Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
Latest editorial
Pomposity and smugness set to stay
A Week in Politics with Paddy McGuffin
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
SOME things never cease to amaze your humble scribe, mainly the depths of crass self-promotion and smugness that our politicians and so-called celebrities will sink to.
Just when you think they must have reached the pinnacle of bloated self-importance and pomposity, they raise the stakes even higher — normally in the name of “charidee.”
The current example is the frankly pathetic “ice-bucket challenge” whereby the great and not-so-good nominate one another to film themselves dunk a pail of freezing water over their heads with “hilarious” consequences.
Similar stories
ROGER D HARRIS and SARA FLOUNDERS challenge propaganda against the blockaded socialist island
Including races at Newmarket and York
Including races at Sandown, Chester, Beverley and Chelmsford
Including races at Newmarket, York and Ascot