Category Archives: Comment

Beatle Blethers

Posted on August 24, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

I really enjoyed the first episode of  the Beatle Blethers podcast with Alan McClure and Gerry Hassan. It was a lively conversation, yet Alan and Gerry managed to avoid that excess of bonhomie, weak jokes, and loud laughter which can … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Podcasts etc. | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

The Curse of Small Political Parties

Posted on August 16, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

How Fringe Factions Fuel Dysfunction in Israel and Beyond [1,097 words, 6 minutes read time]  When Hamas attacked Israel on October 7th 2023, they massacred 1,195 people, 736 Israeli civilians (including 38 children), 79 foreign nationals, and 379 members of … Continue reading →

Posted in Brexit, Comment, Electoral Reform | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Finding a Way Through

Posted on June 11, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

Basic Income, Artificial Intelligence and Reimagining Immigration Universal Basic Income (UBI) – that is to say provision of a living allowance for all citizens regardless of their employment status – is an idea that has interested me for many years. … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Economics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Reporter

Posted on April 25, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

A lament for a small town newspaper Not long after publishing my memoir, Remembered Fragments, I thought it might be an idea to contact the Newry Reporter in order to draw this momentous event to their attention. After all, at … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Publishing’s Age of Change

Posted on March 12, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

Kirkcudbright Book Week, Selkirk Arms 9th March 2025 Is it truly impossible for aspiring writers to break into the publishing industry? At this, the penultimate event in Kirkcudbright Book Week 2025, the panel of experts seemed to think so. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Comment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Did I Say That?…Next Question!

Posted on March 2, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

Arguments for Defence and Foreign Aid Spending in a Volatile World.  [2130 words] I’ve spent a good part of my life arguing in favour of defusing conflict by means of unilateral disarmament and negotiation.  I now find myself in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Economics, Misc | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Indebted

Posted on February 16, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

Why and How the UK Can and Should Invest Now in Grid-Upgrade and Solar Power The national debt is a perpetual and festering sore in any discussion of our economy. The more we borrow, the heavier the millstone we pass … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment, Economics, Environmental | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

On Street Fighters, Gladiators and Philosophers

Posted on February 9, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

When I first heard news of the spat on Elon Musk’s X between US Vice President JD Vance and former Tory politician, Rory Stewart it brought to mind the Sunday school classes  I reluctantly attended over sixty years ago. JD Vance, … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Most Beautiful Words

Posted on February 4, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

I have occasionally listened to radio discussions in which poets have let slip their partiality for a particular word, usually arising from some resonant quality, something mellifluous in the sound or sounds of which it is composed. I find myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Inauguration Blues …

Posted on January 23, 2025 by Stephen Shellard

I  was not paying a great deal of attention as President Donald J Trump went through the ceremony of his inauguration. Clearly, it was a great day for Trump’s admirers and the 1,500 felons he pardoned for their complicity in … Continue reading →

Posted in Comment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment