David Swanson, author of War is a Lie, on why the US would be wrong to go to war with Iran.

In response to the passage of this resolution opposing a war on Iran and excessive military spending passed in Charlottesville, Va., Cambridge, Mass., City Council will vote next Monday on a similar resolution. If you are in or near Cambridge, please be at the meeting:

WHEREAS: The severity of the ongoing economic crisis has created budget shortfalls at all levels of government and requires us to re-examine our national spending priorities; and

WHEREAS: Every dollar spent on the military produces fewer jobs than spending the same dollar on education, healthcare, clean energy, or even tax cuts for household consumption; and

WHEREAS: U.S. military spending has approximately doubled in the past decade, in real dollars and as a percentage of federal discretionary spending, and well over half of federal discretionary spending is now spent on the military, and we are spending more money on the military now than during the Cold War, the Vietnam War, or the Korean War; and

WHEREAS: The U.S. military budget could be cut by 80% and remain the largest in the world; and

WHEREAS: The National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform proposed major reductions in military spending in both its Co-Chairs’ proposal in November 2010 and its final report in December 2010; and

WHEREAS: The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution in June 2011 calling on Congress to redirect spending to domestic priorities; and

WHEREAS: The people of the United States, in numerous opinion polls, favour redirecting spending to domestic priorities and withdrawing the U.S. military from Afghanistan; and

WHEREAS: The United States has armed forces stationed at approximately 1,000 foreign bases in approximately 150 foreign countries; and

WHEREAS: The United States is the wealthiest nation on earth but trails many other nations in life expectancy, infant mortality, education level, housing, and environmental sustainability, as well as non-military aid to foreign nations; now therefore be it

RESOLVED: That Cambridge City Council go on record as calling on the U.S. Congress and President Barack Obama to end foreign ground and drone wars, refrain from entering new military ventures in Iran, and reduce base military spending in order to meet vital human needs, promote job creation, re-train and re-employ those losing jobs in the process of conversion to non-military industries, rebuild our infrastructure, aid municipal and state governments, and develop a new economy based upon renewable, sustainable energy; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the City Clerk be and hereby is requested to forward a suitably engrossed copy of this resolution to President Barack Obama and the Massachusetts Congressional delegation on behalf of the entire City Council.

You can read the original post here.

Author Paul Moorcraft talks about his experiences in Sri Lankan minefields.

Biteback has reported on a number of my crazy adventures in my two recent books, Shooting the Messenger: The Politics of War Reporting and Inside the Danger Zones, detailing my frontline travels in 30 conflict areas.

One of my last blogs was about more frivolous dangers: when I was filming in South Sudan last year, a very real challenge was ‘death by mango’. Our hotel in Juba was attractive in a malarial sort of way, right alongside the Nile, and fringed by massive mango trees. Large mangoes were dropping every few minutes; at night they sounded like mortar fragments crashing into the tin roofs. The cameraman was a Royal Marine just out of Afghanistan. He said: ‘What a way to go – I survived all those Afghan IEDs, to have my head caved in by mangoes.’

In pursuit of (belated) frontline verité for my forthcoming book, on the long civil war in Sri Lanka, in the last few months I found myself yomping around possibly the most densely packed minefields in Asia, without my sharp-eyed, battle-hardened Royal Marine colleague. It was at a place called Kumarapuram, once an area held by the Tamil Tigers. They were masters of explosives devices – they made the Taliban look like spoiled kindergartens kids with temper tantrums.

Nearly all the Tamil civilians displaced by the war have been resettled, mostly in their former villages. But some could not return because the areas were so heavily mined. Some international critics said the Sri Lankan army was stalling on resettlement so I needed to look at their demining activities first hand.

I donned the Lady Di gear – helmet, padded jacket and, crucially, a flap hanging down to cover what I jokingly referred to as my ‘Welsh member’. I reckoned that bit was an important part of my Celtic heritage, and future.

The brigadier in charge gave me the usual briefing as he went through the various land mines assembled on a table, in an open-sided hut, on the edge of the jungle canopy. The majority were home-made by the Tigers, although mines from Singapore, China and Pakistan had been collected, and – I presumed – de-activated. Most were the size of a large can of beans.

I asked to be taken into the minefield. We went to an area recently demined. It was hot and sticky but we trudged on through thick bush with tree cover disguising or hiding much of the light. But I saw lots of small pegs and white tapes.

‘Can I actually visit the current de-mining?’ I asked.

The brigadier escorting me had a quick conflab with his officers. ‘Yes, but you must walk very carefully – many active mines remain.’

We walked for another mile, as I tried to step in precisely the same spot as the brigadier in front of me. We came upon a small charred clearing where sappers were scraping away, carefully, with metal prods.

I asked a daft question: ‘How dangerous is this method?’

‘In the last few months 12 of my men have lost a hand or two,’ the brigadier replied in a rather relaxed manner.

Just then a sapper shouted that he had found one.

Quite small, it seemed to me. Since some of the mines are booby-trapped to stop the top section being unscrewed to defuse the mechanism, I quickly positioned myself behind a small tree, and behind the brigadier. But not too obviously: I couldn’t be seen to be cowering.

The soldier unscrewed the lid and it didn’t go off. A very brave man doing that all day. He was paid a pittance; for some reason I thought of the fat-cat bankers being compelled to do internships in mine-clearance to justify a little of their pay.

I took some pictures, and decided to walk back, very carefully retracing my steps along an unmarked path, which had numerous tree and bush stumps to trip me.

In London, especially on the underground during rush-hour, I often use a white cane to stop myself from being trampled on. In Sri Lanka on an arduous tour of battlefields, bunkers and minefields from the war that officially ended in 2009, I could not admit to being disabled. ‘Elf and safety’, thank God, would not have been a problem there, but I did not want to be fussed over. I went everywhere by armoured vehicle, helicopter and sometimes on foot. I needed to get as much access as possible, to feel and – with a tiny bit of vision – see the terrain. The book will be much better for it, and I came home with my Welsh member still attached.

10. Bloody Sunday: Truth, Lies and the Saville Inquiry by Douglas Murray

For almost forty years the events of ‘Bloody Sunday’ on January 30 1972, have been the subject of intense claim and counter-claim. In 1998 Tony Blair attempted to settle the controversy by commissioning a fresh inquiry. The longest, most thorough and costly inquiry in legal history, the details of the Saville Inquiry are hardly known. Douglas Murray followed the Inquiry daily, almost from the beginning, hoping to find a story. Instead, he found hundreds. In this book he tells these stories – the stories of the individuals involved in the terrible events of that defining day. This book is not only about a terrible event and it is not just about a process of justice. It is about the efforts of a group of people to arrive at truth and a country’s effort – three decades on – at a painful and perhaps incomplete reconciliation.

9. ED by James Macintyre and Mehdi Hasan

Ed Miliband is perhaps the least understood political leader of modern times. This book reveals where he has come from and where he is going. It charts his unique upbringing, against the backdrop of tragedy and with a prominent Marxist thinker for a father. ED follows his coming of age at Oxford, his election to Parliament and asks whether the pressures of being Labour party leader are swaying him from deep personal and ideological convictions. But Ed’s story cannot be fully understood outside the context of his struggle to emerge from the shadow of his elder brother, David. Ed followed David to the same college at Oxford, into Parliament and into the Cabinet before, at the eleventh hour, snatching away David’s dream of the leadership. Ed Miliband’s political hero is Robert Kennedy but, unlike the Kennedys, the Milibands fought to the bitter end, rather than supporting one another. ED gets to the heart of the dramatic decision-making that led him to join that epic leadership battle and reveals the hidden truth behind the making of a Labour leader.

8. Masters of Nothing by Matthew Hancock and Nadhim Zahawi

This book is about how people behave. Not how we think we behave, or how we’d like to behave. but how we really do. It is a story of how a failure to understand human nature helped cause one of the biggest crises in the history of capitalism. Of the extraordinary extremes we witnessed from the so-called Maters of the Universe – their greed, recklessness and irrationality. of how that failure led to policy mistakes that magnified the crisis. And of how the crisis will happen again unless we get to grips with it.
‘Anyone wishing to understand the nature of the global economic mess in which we still find ourselves – an understanding which is essential if we are to avoid a repetition – would do well to read this timelt book’ – Nigel Lawson

7. Mr Moon Has Left The Stadium by Jeremy Nicholas

When Jeremy Nicholas was asked to be West Ham United’s stadium announcer, he said no thanks. However, after dreaming about it three nights running, he agreed. He spent the next ten years establishing a reputation as one of the best announcers in the Premier League, combining information with a gentle humour that made visits to the Boleyn Ground a bit special. This is the story of one man’s love for football and doing things the right way. Packed full of humour, this is a book for lovers of the beautiful game the world over. Inside, Jeremy reveals the answer to such important questions as: Who is Mr Moon and why he does he keep arriving and leaving during games? Why is music played after goals only for small northern clubs? What happened to the Hammerettes? Which ref was never given chocolate biscuits by Betty the tea lady and why?

6. Flying Free by Nigel Farage

Nigel Farage is a politician who is impossible to ignore, provoking controversy and admiration in equal measure. Farage’s charismatic leadership and determination to battle the forces of anti-libertarianism have made him a Robin Hood figure to many, and propelled his party, UKIP, into a position of real power in the country. This edition includes the story of Nigel’s extraordinary escape from death in a plane crash on the eve of the 2010 general election, his recovery and return to the leadership of UKIP in November 2010. Featuring a stellar supporting cast, including Tony Blair, Gordon Brown, Nicolas Sarkozy, José Manuel Barroso, and UKIP’s short-lived, silver-gilt masco, Robert Kilroy-Silk – and told with Farage’s customary wit and humour, Flying Free is a candid, colourful life story by a fascinating and controversial character. It also shows that one fearless, determined individual can still make a difference.

5. Not in Front of the Corgis by Brian Hoey

Interest in the Royal Family – at home and overseas – is inexhaustable. Just take the amazing clamour over the recent wedding of William and Kate! But who are the Royals, and what do they get up to when we aren’t watching them? In Not in Front of the Corgis, veteran Royal commentator and author of more than twenty books on the Royals, peeks behind the curtains to tell us what they really get up to in their spare time. Asking what the Queen watches on TV, why she does not have a driving license, and answering thousands of questions about the world’s most famous family, including who are the most popular Royals to work for, and who the least? Who is the grandest of the Queen’s children and why? Why Edward and Andrew pay less than Charles private secretary for the rent of their homes, and what records the Queen Mother liked to dance to.

4. Snow: The Double Life of a World War II Spy by Nigel West and Madoc Roberts

Snow is the codename assigned to a Welshman who was the most remarkable British spy of the Second World War. Owens came originally from Wales, and later emigrated to Canada before returning to London in the employ of the Abwehr as their chief agent in Britain. Unbeknownst to them, he was simultaneously passing information back to the British security services. Owens was able to operate with supreme coolness in an environment where a slip up would lead to him being executed for treason by either side. It seems astonishing, but Snow was Britain’s most successful spy and source of enemy information. He managed to maintain the trust of his German paymasters throughout the war – even blowing the entire German sabotage budget on a fur coat for a mistress. After the war he used his skills as a spy to simply vanish – the reality of his existence to be replaced by myth. Snow reveals the truth about an extraordinary man who’s considerable contribution to winning the war is obscured by history.

3. Running Out Of Tears by Esther Rantzen

In Running Out of Tears Esther Rantzen vividly and movingly tells the tales of ChildLine’s children. For these young people, the only safe way to reach out for help was to contact the helpline. And ChildLine has proved that if children are helped in time, their lives can be transformed and a downward spiral may be reversed: for saved children may in their turn save others. The book is a celebration of ChildLine’s first twenty-five years, told by those whose lives have been saved. It also charts the journey the charity has taken to become a national institution, with its own unique place in child protection. These stories take us into the hearts and minds of children who were imprisoned in silence. Running Out of Tears shows that if they can be given the confidence to find a voice, we must be prepared to listen. The young people featured in this book are not victims; they are survivors. Esther Rantzen tells the harrowing stories of their suffering and the inspiring way they’ve triumphed over their ordeals.

2. Brown at 10 by Anthony Seldon and Guy Lodge

Gordon Brown’s three years in power were among the most turbulent in Downing Street’s post-war history. Brown at 10 tells the compelling story of his hubris and downfall, and with it, the final demise of the New Labour project. Containing an extraordinary breadth of previously unpublished material, Brown at 10 is a frank, penetrating portrait of a remarkable era, written by one of Britain’s leading political and social commentators. Using unrivalled access to many of those at the centre of Brown’s government, and original material gleaned from hundreds of hours of interviews with many of its leading lights, Brown at 10 looks with greater depth and detail into the signal events and circumstances of Brown’s premiership than any other account. The result is the definitive chronicle of Gordon Brown’s troubled period in Number 10, from the unique perspective of those who worked most closely with him.

1. Tales I Never Told by Michael Winner

Michael Winner’s life as a movie director, food critic and general mover and shaker has brought him in touch with many of the most famous people in the world. In his acclaimed autobiography he told some stories but kept back a wealth of others up to the present time which are recounted herewith his customary wit and humour. The stories that form the basis of Tales I Never Told feature stars of film and TV, figures from his personal life and things in general that have amused him and will amuse the reader. Names included are Simon Cowell, Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway, Sophia Loren, Charles Bronson, Michael Caine, Anthony Hopkins, Orson Welles, Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Robert Mitchum, Oliver Reed, Jack Palance, Ernest Borgnine, Alain Delon, Leslie Caron and Frank Sinatra.

I’ve been watching the excellent BBC series Putin, Russia and the West (Thursdays, BBC2 9pm). In the second episode, after the Russians refuse a British request to change their constitution to allow the extradition of Andrei Lugovoi over the murder of Alexander Litvinenko, Putin is seen telling a group of his young supporters, “They forget that Great Britain is no longer a colonial power. It is insulting. It shows they are still stuck in the last century. They should treat us with respect. Only then will we respect them.”

Western leaders and commentators might take note, whatever they think of Putin or the Litvinenko case. The blind assumption that ‘west is best’ is not only distasteful but counterproductive. If only our leaders had the wisdom to lead by example, through attraction rather than promotion, then we might break through this stale impasse in east-west relations.

Caroline Walton is the author of The Beseiged: A Story of Survival, published by BiteBack Publishing, a beautifully observed account of the Siege of Leningrad.

20. Tango 190 by PC David Rathband

This is PC David Rathband’s own, very personal account of his wounding by gunman Raoul Moat in the summer of 2010. PC Rathband, police call sign Tango 190, was blinded when Moat shot him in the face at point blank range as he sat in his patrol car on 4th July 2010. Twenty-four hours earlier Moat had shot his ex-partner and killed her lover in Gateshead. The shootings sparked the largest police manhunt in British history and became one of the biggest and most controversial news stories of 2010. This book is Rathband’s personal account of the attack and the events surrounding it. It is also the story of his physical recuperation and the gradual and courageous rebuilding of his life, with the help of his family, in the wake of terrible injuries sustained in the line of duty.

19. Hate: My Life in the British Far Right by Matthew Collins

When it seemed that Matthew Collins was just another white face from a council estate, the violence and racism of the far-right offered him an alluring escape from the mediocrity of school, work and boredom. In 1980s Britain, the belligerent sentiments of a few hundred lonely white men went almost unnoticed. Ignored, marginalised, and fuelled by alcohol and violence, they built a party that would go on to hold seats in council chambers across England and in the European Parliament. Hidden behind those large Union Jack flags were individuals – Collins included – seemingly prepared to bomb and kill to make their violent dreams a reality. But what do you do when you realise that the burning hatred, vehement patriotism and thirst for confrontation that haunts you stems from your own insecurities and isolation? You switch sides.

18. When One Door Closes by Peter Sissons

From one newsroom to the next he has relayed the details of every momentous event of the last forty-five years. A Liverpool boy, rubbing shoulders with John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison at school, Sissons became the most trusted face of objective news. When One Door Closes is the surprisingly funny, dramatic and often poignant story of Britain’s most distinguished newsreader. An Iranian Fatwa hanging over him, shot through both legs during the Nigerian Civil War and hitting the headlines himself when poached by the BBC, Sissons has some fascinating stories to tell. He has sparked debate and controversy – not least thanks to a media maelstrom over his choice of tie while announcing the death of the Queen Mother. Now retired from broadcasting, he can finally lift the lid on his thoughts about the state of the British media, global affairs and what he really thinks of the BBC.

17. One in the Eye for Harold by Phil Mason

The problem with history is that much of what you learn in school simply isn’t true! For instance, King Harold was NOT shot in the eye with an arrow at the Battle of Hastings, Neanderthals were not as dumb as you’d think, Britain had an Indian curry restaurant years before it had fish-and-chip shops and the American ‘Wild West’ really wasn’t that wild. In many ways the history we casually accept as truth is full of mistakes. One in the Eye for Harold is a riotous romp through the centuries with revelations about the untruth of large swathes of history. It shows us how fictions have coloured our views of religion, politics, war and society – and shows us how some of our most solidly held beliefs are entirely false. In One in the Eye for Harold Phil Mason – author of Napoleon’s Haemorrhoids – catalogues how myth and error have shaped our view of the past, and how the history our teachers handed down is often far from the mark. It is full of remarkable insights that entertain gloriously as they challenge the conventional view of history.

16. 22 Days in May by David Laws

This is the first detailed Lib Dem insider account of the negotiations which led to the formation of the Lib Dem/Conservative Coalition Government in May 2010, along with an account of the early days of the Government. David Laws was one of the key Lib Dem MPs who negotiated the Coalition deal, and the book includes his in-depth, behind the scenes, account of the talks with the Conservative and Labour teams after the General Election, as well as the debates within his own party about how the Lib Dems should respond to the challenges and threats of a hung parliament. The Lib Dem decision to go into Coalition with the Conservatives has changed the face of British politics, and this book sets out the inside story of how this momentous decision came to be made.

15. The Secrets of Station X by Michael Smith

When “Captain Ridley’s shooting party” arrived at Bletchley Park in 1939 no one would have guessed that by 1945 the guests would number nearly 10,000 and that collectively they would have contributed decisively to the Allied war effort. Their role? To decode the Enigma cypher used by the Germans for high-level communications. It is an astonishing story. A melting pot of Oxbridge dons maverick oddballs and more regular citizens worked night and day at Station X, as Bletchley Park was known, to derive intelligence information from German coded messages. Michael Smith constructs his absorbing narrative around the reminiscences of those who worked and played at Bletchley Park. The code breakers of Station X did not win the war but they undoubtedly shortened it, and the lives saved on both sides stand as their greatest achievement.

14. The Purple Book, edited by Robert Philpott.

Leading Labour figures re-examine traditional Labour ideas to come up with fresh policies for the party’s revival. The Purple Book calls for the Labour Party to rediscover the non-statist strand of its history and thought and develop a progressive agenda with the redistribution of power to individuals and local communities at its heart. This agenda stretches beyond the state and public services, to the economy and the workplace. With contributions from some of leading lights of the New Labour movement The Purple Book identifies four strands of renewal for the party, positing a new role of the state, new models of capitalism and growth, and new ways to build a fairer society and stronger communities. It calls for policies that meet the challenges of restoring growth to the British economy, increasing the number of high-value jobs, addressing the stagnation in real incomes for working families, ensuring value for money and accountability in public services and keeping the tax burden as low as possible.

13. Prime Minister Boris, edited by Iain Dale and Duncan Brack

The grand passage of political history is steered by a combination of events great and small. Assessing how matters might have turned out under different circumstances is one of the most intriguing – and entertaining – historical exercises. This book imagines such tantalising political questions and scenarios as what if Lloyd George had joined Kitchener on that fateful boat to Russia in 1917? What if Nixon had beaten JFK in 1960? What if Margaret Thatcher had won the 1990 leadership election? What if Arnold Schwarzenegger had been able to run for President? What if Pope Benedict had been assassinated during his visit to the UK in 2010? What if Gordon Brown had called an election in October 2007? And, of course, what if Boris Johnson were to become Prime Minister in 2016?

12. Dave & Nick: The Year of the Honeymoon by Ann Treneman

It all began, as great love stories must, in a rose garden. David Cameron and Nick Clegg strode out into their new sun-dappled world. Bees buzzed. Birds sang. We all realised this wasn’t a press conference but a wedding. The newlyweds were bursting with the politics of love, of coalition, of happiness. They said it couldn’t last – and it didn’t. Resignations. Rows. Tuition fees. U-turns. Tears and trauma and broken crockery. Ann Treneman, the sketchwriter for The Times newspaper, hilariously chronicles an extraordinary year of love and war and politics in Britain. Here’s the laugh out loud story of the courtship, the wedding, the honeymoon, the marriage, the passion and the power, the mayhem and the madness.

11. Let Them Eat Carbon by Matthew Sinclair

Climate change is big business and ordinary people are paying a heavy price for the attempts politicians make to control greenhouse gas emissions. Climate change policies push up electricity bills, make it more expensive to drive to work or fly on holiday, put manufacturing workers out of a job and sometimes make food more expensive. In Let Them Eat Carbon Matthew Sinclair looks at the myths perpetuated by the burgeoning climate change industry, examines the individual policies and the potentially disastrous targets being put into place by ambitious politicians, and posits a sensible alternative climate change and environment policy that will not waste unimaginable amounts of money.

If you want a detailed history of how the Conservative Party has dealt with homosexual law reform we have just the book for you. Tory Pride and Prejudice, by Michael McManus, traces the history of the Conservative Party and homosexual law reform, right back to the 1950s. In 1954 a Tory administration, led by Winston Churchill, set up the Wolfenden Committee, which recommended the decriminalisation of private sexual relations between men over the age of 21. Of course despite these recommendations it was a long time before homosexuality became acceptable in law and in society. The book is a long, dark journey into the heart of intolerance, but it is a story with a happy ending…

In honour of LGBT History Month we’re offering a 20% discount on Tory Pride and Prejudice, plus free UK p&p. Email me at holly.smith@bitebackpublishing.com for details.

You can follow LGBT History Month on Twitter @LGBTH and author Michael McManus @torypride

The thing is, after reports of snow taunting me all day via twitter I need cheering up. Let’s face it, snow is pretty much the worst thing that has ever happened. It’s cold. It’s wet. It takes 85 days to walk approximately three metres and worst of all people seem to assume that everyone enjoys snow. You’re expected to be HAPPY.

However, there are two sides to every story, and if there’s one thing I’m grateful to snow for it’s the abundance of classic comedy falls that result.

There are many elements that make a good fall. Preferably there will be a bit of flailing beforehand. The individual may emit an involuntary noise. Maybe their belongings will go flying. Their body will perform contortions you didn’t think possible. They may be alone and thus unable to go with the classic ‘laugh gaily with their friend’ trick, pretending they don’t care whilst secretly planning to lock themselves in a darkened room for the rest of their life. Of course an absolute snow-fall pro will get up, pretend that nothing has happened, try and saunter off coolly and go flying again. There’ll be lots of people around; they all will have seen, or heard, the fall but they’ll pretend not to notice. Hopefully that one person who does express concern and tries to help will then fall over them self.

But the ultimate tip for falling in public? Make sure you’re a politician and there’s a camera pointing at you. Enjoy these, now legendary, politcal falls.

1. Michael Gove.
Award for best political fall goes to Michael Gove. Award for comedy genius goes to whoever shouts ‘waaaaaaay’ in the background. The old ones are the best.

2. Boris Johnson
There’s nothing I can really say about this. Pure BoJo.

3. Bob Dole
Terrible fall etiquette from the people surrounding US politician Bob Dole – they all should have ignored him and pretended it hadn’t happened.

4. Nhlanhla Nene
A triple whammy for the South African politician. He didn’t just fall. He broke a chair. On live television. THE HORROR.

5. The ultimate.
I have no idea who this man is. But I am eternally grateful that one icy day, whilst a camera was pointing at him, he decided to take such a cavalier attitude to ice.

P.S. If you see a redhead lying in a pool of snow and despair on Westminster Bridge at approximately 6pm you’ll know karma has had its way.

Listen from 16 minutes 30 seconds onwards to hear what they had to say.

Masters of Nothing is a look at how human behaviour helped cause the financial crash, and why it will all happen again unless we get to grips with the issue.

Here’s John Podmore’s Out of Sight, Out of Mind in The Observer:

‘Part engaging memoir, part history of how we have got to this point, but always written with humour, pace and well-turned sentences, Out of Sight, Out of Mind not only pinpoints the problems, it offers solutions’.

Here’s Peter Hain’s Outside In in The Observer:

‘I would rather parliament had more of his like, even the muted firebrand, than the new generation cloned from thinktanks and party work.

Peter Hain has lived life to the full, which is more than most of our politicians can say’.

And here he is again in The Sunday Times (£):

‘Those inclined to feel that the soft-left is soft-headed will not be converted by Hain’s account of his life, but they might come to understand better the journey of the 1968 generation and its en-counters with the tougher choices of realpolitik’.

And to top it off, Peter Carroll’s Gurkha in The Sunday Times (£):

‘You don’t expect to see Joanna Lumley on the front of a book produced by a publishing house exclusively devoted to politics. But then it can never have happened before that a working actress had managed to bend the House of Commons — and the prime minister — to her will. This was Lumley’s achievement in 2009, as the galvanising figurehead of a campaign to grant retired Nepalese Gurkhas absolute rights to settle in this country’.

So there you have it. Enjoy!

“I left your toothpaste and my toothbrush in the bathroom all night”
“That’s not my toothpaste, are you sure that’s your toothbrush?”

He trotted over to his desk opened and the top drawer.

“This is not my toothbrush.”

He trotted back to the bathroom, and as he disappeared around the corner in a distant voice I heard him say again:

“This is not my toothbrush.”

Now this may be one of those ‘you had to be there’ moments. But even if so, it was definitely a moment, and it tickled me a treat.