When I finally switched off from a day of online meetings on Wednesday I thought I’d relax by watching some gentle TV. Then a prompt from a friend on social media made me switch over to a new channel, the BBC at first and then CNN. Within moments I was hooked in to the drama... Continue Reading →
So, last Thursday the department for education (DfE) ordered schools in England 'not to use resources from organisations which have expressed a desire to end capitalism'. This has prompted quite a strong reaction from many on the left (and not on the left) on the (quite reasonable) grounds that it appears to prevent teaching the... Continue Reading →
Even a cursory engagement with British history would be enough to remind us that we are a fairly rebellious people when we are told what we should or shouldn’t do. There is a proud tradition of standing up for our ‘rights’ even if, for the most part, those rights are nowhere defined in a written... Continue Reading →
History is supposed to give us a sense of perspective, some way of understanding current events by looking backwards, at those in the past. I’ve seen some very good articles, comments and blogs on the 1919 ‘Spanish Flu’ pandemic (which wasn’t Spanish at all of course), and some reflections on how our ancestors coped with... Continue Reading →
In seems appropriate to be writing about racism and xenophobia this winter, appropriate but quite disturbing. I was prompted to write this blog post by one of my third year History students who had read my book London’s Shadows over the summer in preparation for his studies. In Chapter three I look at the mixed communities... Continue Reading →
As we approach the end of another year I thought I’d reflect on what, if anything we might learn from the events of 2017. This has been (another) tumultuous annum with terrorism, the threat of nuclear war, and political turmoil at home and abroad. What I’d like to discuss though, is the value of History... Continue Reading →
