Tag Archives: History

The day of mourning dawns

It is 6am on the day of the late Queen’s funeral. The bells of St Pauls ring above me as I think about the day ahead. Around parliament the tail of the queue wags towards Westminster’s St Stephen’s Hall, stragglers … Continue reading

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What if past performance was a guide to the future?

  We all know the truism that you can’t predict the future by projecting the past. Henry Ford’s “History is Bunk” was the title of the first question on my S-level history exam. I remember writing then that history taught … Continue reading

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How modelling helps us understand and deal with the pandemic.

Introduction Fighting this COVID-19 pandemic requires a good grasp on how the virus spreads, impacts health care demand and could be managed. This bulletin highlights some examples of how mathematical modelling has contributed to the understanding and intervention of this … Continue reading

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Same as it ever was ; for “Fowler”, read “Webb”

  It was a shame Steve Webb wasn’t at last night’s excellent witness seminar on “Thatcher’s Pensions reforms”.  He would have made an able replacement for Norman Fowler who has been in bed all week with a Lergi (get well … Continue reading

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The Facebook timeline – a teenage diary.

Facebook gives kids the space to learn who they are without the intrusion of unwanted authority. Parents, teachers, coaches and big brothers take note Continue reading

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How the banks try to f*ck us – and how we deal with them

It’s Sunday morning and I am reading a poem written around 1936 by Ezra Pound. It is about Usury , in this context the bad practice of the Medici Bank which Pound claimed screwed up the great artistic achievements of medieval … Continue reading

Posted in economics, ezra pound, Fiduciary Management, Financial Education, Fred Goodwin, governance, happiness, pensions, poetry, Popcorn Pensions | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

From aubergines to Amazon- the unstoppable Vivi Friedgut

I had been hoping to make an Amazon bulk purchase of Vivi Friedgut’s book “Money Smarter- a Family Guide” but have been frustrated by the book’s  being virtually sold out. It’s turning into a phenomenon and is on the verge of breaking into Amazon’s top … Continue reading

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Occupiers- what’s your big idea?

Stands genius a deathless adornment,
a name not to be worn out with the years. Continue reading

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Seafaring

My mood ‘mid the mere-flood,
Over the whale’s acre, would wander wide Continue reading

Posted in ezra pound, poetry | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Well you’ve got to laugh..Cameron, Fogarty, Mourinho, me..

Two matters have made me chuckle this morning.

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