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Communist China, which over the last 20 years became a wealthy global economy without the Communist Party yielding an inch of political power, has decided it is time to reabsorb Hong Kong. This is the former British colony that 1980s Foreign Office negotiators foolishly decided had to be returned entirely to China, meanwhile deceiving Margaret Thatcher. In fact, only the … [Read on]

I would have thought the reason for the row over Dominic Cummings was glaringly obvious. Negotiations with the EU are due to end on the 30th of June and Whitehall wants them extended for two to three years so we can, in all but name, remain in the EU. After three years people will have forgotten what all the fuss … [Read on]

‘How much has Cummings got on you, Boris Johnson?” Piers Morgan tweeted in one of his many rants demanding Dominic Cummings, the VoteLeave mastermind’s dismissal, ‘What does this lying hypocrite know that means you’re prepared to risk the public’s health and lives?’ Yet where was moaning Morgan’s anger over Stephen Kinnock’s brazen flouting of the same rules in taking a … [Read on]

As expected, more bluster from Boris this evening. Viewed rationally, the Cummings affair is a storm in teacup, a concocted media frenzy cum vendetta. No doubt Cummings himself was acting rationally. But after eight weeks in lock down following government rules, which for many have involved great personal sacrifice, these are not normal times. People are angry, not because they … [Read on]

My art magazine has a feature about Josephine Hopper. You might not have heard of her but may know her husband, Edward, famous for his lonely, dissociative style, best known for his 1942 painting, Nighthawks showing a late-night diner. He painted Jo about 3,000 times. Her painting career declined as his rose and she became his muse. Hopper said she … [Read on]

‘The world is in a mess, politics and taxes and people grinding axes, no happiness; zoom, zoom, zoom.’  Slap That Bass, performed by Fred Astaire in the 1937 film, Shall We Dance. Like most people I’ve been zooming about like a rocket; on screen life-drawing, portrait painting, church and neighbour meetings, and as like many middle-class women I’d like to … [Read on]

To what shall I liken the government’s decision partially to ease the current restrictions concerning lockdown, house-arrest and solitary confinement? It is as if the Mother Superior had solemnly assembled all her nuns and, with great severity, told them: “And remember, you must all remain virgins – except on Saturdays.”  Government policy from the day it was realised the country … [Read on]

A fascinating story broke yesterday. US law enforcement has been using Chinese-made drones to enforce coronavirus lockdown. Worry soon spread that Beijing could spy on American citizens. You’d think a Trump administration, known for its anti-Beijing stance, would chuckle at the proposal of such an idea. Surveillance and espionage is Beijing’s forte. Xi Jinping’s eyes haunt the lives of millions … [Read on]