Category: London

Ballymena, Heraldry, London, newsLeave a comment

Paisley; a Borough; no respect for Crown authority; and a city…

Michael McFarland Campbell

Diamond Jubilee of HM The Queen We’re coming up on a milestone in the reign of our Sovereign Lady, Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and of her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith, &c.*. The last milestone was Her Majesty’s Golden Jubilee – the forthcoming is the Diamond Jubilee in 2010. Jubilee Cities With these milestones often comes a race among various towns in the United Kingdom to be the three in 2000 (or four five† in 2002) that become cities in what … Continue reading Paisley; a Borough; no respect for Crown authority; and a city…

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Law, London, Metropolitan Police, news, Northern Ireland life, PoliceLeave a comment

a worrying sign of things to come…

Michael McFarland Campbell

I was not at the protests in London this week, but having just watched a video on Oxford Spring I am very glad that I was not. It appears that the Mounted Section of the Metropolitan Police charged into the crowd. As Oxford Spring puts it: There is no excuse for this mounted police charge into the crowd. No, it is not on the scale of the Miner’s Strikes or the Peterloo Massacre but it is still grossly disproportionate to what the police officers faced. The Met’s police chief yesterday stated clearly that there was no cavalry charge. If he … Continue reading a worrying sign of things to come…

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London, newsLeave a comment

Transparency must be seen across all levels of governments

Michael McFarland Campbell

The move by the coalition government in Whitehall towards more transparency may be a step in the right direction, but it needs to be only part of the general move to make government at all levels in the United Kingdom transparent. I look forward to seeing websites like this throughout the local government and regional and national government structure as well. Continue reading Transparency must be seen across all levels of governments

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Justice, London, newsLeave a comment

one year on: let’s think of the judiciary

Michael McFarland Campbell

Last year, a fundamental change in the British judiciary occured on this day. For after centuries of being the final court of appeal in England (and the rest of the United Kingdom as it was annexed united to England, the House of Lords ceased to function in this way. During the fifty-fourth Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Constitutional Reform Act 2008 (c.4) was passed. This created the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. Sadly this sounds very American to my British ears. There didn’t really seem very much wrong with the old system, but we have to get on … Continue reading one year on: let’s think of the judiciary

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Benedict XVI, catholic, christian, gay, Health, HIV, London, news, sufferingLeave a comment

‘six hundred of the men who got sick and died were young and fellow Catholics’

Michael McFarland Campbell

I didn’t think that I would be posting quite as quickly after the last post – but reading what I have just read really makes me want to make sure others get to read what Fr Bernard Lynch said at a rally in London today. As someone living with HIV, Fr Lynch’s words somewhat grabbed hold of me. Fortunately, we can now live with HIV – it is no longer the death sentence it once was. Here is a wordle followed by the full text… Dear Holy Father, Welcome to the United Kingdom. I am one of your fellow priests … Continue reading ‘six hundred of the men who got sick and died were young and fellow Catholics’

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Benedict XVI, Blessed Sacrament, catholic, John Henry Newman, London, news2 Comments

lead, kindly light… Pope Benedict XVI

Michael McFarland Campbell

Sadly, due to illness, I was unable to use the ticket that I had been granted to attend the Vigil in Hyde Park, but thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was able to lie, sit, and kneel at a friend’s house in East Belfast to watch. Afterwards, he remarked that what the Holy Father said was not that far away from what could be said in a Christadelphian exhortation. If this is how close we are together, then there really is hope for Christian unity. The text of the homily given by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI to … Continue reading lead, kindly light… Pope Benedict XVI

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catholic, London, news1 Comment

pro-Pope letter to the Guardian

Michael McFarland Campbell

Following the letter to the Guardian signed by Stephen Fry and others, Laurence England is seeking signatures to the letter below… We, the undersigned, welcome His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI to the UK as both Head of State of the Holy See and as leader of the World’s one billion Catholics and to the Catholic community of the United Kingdom. We believe that his presence in our country comes at an urgent and pressing time, highlighting the trends in our country that serve only to denigrate human rights and human dignity. We support him wholeheartedly because in guarding the Deposit … Continue reading pro-Pope letter to the Guardian

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iLink, London, Metro, news, NIRailways, Northern Ireland life, Regional Development, ticketing, Translink, Transport, Transport for London, UlsterbusLeave a comment

not just the posts but the trains and buses too…

Michael McFarland Campbell

This afternoon while I was visiting the capital, I had a cheque that needed to be trusted to the servants of Her Majesty’s Posts. I visited the Post Office next to St James’s Park Underground Station and came across another ‘customer experience improvement scheme’. Gone are the days of the good old British queue. Now we come in, press a button on a screen, be given a ticket with a number on it, and be asked to sit down on the ‘comfortable’ chairs to await service by one of the post office clerks. Upon being called by the machine to … Continue reading not just the posts but the trains and buses too…

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catholic, London, OxfordLeave a comment

And he’s been sighted again

Michael McFarland Campbell

Older readers will remember the posting about the elevation of a certain humble priest in the Eternal city to being a Monsignor (News from Oxford). Correspondents from England have informed me of the return to England of this well known cleric. It is said that his return has not been unnoticed by some of his fellow clergy who were listening to a talk by The Rev. Father Andrew Southwell of the Latin Mass Society recently in a London club. Apparently, manners were not learnt in Rome. Perhaps that explains his return without the much talked about bishopric. Talked about mainly … Continue reading And he’s been sighted again

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