New blog
I've created a new blog called A View from England to replace this blog.

Please update your bookmarks. Thank you.

Bachelors & spinsters no more; just "single"
It makes sense to me. If you're not married, you're single. That isn't true in England and Wales though! Officially, here your unwedded status is known as either "bachelor" or "spinster". Fortunately, times are changing - at last! From December, unmarried men and women will be able to declare they are "single" when they are completing their wedding register form.

R.I.P. Bachelors and Spinsters

England Triumph at cricket!
Mood:  happy
England Won! The cricket that is. The Ashes to be more precise. England have regained the Ashes after 18 years. There are a lot of very happy Englishmen (and women) tonight. And a lot of very disappointed Australians.

The English victory will be celebrated tomorrow with an open-top bus procession from Mansion House in the City of London to Trafalgar Square. I expect there will be a lot of flag waving which I'm really pleased about. I think there should be more of that. You seldom see evidence of patriotism in England except during special events like this. It's great to see so many people showing their pride in being English.

I particularly enjoy hearing the English fans singing the unofficial English national anthem and England's most patriotic song:

Jerusalem by William Blake

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England's mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England's pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark satanic mills?

Bring me my bow of burning gold!
Bring me my arrows of desire!
Bring me my spear! O clouds, unfold!
Bring me my chariot of fire!

I will not cease from mental fight,
Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand,
Till we have built Jerusalem
In England's green and pleasant land.



Cricket explained

A brief history of the Ashes

Red Squirrel Week
RED SQUIRREL WEEK 10th Sept - 18th Sept 2005


Yes, here in the UK we have red squirrels as well as the American grey squirrels. The grey squirrels were introduced to this country from America between 1876 and 1929 and they are thriving while the red squirrel population is declining. Consequently, red squirrels are protected by law and the grey squirrel is not.


More about the Red Squirrel from The Mammal Society

and from the BBC - Wildfacts

Red squirrels in the UK

Differences between a red & a grey squirrel

Even more about red squirrels from the Forestry Commision

The new Ground Zero
After the way the American government handled - or rather didn't handle - the tragedy following Hurricane Katrina the only hope is that things are going to change in America. I mean really change.

The Independent has an article about this:

The new Ground Zero

excerpts from the article:

beyond the destruction and human misery, something else is starting to become clear. Like the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington, whose fourth anniversary is this weekend, Hurricane Katrina is an event whose consequences will extend far beyond the physical, into the very mind of America.

and this:

Katrina may prove a pivotal moment for American politics and American society. Doctrinal minimalist conservativism has run its course. The pendulum is poised to swing back to more activist government.