Is there time for a last-minute bet? “He has made the role his own – never aspired to be the heavyweight that his predecessor was, but proved amiable and popular with many. It must be difficult for him to watch someone else take on that particular mantle, and the weight of expectation that comes with it, but he made the right choice in stepping aside. The millions of British followers will be eagerly anticipating today’s announcement. If it were a…
Help clear the hangover with the questions below… Answers now at post 346 Following on from StJohn’s crossword and Rod Crosby’s quiz, an international quiz to welcome in 2009. No prizes, but a full set of answers will be posted later. As Peter Snow said, “… it’s just a bit of fun…” 1. Which book features canine characters based on members of Harold Wilson’s Cabinet? 2. “So dumb he can’t fart and chew gum at the same time” was whose…
[Two men, quite burly, dark suits and ties, sunglasses, black gloves watching a front door. One of them keeps looking nervously in a ring binder] MCCANN: You sure this is it? GOLDBERG: How many towns called Haltemprice do you think there are around these parts? MCCANN: And this is definitely the house? GOLDBERG: Not many families called Davis in these parts. Wales mostly. MCCANN: I suppose. And you sure I’m right for this? GOLDBERG. You know what I said when…
Karamanlis may well hold on, but is this the shape of things to come? The protests in Greece following the death of Alexandros Grigoropoulos have now been going on for a fortnight, with violence continuing last night and the total cost now hundreds of millions of euros. A general strike called in the first week of protests had a somewhat disappointing turnout in demonstrations from the unions’ viewpoint, and what might have been a tipping point for the survival of…
So is it going to be June? – Brown may rule out early 09 election The Sunday Times reports Charlie Whelan, formerly Brown’s press secretary and now political officer with Unite, as saying that June 2009 would be an “ideal opportunity” to hold an election. The paper says that his comments “echo what many of Brown’s advisers have been recently saying in private… while most senior Labour figures believe 2010 is still the most likely year for an election, they…
What name will the Prince of Wales choose? When Prince Charles ascends to the throne of the United Kingdom, he will choose the regnal name by which he will be known. This name will be announced immediately, but used officially for the first time at his coronation by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The regnal name chosen, including the numbering, is part of the Royal Prerogative, according to MacCormick v. Lord Advocate (1953 SC 396), where the rector of the University…
Will she stop at a Senate seat? After speculation that Caroline Kennedy would be rewarded for picking Joe Biden for VP by being made Ambassador to St. James, it now seems that Governor David Patterson of New York will instead appoint her to fill the vacancy left by Hillary Clinton if she is confirmed as Secretary of State. Instead of taking the job held by her grandfather in London in the 1930s, might this be just a first step towards…
Is Portillo right about the Conservatives and Clarke? The Sunday Times reports that the Cabinet is split over the proposed third runway at Heathrow, with Hilary Benn warning that the expansion should be rejected unless noise and air pollution are dramatically cut. The Environment Secretary gives an interview to the paper who suggest that the “similarities between the father and his cabinet minister son are becoming increasingly apparent”. ST columnist Michael Portillo argues that “if the Tories lose the election…