This is the story about one young woman coming of age, and about the place and time that shaped her: the North of England in the 1970s and 80s. One scorching summer of 1976, the last Catherine Taylor would spend with both her parents in their home in Sheffield and also the story of Yorkshire Ripper, the serial killer whose haunting presence in Catherine’s childhood was matched by the aching absence of her own father.  It is also about a country thrown into disarray by the nuclear threat and the Miner’s strike, just as Catherine’s adolescent body was invaded by … Continue reading Growing as an outsider in Sheffield  “ Grey, grim and wet”

Innovative history of South Asia An in-depth view of South Asian history in the twentieth century underlining the similarities and intertwined cultures of India and Pakistan with foregrounds and deep connections, rather than the well-publicized fissures, between the cultures of … Continue reading Innovative history of south Asia

“RULE BRITANNIA”  DAPHNE DU MAURIER – an eye opening strangely topical story  featuring “US-UK”. First published in 1972 by Victor Gollanz Ltd this is Daphne Du Maurier’s   last novel.   Du Maurier wrote many fictional books and those adapted to film include:  – “Rebecca”, “Frenchman’s Creek”, “My Cousin Rachel” and “The Birds”. Ella Westland pointed out – “The author had known the story of Peter Pan since early childhood.  Her father Gerald du Maurier regularly played Captain Hook on stage since Daphne was born and observed Emma plays Wendy to Mad’s Peter Pan, Mad’s boys being  the six adopted lost boys … Continue reading Rule Britannia

George Orwell had the unique vision to warn everyone about state control and surveillance, and cold war in the 1940s so true, in the age Artificial intelligence and big data. Orwell’s long shadow is just how his reputation solidified, as … Continue reading “Eton: Festering Centre of Snobbishness” Orwell

Bad jobs and low wages, minimal benefits, no career paths, little or no training, and chaotic schedules are only way companies can keep costs down and prices low as 9 million retail works get $10.37, and 7 million restaurant workers $9.50 per hour. If companies offer better jobs, customers would have to pay more or companies would have to make less. At least one in four American working adults has a job that pays less than a living wage. In the past three years large companies including McDonald’s, Walmart, GAP and Aetna have raised wages. Why are companies investing in … Continue reading Empower Employees with meaningful jobs to lower costs and  boost profits

Brian who goes to the cinema every night for 30 years  and lives in a small flat in Kentish Town Road, north London, works in the business rates department of Camden Council and eats lunch at the same  Castelletto café at 2:!5pm every day. It is an existence carefully crafted to avoid disturbance and yet Brian yearns for more. A visit one day to the BFI brings film into his life, and Brian introduces a new element to his routine. After leaving the council offices,  he goes to British Film Institute on London’s South Bank where, alongside a small community … Continue reading Escape from solitariness