Blog
New Euro Conservative logo
This is the new logo for the recently formed European Conservatives and Reformists Group which our Conservative MEPs belong to. Lions feature prominently on logos – just click on this link to see many others. No doubt its image is intended to represent a feeling of...
A tribute to Vera, the land army girl
It is a fitting tribute to Vera, my dear mother-in-law who passed away peacefully on Saturday, that the BBC should broadcast a drama starting today called Land Girls. Vera hailed from Tottenham and was one of a group commissioned to Ely as a stunning 18-year-old to do...
Thank you patron John
Many thanks to John Hayes MP, Shadow Minister for Universities and Skills and a generous patron of Headway Cambridgeshire. Each year he hosts a fabulous charity cricket match and captains the Lords & Commons X1 (which my son James was able to join again) against...
The missing – Jaycee Dugard (reunited)
An 11-year-old schoolgirl who was abducted near her home in California 18 years ago was today being reunited with her shocked family after walking into a police station. Jaycee Lee Dugard was on her way to school when she was pulled into a stranger's car just a block...
Zeus, assisted suicide and the 2,000 year old olive tree
I wonder if this is the first known case of assisted suicide, according to Zeus and Greek mythology, which was told to me by our tour guide Vera on the Greek island of Zakinthos during my recent holiday. You can also hear Panayiotis playing his pipes under the bough...
Britain gets hammered over EU rebate
My MEP Robert Sturdy has today condemned the Labour government for selling out the UK taxpayer by agreeing to a massive increase of almost 60% in Britain's financial contribution to the EU. He believes that a Conservative government would never have given away a large...
Financing the third sector
I’ve just signed up for two conferences about financing the third sector – particularly of interest to me because of my work with Headway Cambridgeshire. The first on 17 September is being hosted by Futurebuilders England and speakers include Francis Maude,...
Being the Soham Psychic
I can now tell you about the book I have been working on over the last year. A copy has just arrived on my doormat, which is a totally thrilling experience. And it is on a topic which is totally different to my normal line of work. Do you believe in psychics? When I...
My holiday highlights
We have just returned bronzed and refreshed from our cruise around the Med which we shared with 3,000 plus passengers on P & O’s amazing new flagship, The Venturer. It was so vast that I only mastered my way around its countless corridors – all beige and...