is the third book about SOE that I've read so far this year, and it is one of the earliest to point to the man behind the curtain. There is a carefully cultivated view of plucky heroism fighting thuggish Nazis, and prevailing eventually. The reality is clearly quite different. Each of the three books I've read this year has pointed that out (see my reviews of books about Vera Atkins & Nancy Wake). That we know…
History Bookshelf – Bookshelves Abound = #Shelfie 02
The History Bookshelf sits next to the Fiction Bookshelf. You can just see it alongside in the photo. Like the Fiction Bookshelf the History Bookshelf is second of the five identical Ikea bookshelves to feature in my Shelfies. History Bookshelf The History Bookshelf, one of five Ikea bookcases This is not the only bookshelf containing history books, most of my bookcases have some history on them. The reason that I've called this one the History Bookshelf is that it has a mixture of themes on it. Most of it is WW2 history, but there are other periods too. The top shelf has a mixture of POW stories, from both British and German points of view. It also has Blitz and National Fire Service histories. There are a handful of other home front books across the history bookshelf too. Further down there is a…
7/7 London Bombings Remembered Ten years on
Ten years ago the last successful terrorist spectacular was about to happen in London. 52 people were murdered by suicide bombers in one of the worst terrorist attacks in mainland Britain. Thankfully the repeat attempt a fortnight later didn't work, nor did the attempted car bombing at Glasgow airport. All the other attempts in the UK have been much lower key and, barring the murder of Drummer Rigby, not successful. That said British people have been killed overseas, last week's tragedy in Tunisia being a terrible example of the willingness of extremists to go for soft targets. English: A typical "new-look" London fire engine. The new type of fire appliance used by London Fire Brigade is smaller than it's predecessors to enable it to negotiate heavy London traffic more easily. With "FIRE" in mirror writing ("ERIF"). (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The…
Book Review – The Last Roundhead by Jemahl Evans
Roundhead in the English Civil War (Photo credit: Wikipedia) The Last Roundhead by Jemahl Evans My rating: 5 of 5 stars The Last Roundhead is the best historical fiction I have read in years! This is the tale of Blandford Candy, the last roundhead alive in 1719 when he wrote his memoirs. In the long hot summer of 1642 he is forced to leave home because his sister has discovered that he is having an affair with his eldest brother's wife to be. He rides up to London in search of fame and fortune, just in time to be enlisted in his uncle's Regiment. It is by far the best historical fiction that I have read since I finished reading the Flashman papers. The Last Roundhead Laid out in the style of the Flashman papers, Candy's story is very well…