I know a little of the Rochdale Labour Party, and AFAIK they are not the types to cheer on mad bastards like Ali. I assume ignorance rather than indifference. That being said, he was hardly an unknow… (View Post)

It was disappointing, though not surprising - cos that's what party leaders do - that his first instinct was to support him. But fair play, he's not-too-belatedly done the right thing here.… (View Post)

I used to be a bell-ringer, and can confirm Phil's observation - though I would also say that on average bell-ringers are more likely to be Christian, and more actively Christian, than the popul… (View Post)

Since my early 30s, I have been increasingly aware of - and enjoyed - the season of late winter. The first evidence of nature waking up; the occasional mildness; the feeling that the darkest days are… (View Post)

But I think we would have been similarly alarmed if in late 2001 a prospective by-eelction candidate was making that point. (View Post)