Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) Herbert Spencer was an English philosopher and political theorist of the Victorian era. During his lifetime h...

Jarrow marchers (1936) In the pre-totalitarian world which prevailed in this country before the onset of the Welfare State, there was a c...

When I was about 6, my parents and I moved back to Gants Hill in East London after having been evacuated during the war. After we returned, ...

In 2011, I commented on the fact that the basic state pension is acknowledged to be well below the level of income needed to reach a minimu...

Nicola Sturgeon Ahead of the General Election, which is said to be more focused than ever on the votes of pensioners, I am again re-posti...

Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 - 1860) copy of a letter to a philosopher Someone recently suggested that I am more cynical about society th...

I am re-posting this piece from 2011 as, despite any changes in the system since it was first published, the comments are as relevant as bef...

In 2007, someone commented, on my colleague Dr Fabian Wadel’s blog , about one of my books which they had bought, and its apparent history: ...

Aldous Huxley (1894 - 1963) Aldous Huxley was an English novelist who is probably now best remembered for the science fiction work Brave...

Slender, wiry, other-worldly, but with a manner that could be intimidating as well as endearing, Dame Ruth Railton ... is most likely to be ...