On 21 October, the Caribbean nation of Barbados took the first step towards becoming a republic when the joint houses of Parliament chose Dame Sandra Mason as the country’s first president, to replace Queen Elizabeth II as head of state. Ms Mason, a trained lawyer and former magistrate, has been the Governor-General of Barbados since … Continue reading “Barbados Elects its First President”
The 2021 UK Women’s Prize for Fiction has been won by Susanna Clarke for Piranesi, only her second novel, published 16 years after her immensely popular Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell. Like its predecessor, Piranesi is an experimental novel in the realm of fantasy. Piranesi lives alone in an immense labyrinthine house surrounded by sea. … Continue reading “2021 Women’s Prize for Fiction Winner”
19 November is Unicef’s annual World Children’s Day. This year, the UN organisation is highlighting how children have been impacted by the global pandemic. Although children are the group in society which is least affected by actual infection by Covid-19, many children are being negatively impacted by all the collateral affects. Loss of schooling and … Continue reading “Masked But Not Muted on World Children’s Day”