Just over 80 years ago on 16 June 1940, the British government made an offer to the crumbling French government facing the advance of German Nazi forces. It was for a political union of the UK and the French Republic, effective immediately. The offer came too late. There was no reply and on the next […]
Author Archives: Lionel Stanbrook
2026 Ahem
PEAGE PINTXOS BANISTER: May 2026
Ahem, I travelled down to La Hune with Jurrat and Jessie in a well-loaded car [...]
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01
Jun
Jun
2026 Ahem
MUSKETS SHRIFT RAPT: April 2026
Ahem Alli and I were up and early on Good Friday to be driven with [...]
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30
Apr
Apr
Professional Writing Writing
They awoke…
The hidden past of the bisexual pronoun Those of all political and cultural persuasions [...]
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2026 Ahem
BABY FAIRYLAND TWITTEN: March 2026
Ahem I was about to open a pile of birthday cards when I was encouraged [...]
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30
Mar
Mar
2026 Ahem
QUOTIDIAN HAMMERHEAD HIPPO: February 2026
Ahem Rain and colder weather in southern England dominated the first few days of the [...]
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02
Mar
Mar
Op-ed, Portfolio, Blog
Brand value and reputation management after Covid-19: From PR to sustainable integrity
17
Jan
Jan
We have all lived through and are still living through significant changes in corporate affairs and communications in the past generation. The past year of confinements, restrictions and lockdowns has been disastrous for many businesses and instructive and insightful for those dealing with reputation management. But how to prepare for the new market conditions after […]
10
Jan
Jan
On the same day that the UK ceased trading with the free movement privileges of an EU member and imposed new crippling trade barriers on itself in the name of pride, sovereignty and independence, African countries opened for business their trade borders and markets under the terms of its African continental free trade agreement. Duty-free […]
06
Jan
Jan
Lionel Stanbrook Words are the least understood part of that crowded, undisciplined and noisy group of ill-fitting elements that together make up what we call communications. In fact, words often get in the way of communications, like rider-less horses in a race. Complaining about them is like hooting at stationary cars in a traffic jam. […]
03
Jan
Jan
1. England is governed by executive order and decree by the PM or the Privy Council. The Conservative Party became the National Unity Party and has won two more General Elections. Parliamentary powers are limited to LGBTQ issues, animal welfare and English human rights. Parliamentary votes are advisory. National referenda are used for all major […]
01
Jan
Jan
Ahem No sooner had Gwen arrived back from York than we drove together to the supermarket for her to buy tons of sugar, vegan butter, chocolate, and other ingredients to add to the loads she had already brought to bake her vegan chocolate brownies. Her first days here were spent in labour-intensive and kitchen-hogging mixing, […]
What comes home to roost when the solids hit the fan and the rubber touches the road are not always the straight lies, the wild exaggerations, the febrile sputters of government ministers and their toxic fogs of illusion and plastic Union Jacks made in China. They are the unadvertised truths of the hard variety, of […]
02
Dec
Dec
Ahem With a month of rain interrupted by intermittent leafy days daubed in autumnal gold, our no-go November evensong was spent in devotions, incantations, rapture and scripture; also known as reading, writing, watching TV; and listening to the relentless patter on the windows and the rustle of oak and beech leaves whenever we opened the […]
01
Nov
Nov
Ahem They’re out to get me. Wherever I go these days outside the UK I am not only followed but somehow expected (and not in a good way). I arrive to find that everything is about to close because it’s suddenly a Covid-19 hot spot. My arrival simply confirms the new restrictions like an inspired […]
02
Oct
Oct
Ahem The month started when families were still getting used to cautious re-uniting; when the popular view was that the virus was mostly beaten; that young people were unfathomably immortal; and that everything was back to normal apart from crowds (unless at raves, parliamentary meetings of Tory MPs, grouse-shooting parties, fox-hunting possees or Trump rallies), […]