Don’t write Beijing October 1979 out of history.Thank you Maryse, Jenny,Ray and Shrenik.
They marched under this banner - 'In Politics we want Democracy and in Art Freedom' 1989 ? NO
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02, 2025
22
01, 2025
How to stop the marginalisation of minority groups.
In todays i Yasmin Alibhai Brown writes about British Citizens of Pakistani ancestry and how they regard the grooming gangs. The conclusion was that most people of that background despise them and are distressed by the suffering of the exploited
18
01, 2025
Simon Schama and I
Simon Schama and I https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0026zyn/simon-schamas-story-of-us-series-1-2-whose-britain-is-it-anyway I may not have Simon Schama’s brains and erudition but, watching episode 2 of 'Whose Britain is it any way' made me realise that we share the same attitude to the evolution of this
27
12, 2024
What have Michael Rosen, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Professor Irene Tracey, Korky Paul, Paterson Joseph and me in common?
I love the Today programme during the Christmas period, when it has guest editors. Their choice of in depth subject matter is inspirational. First off was author and screenwriter, Frank Cottrell Boyce, on a subject dear to my heart -
5
12, 2024
Oxford Indie Book Fair on Dec 1, the biggest in the country and a challenge!
Andy Severn, James Harrison Ray Foulk and I had a dream of an event for book lovers which was free to enter, welcoming of everyone whatever their age or background. I tell the story of how it all
6
11, 2024
Sanity in a Mad World? Memories of Colin Dexter and PD James.
Today I weep for Ukraine and the environment. I really don’t understand my fellow human beings. What a terrible confession for an author! Many young black men voted for a racist. Many ‘Latinos’ voted for a man who builds a
10
10, 2024
Only Connect !
Yesterday, in Ely Cathedral, I took this photograph. In the exquisite Lady Chapel, all the heads had been knocked off the sculptures in the niches. I visited the Fragrant Buddha Temple in the Summer Palace in Beijing with the
23
07, 2024
My Town /Gown Literary Walk Inspired by Sculpting the Elephant
https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/news/19607563.novel-walk-around-oxford-author-sylvia-vetta/ Most visitors to Oxford cluster around a few streets of Dreaming Spires and, in my opinion, miss out on the complexities of this beautiful city. I recommended a few books on the subject for https://shepherd.com/best-books/oxford-and-where-town-meets-gown In Sculpting the Elephant,
5
07, 2024
Do Keir Starmer and other party leaders have the courage to call Farage a ‘Parliamentary Leper’?
The Madras Courier is a prestigious award winning online newspaper. Its readers are mostly in India and the Indian diaspora. I’ve been delighted to be a regular contributor of features .The editor, Shrenik Rao, asked me to write about
18
06, 2024
Speaking Truth to Power is still Perilous.
https://madrascourier.com/opinion/writing-the-womans-life The online Indian newspaper, The Madras Courier has published an essay by Lupamudra Banerjee. It is a powerful and deeply personal invocation of women writers who wanted to break the chains. The timing of this feature is inspired by