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Readers will think this is yet another howl of discontent about the planning system, and so it is. Some may also detect a roar of rage about the sheer incompetence and utter lack of imagination of our new(ish) government, and it is that as well. And the majority...

Now is not the time for charity. At least officially, as Governments swap aid for arms. In extreme cases whole aid departments have been wiped out. In February this year the website for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) ceased to exist – apart from a terse statement announcing ‘notification...

I was standing in line at the bakery here in the Dordogne last week—yes, another tale from the land of crisp baguettes and existential shrugging—when an English couple ahead of me asked, in oddly precise tones, for "deux croissants et un pain au chocolat, s’il vous plaît". The woman turned to her partner with a triumphant smile, clearly proud of her linguistic victory. Then, after paying, she muttered just loud...

It’s been twelve years since their last reunion, and though some have died in the intervening years, numbers are up: 135 compared to 117. Everyone is getting on. Many have come a long way and will be eager to catch up with their peers. The food will be good – it always is – and there’s lots of juicy gossip to exchange. The setting for the reunion is sublime. The wines will be spectacular, though everyone will...

Iceland is my second choice. For years, my dream has been to go to Antarctica. But, cost apart, the journey’s logistics are daunting. And what if you get there and find you’ve forgotten your gloves? So I choose Iceland for its exotic geology and intriguing culture. The former I’ll be exploring with a small group on...

Last time Stoker dwelt on the increasing danger of a British revolution. This time, we must admit that such an unthinkable event is, well, pretty much unthinkable.  And the roots of this unrevolutionary thinking lie in the Romans, or at least the ruin of a wall that they left behind...

I was leaving my local country club one afternoon a few months ago, when I noticed a large pile of discarded library books on sale to members. Amongst the Danielle Steele novels, I spotted one entitled The Great Mutiny, which piqued my interest because I was certain some ancestor of mine was involved....

The Free Speech Union (FSU) is currently running a campaign to support the Conservative party  in their bid  to abolish (somewhat belatedly it has to be said) Non-Crime Hate Incidents (NCIHs). These legally odd ‘non-crimes’ have, for the last ten or more years, been taking up a disproportionate amount of police...

I was driving down to our rain-forest patch last week while still on a main road to Kisumu on the eastern shores of Lake Victoria, when I saw a large crowd on both sides of the road. I assumed it to be an accident but I saw no motor vehicle. I slowed, stopped the car, got out and spotted a small snake on the side of the road surrounded by an excitable crowd looking fearful and agitated. I walked straight...

…they do things differently there. ‘There’ is China, where I and the Conan Doyle Estate's agent, Tim Hubbard, were on business for a week last month. Hong Kong (1 day), Guanzhou (1), Shanghai (2), Chengdu (1)...