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Monthly Archives: May 2020
Heaven and Hell Defined
In heaven, the English are the policemen, the French are the chefs, the Germans the mechanics, the Italians are the lovers, and the Swiss organize everything. In hell, the Germans are the policemen, the English are the chefs, the French … Continue reading
Failing Maths at Sir Philip Magnus school, 1958
In June 1958 our class was told about the annual mathematics examination. This didn’t fill me with enthusiasm. I feared exams and I especially hated maths. Our teacher, Mr Jones, a hard Welshman from the Rhonda, made the announcement with … Continue reading
Posted in Autobiography, education, Mathematics, School
Tagged 1950s education, designed to fail, examination nerves
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A J P Taylor on the Nuremberg Trials
Twenty years ago [1963] I published a book about the origins of the Second World War. At the time it was dismissed as wrong-headed and controversial. Now it has become the accepted version for most people. But there still lurks … Continue reading
Posted in History, Literature, Politics, Prison, War
Tagged causes of WW2, counter-intuitive history, Hossbach Protocol, LRB
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Book Review: P J O’Rourke ~ Holidays in Hell (1988)
Satire notoriously ages badly. So much of it depends on the readers knowledge of the setting and personality of what is being satirised. Once the moment is gone so has the point of the humour. Consider the cartoon below. It … Continue reading
Posted in History, Humour, Politics, Travel, War
Tagged historical satire, political satire, satire
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