Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Wednesday 7 April 2010

Election time

The announcement of the impending General Election inevitably brought to my mind Evelyn Waugh's dictum that he did not vote on these occasions as he considered it a presumption on his part to advise his Sovereign on her choice of ministers. Whilst part of me sympathizes with such a view I am minded to think that as Her Majesty has graciously invited her subjects to send representatives of their communities - I am not sure if they are still expected to be knights of the shires and burgesses of the cities, boroughs and towns of the ancient demesne, though obviously they should be - to assemble at Westminster, or wheresoever Her Majesty summons them, and, with the Lords Spiritual and Temporal and herself comprise a Parliament to advise on the good governance of her realm - and let's face it, there has not been an abundance such good governance for a very long time - well it would be churlish to refuse to participate in the process.

This election is an important one. However I fear that many of the issues that I suspect my readers and I consider important will not get much coverage in the popular media. I suspect that I shall be tempted to address some of them over the next four weeks.

No comments: