Find us at www.facebook.com/dundeewestendFraser started the West End blog on Blogger at www.dundeewestend.scot and on Wordpress at www.westendblog.org.uk back in 2006 with daily updates since. A few years later, the West End Facebook page at www.facebook.com/dundeewestend was established. Over time, the West End Facebook page has grown greatly in readership with now nearly 3500 followers and that is where the vast majority of local residents read our articles nowadays. Given this and twenty years on from the start of the blog, with effect from 27th December, our updates will be posted only on Facebook so please follow www.facebook.com/dundeewestend for all the West End ... (more) |
Festive Francis: Frankie Howerd in Up Pompeii!It was a mark of my mother's liberal parenting that. aged 9 and 10, I was allowed to stay up late on a school night to watch Up Pompeii! I later found from a Twitter conversation with the novelist Jonathan Coe that he was granted the same dispensation. In my case, at least, it worked. I passed O level Latin, despite receiving free school meals and having Allison Pearson in the same class. Watching Up Pompeii! today, it stands up pretty well, notably the clever formal device whereby Howerd is constantly breaking the fourth wall to criticise the script or ... (more) |
The Joy of Six 1454"At its core, A Christmas Carol is the transformation of a man without empathy, to a man with empathy. It accomplishes this through forcing the character Ebenezer Scrooge to remember the past, witness the present, and to consider the future. It is through seeing other human beings as human beings with lives equal in worth to his own, that forms the basis of Scrooge's transformation."Scott Santens sets out the science behind Charles Dickens' famous story. Barbara Speed on the shocking scale of the abuse perpetrated by the Jesus Army: "The ... coroner returned an open verdict, but noted his 'concern' ... (more) |
It has been the little things that mattered to me this ChristmasI do not know about you, but I have had a great Christmas so far. My family is a bit scattered. Our son and his wife went to spend Christmas and the new year with Valentina's family where she comes from. Our youngest daughter lives in the Outer Hebrides where transport can be so bad in December that they make their Christmas visit in October. Our big girl lives in Wallasey and she and her family came over to see us on Christmas Eve for a full roast with trimmings etc. Although I am a traditionalist. The idea of Yorkshire ... (more) |
The closest I get to believing in the paranormal[IMG: An Islington street light which has just turned on] A street light that came on just after I got my phone out. It happened to me again, just before Christmas. Out walking in the gloom, I saw a streetlight that wasn't on. I ran through my usual checklist. 'Are the other lights nearby on, showing it is dark enough that this one should also be on?' 'Have I reported this one before?' 'Who does this fault need to be reported to?' 'Which app or email is the best for them?' 'Which pocket is my phone in?' And then, just ... (more) |
Another u-turn just adding to the chaosThe Independent reports that farmers across the country are celebrating after Sir Keir Starmer caved in following months of pressure and watered down plans to tax inherited farmland. The paper says that under the plans, announced by chancellor Rachel Reeves last year, farmers were to be charged 20 per cent on agricultural assets above £1m from April 2026, but on Tuesday, Labour said it was raising the threshold from £1m to £2.5m, meaning that most farms would not have to pay it. This u-turn follows months of protests and campaigning, with farmers fearing that family-run farms would be worst affected: ... (more) |
Merry Christmas everyone(more) |