22 01, 2025

How to stop the marginalisation of minority groups.

By |January 22nd, 2025|Categories: Ai Weiwei, Art, China, Art & History, India, Kennington, Letters to the press, Madras Courier, Mixed relationships, Novels and short stories, Shepherd.com|0 Comments

In todays i Yasmin Alibhai Brown writes about British Citizens of Pakistani ancestry and how they regard the grooming gangs. The conclusion was that most people of that background despise them and are distressed by the suffering of the exploited

17 09, 2024

Politics, Lives, Page Turners:  The Courage of Claret Press publishing Sylvia Vetta and Pen Farthing  

By |September 17th, 2024|Categories: Ai Weiwei, China, Art & History, Cultural Appropriation, Events, Lost History, Novels and short stories|0 Comments

Politics, Lives, Page Turners:  The Courage of Claret Press publishing Sylvia Vetta and Pen Farthing   I love my publishers new book mark. It sums up what Claret Press is about. Her latest author is Pen Farthing  and his book

8 05, 2024

My epic story based on the Beijing Spring(1979). Evidence that Brushstrokes in Time is still selling

By |May 8th, 2024|Categories: Ai Weiwei, China, Art & History, Lost History, Novels and short stories, Oxford Castaways|0 Comments

https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2024/17/the-invention-of I agree with Misha Glenny. It’s important. We need to know about the history of China. That was why I spent 6 years researching the Beijing Spring of 1979, the Stars Art Movement, the birth of the Democracy Movement

19 03, 2024

Chris Patten – last night’s moving farewell Chancellor’s event and why I appreciate his generosity of spirit .

By |March 19th, 2024|Categories: Ai Weiwei, China, Art & History, Events, Oxford, Oxford Castaways|0 Comments

In February, Chris Patten announced that he will retire as Chancellor of Oxford University. https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2024-02-05-lord-patten-barnes-announces-his-retirement-chancellor-university-oxford So the Chancellor’s event last night was an interview with him. https://oxfordliteraryfestival.org/literature-events/2024/march-18/chancellors-lecture-from-china-to-the-middle-east-and-ukraine-a-world-in-turmoil I was moved for many reasons by last night's interview. He was

26 01, 2023

An exhibition for our time. Qu Leilei and Caroline Deane’ Calligraphy Forest of Misinformation.

By |January 26th, 2023|Categories: Ai Weiwei, Art, Biography, Events, History, Oxford Castaways, The Stars ArtMovement|0 Comments

I went to London to see Qu Leilei and his partner Caroline Deane’s exhibition Calligraphy Forest of Misinformation. It was a moving experience.  It was originally shown in Milan and is inspired by a phenomenon of our time https://www.facebook.com/sylvia.vetta/videos/1986347964828795 The