There is nothing quite like your first few weeks at university. A new life outside the parental home, a new city, new friends and new experiences. A chance to challenge yourself: to find new interests, make lasting friends and take those magical first steps into adulthood. Pubs and nightclubs, sports and societies, late-night conversations and … Read more
When Boris Johnson became Prime Minister what seems like a lifetime ago, he traded heavily on his image as a buccaneering, can-do optimist, the sworn foe of caution and compromise. That Mr Johnson was nowhere to be seen yesterday, as an increasingly sombre, anxious, even hangdog figure unveiled the Government’s latest incarnation of the Covid … Read more
The footage could hardly be more chilling, like something from the wilder fringes of Hollywood’s dystopian imagination. A woman sits at a table, recoiling in fear. She is penned in, surrounded by a mob of masked men and women, their clenched fists raised menacingly in the air. Again and again the rhythmic chants go up: … Read more
A few days ago, I took a stroll to the shops. It was a glorious morning and the parks and cafés were full of families enjoying the sunshine. Perhaps the shops were a little quieter than they would have been a year ago; but they were busy enough. The restaurants were preparing for lunch; the … Read more
For as long as I can remember, late night bust-ups have been par for the course at European Union meetings. Even so, this week’s Brussels summit to rescue the EU’s pandemic-blighted economy was in a class of its own. For more than four days, the leaders of the 27 member states were locked in sweatsodden … Read more
Here’s a scene that may sound familiar. A crowd surges through the streets, chanting and shouting, eyes blazing with moralistic fervour. While the police stand limply by, the mob turns its fury on a statue. They rock it on its plinth, their excitement reaching hysteria, before at last it comes crashing down. But they’re not … Read more
Even today, almost a century on, the shadow of the Great Depression hangs heavy. To most of us, the very phrase conjures up images of the winding dole queues, haggard faces and starving children that we associate with the 1930s. And, of course, we all know how that particular story ended. The crowds in Berlin, … Read more