Author Archives: fitzjameshorse

Happy New Year

Posted on January 2, 2015 by fitzjameshorse

So folks …all the best for 2015. Astute readers will note that I have not been blogging as often as previously. Well I have been involved in other activities but in a way the title “Keeping An Eye on The … Continue reading →

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New Year “Honours”?

Posted on December 30, 2014 by fitzjameshorse

It is difficult to explain the British “Honours” System to my American friends. It is an undemocratic nonsense. But here goes. Britain is a “monarchy”. The Head of State is Mrs Elizabeth Windsor. Now well into her eighties, she has … Continue reading →

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“Captain Jack” ?

Posted on December 14, 2014 by fitzjameshorse

This is the withdrawn “Centenary of the Irish Citizen Army” stamp. Last month, this example sold for €676 on eBay. There is another example, currently on eBay. An Post issues a bulletin on “New Issues” on four occasions during the … Continue reading →

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The Politics Of Irish Stamps.

Posted on December 12, 2014 by fitzjameshorse

The Decade of Centenaries. The odd thing about Stamp Collecting (besides the eccentricity of people who collect stamps) is that it can be extremely “political”. In the case of Ireland this is hardly surprising. An Irish Stamp Album is in … Continue reading →

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Europe…More Racist Than UKIP?

Posted on November 2, 2014 by fitzjameshorse

It is hard to like the “United Kingdom Independence Party” (UKIP). Indeed the very name suggests a bunch of golf club bores, making their way upstairs on the Clapham Omnibus…to smoke a cigarette…only to be told by the Bus Inspector … Continue reading →

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All Political Careers End In Failure…Well Mine Certainly Did

Posted on October 28, 2014 by fitzjameshorse

I should start by declaring an interest. You all know that I am a member of SDLP and more so I first joined SDLP in 1973 and while I voted Sinn Féin from 1993 thru to 2009, I am at … Continue reading →

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Edwin, Mairtín And …Jim…And Peter Robinson!

Posted on September 25, 2014 by fitzjameshorse

Congratulations if you are old enough to know that the headline is a tip of the hat to “Abraham, Martin and John” and Smokey Robinson. So just to be clear…Edwin is Edwin Poots, DUP MLA for Lagan Valley and until … Continue reading →

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Clan Cameron

Posted on September 19, 2014 by fitzjameshorse

History is a funny thing. I have been an active student for more than fifty years. Thru the standard text books, the TV Dramatisation of “Culloden”, (which led me to read the book by John Prebble) adventure stories like Robert … Continue reading →

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Scotland

Posted on September 18, 2014 by fitzjameshorse

The polls close in a few minutes. The Scottish Referendum. It FEELS Historic. It feels like the Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Or maybe it isnt. Back in the 1960s, Scottish and Welsh Nationalism was confined to the “Celtic … Continue reading →

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SDLP: Getting With The (Feile) Programme

Posted on August 7, 2014 by fitzjameshorse

Odd thing. No mention of SDLP in West Belfast’s Annual Festival. It almost looks likr they (we) dont exist. Are we even mentioned in the great big glossy brochure? As West Belfast invites the world to celebrate the diversity of … Continue reading →

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