Category Archives: Britain

In Defence of Roger Scruton…

Posted on November 14, 2018 by bsixsmith

If the Conservatives fire Roger Scruton from his new position as “housing czar” it will be as vivid a symbol of surrender as running a white sheet up a flagpole. Scruton is Britain’s most prominent and respected conservative intellectual. No … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Conservatism | Leave a comment

My Book!

Posted on October 23, 2018 by bsixsmith

My book, Kings and Comedians: A Brief History of British-Polish Relations, has been published today and is available on Kindle and in paperback, as well as from Amazon.co.uk. It contains war, repression, liberation, art, heroism, war, betrayal, poetry, war, football … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Britain, Personal, Poland | Leave a comment

Against Boris Johnson…

Posted on September 10, 2018 by bsixsmith

A Conservative Party poll has suggested that party members support Boris Johnson to be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. If Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the opposition, faces Mr Johnson in the next general election it would … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain | 1 Comment

The Brexit Delusion…

Posted on July 17, 2018 by bsixsmith

I live on continental Europe and have no plans to return to Britain so there is a small but real personal risk, for me, attached to “Brexit”. Nonetheless, even behind the red, white and blue veil of ignorance I have what I believe are … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain | 3 Comments

Beauty And Despair In The Poems Of Philip Larkin…

Posted on March 3, 2018 by bsixsmith

The English poet Philip Larkin died thirty-two years ago but was perhaps England’s last truly popular poet. It is not surprising that he is remembered. His poems are accessible, in style and in theme, compared to his modern successors. They … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Poetry, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

The Curious World of Owen Jones…

Posted on July 8, 2017 by bsixsmith

*Cross posted from Bombs and Dollars* Owen Jones is one of the most successful writers in Britain yet he does not actually like writing. “I never wanted to be a writer,” he has written, “I don’t particularly enjoy writing, in … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Media | 3 Comments

Out of Touch Conservatives…

Posted on June 16, 2017 by bsixsmith

Right wingers often mock the left for how removed its values are from the concerns of common men. What Corbyn’s success has proved (as, to some extent, did Trump’s) is that right wing values can also be out of touch. … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Conservatism, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

An Election Post-Mortem…

Posted on June 9, 2017 by bsixsmith

Solipsistically I feel compelled to ask myself what I got right and wrong about the election. I was mostly wrong. At first, of course, I thought Corbyn was bound to lose and that the only questioned that remained was the … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain | 5 Comments

Theocracy in the UK…

Posted on May 26, 2017 by bsixsmith

This is a lightly edited version of an essay I wrote in 2012. Some of it might be out of date but I think it is useful. It has long been argued and implied that the threat posed by radical … Continue reading →

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In Defence of Jeremy Corbyn…

Posted on May 1, 2017 by bsixsmith

On June 8th, the Labour Party is expected to lose. Its loss, indeed, is all but inevitable. The only thing that is in question is the scale of the defeat. A great TV series could be made about the leadership … Continue reading →

Posted in Britain, Politics, Uncategorized | 7 Comments