Category Archives: UK

Decades of neglect led to this Northern Ireland water crisis

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northern ireland water

Here is my latest article published in the Guardian:

Witnessing thousands queue in the cold and dark over the past two nights to collect water from depots across Northern Ireland, I’ve found it hard to understand how things could have gone this far. One member of the public described it as “scandalous”, a second as “unacceptable”, while others are speechless as to how to describe the current water crisis that has left about 80 towns and 36,000 homes without running water. Understandably, the public are angry and want somebody to blame. However, the crisis reveals more than just a lack of a foresight, but also longstanding neglect.

Published on 30-12-10. Read on here

Prince Harry drama makes a mockery of the military covenant

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the taking of prince harry Sebastian Reid mark lawson

Here is my latest article published in the Guardian:

Like Sir Jock Stirrup, I have deep concerns about the drama documentary featuring Prince Harry being captured in Afghanistan that is due to be aired on Channel 4 on Thursday. For people like me, who have close relatives in the armed forces serving in Afghanistan, the documentary makes a mockery of their role out there. Whether you agree or disagree with their continued presence, a fictionalised documentary about a hypothetical situation – a mockumentary if you will – does little to boost the image of British soldiers back home or pay tribute to their sacrifices. Indeed, it does quite the opposite.

Published on 21-10-10. Read on here

We need clarity on MoD cuts

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Here is my latest article published in the Guardian:

For people like me, who have close relatives in the armed forces, the recent shake-up in the Ministry of Defence and the mixed messages coming from defence secretary Liam Fox and the prime minister, David Cameron, have been very confusing.

My fiance will be deployed to Afghanistan later this year – an arduous task in itself, let alone during a recession that is putting increasing strain on equipment and manpower.

Published on 17-06-10. Read on here

The plight of the British polyglot

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Here is my first article published in the Guardian

We are a nation of monoglots, this we know all too well. Certainly, as a British-born and UK-educated university graduate in Spanish and Russian, with a smattering of other languages, my polyglotism is an enviable trait in this country.

Of course, the pervasive nature of English, much of it down to globalisation and Americanisation in recent years, has made the purpose of foreign-language learning somewhat redundant here. It is the unofficial business language and a default language for most people, wherever you are in the world. For those still interested in learning other languages, by virtue of nationality most other countries are light years ahead on the language learning front. For them English is a language of survival, whereas for us, foreign languages are not.

Published on 12-02-10. Read on here

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