The War Room
Britain wants fewer civil servants and a fairer Budget, and I want a seat facing the direction of travel. MANCHESTER, England (The London Prat) – The 07.04 from Euston has a quiet coach, and the quiet coach has a man who is on a call. I have decided this is the most accurate picture of … Read more
The government wants me self-sufficient for three days, which is two more than the milk in our fridge has managed. WESTMINSTER, England (The London Prat) – The first thing I did when the government told me to be self-sufficient for three days was look around the war room and ask what we had. The answer … Read more
Nobody in the war room has ever been invited onto a sofa by anyone, and we are processing it as a professional slight. LONDON, England (The London Prat) – Gethin has ruled that the war room may watch television as long as we call it research, and then put a tick against the word research … Read more
A reference-work profile of the first English writer to win the Nobel Prize, and a diarist’s refusal to settle the argument on one entry Kipling from Bombay to Stockholm: Plain Tales, Kim, the White Man’s Burden and a Reputation That Fell After the First World War A reference-work profile of the first English writer to … Read more
A novel that gave the world Vande Mataram, praised as a landmark and criticised for pro-British and anti-Muslim bias, read through a Wikipedia summary Anandamath, 1882: Bankim Chandra’s Novel of the 1770 Famine, the Sannyasi Rebellion and the Song That Became India’s National Song A novel that gave the world Vande Mataram, praised as a … Read more
A literature diarist reads a trade circular and notices what it leaves out, which is nearly everything with a number in it The UK-India Trade Deal Took Effect on 15 July 2026: A Freight Forwarder’s Note, a Government Forecast and No Tariff Numbers A literature diarist reads a trade circular and notices what it leaves … Read more
From The Captive Ladie in English to Meghnad Badh Kavya in Bengali, as Wikipedia summarises a career of two languages Michael Madhusudan Dutt, 1824 to 1873: A Bengali Epic in Blank Verse, a Gray’s Inn Training and a Man Ignored for 15 Years After His Death From The Captive Ladie in English to Meghnad Badh … Read more
A literary diarist on a short life, three posthumous books and a sourcing problem or two Toru Dutt, 1856 to 1877: The Calcutta Poet Who Translated French Verse in England and Died at 21, as the Wikipedia Page Tells It A literary diarist on a short life, three posthumous books and a sourcing problem or … Read more
A Greenwich reader of Victorian and Anglo-Indian fiction reads about deposits on the flying Tesla Roadster and turns to Trollope’s The Way We Live Now Saturday, 17 October 2026. Greenwich, South East London. A terraced house on Crooms Hill, the park gates opposite, a pot of Assam brewed too strong on purpose, a two-volume The … Read more
A Greenwich reader of Victorian nonsense reads about Piers Morgan demanding emergency action against a courteous chatbot and recognizes the crowd Lear called They Wednesday, 21 October 2026. Greenwich, South East London. The Painted Hall cafe at the Old Royal Naval College, a cheese scone, a battered Complete Nonsense of Edward Lear with my childhood … Read more