Monthly Blog Index

PJC’s monthly BLOGs, which began in October 2010 as monthly Discussion Points, are indexed under the headings of Autobiography (personal history); Civics (current affairs); History (past times); Skills (professional skills) and Time Studies.

2025

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
179November 2025Identifying Different Eras of Time: Potential & Pitfalls …TIMEMonthly Blog 179
178October 2025Thinking Through Time at Arthur’s Stone in HerefordshireTIMEMonthly Blog 178
177September 2025Songs About TimeTIMEMonthly Blog 177
176August 2025 Can we find a Great Statue to A Female God of Time?TIMEMonthly Blog 176
175July 2025Time In Art: Is There Any Alternative To ‘Old Father Time’?TIMEMonthly Blog 175
174June 2025 How does Increasing Knowledge about Future Times impact upon The Art of Prophecy?TIMEMonthly Blog 174
173May 2025Is There a Message to be learned from The Many Sayings About Time??TIMEMonthly Blog 173
172April 2025Can You Name Five Striking Poems About Time??TIMEMonthly Blog 172
171March 2025Why Are There No Great Jokes About Time??TIMEMonthly Blog 171
170February 2025Why Think About Time-Space, Not Space-Time??TIMEMonthly Blog 170
169January 2025Great Clocks of the WorldTIMEMonthly Blog 169

2024

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
168December 2024Antwerp Diamonds: Three Beautiful Aspects of Antwerp – Diamond Capital of The WorldCIVICSMonthly Blog 168
167November 2024Hickory Dickory Dock!TIMEMonthly Blog 167
166October 2024 Why did the man in the moon – who came down too soon – ask his way to Norwich?PERSONALMonthly Blog 166
165September 2024How did Benjamin Franklin discover The Power of Lightning?PERSONALMonthly Blog 165
164August 2024Coping With Multi-PressuresPERSONALMonthly Blog 164
163July 2024Do Partisan Identities Add A Pleasant Flavour To Daily Living – Or Do They Really Constitute A Trap That Undermines True Human Solidarity?CIVICSMonthly Blog 163
162June 2024Happy Canvassing MemoriesCIVICS/PERSONALMonthly Blog 162
161May 2024Do local people care about the dire state of Wandsworth Prison?CIVICSMonthly Blog 161
160April 2024Who Made The Clapham Omnibus So Famous?HISTORY/CURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 160
159March 2024But Now Spring is Coming and It’s Time for Fresh PlansPERSONALMonthly Blog 159
158February 2024After the Midwinter Jollity, the never-ending dry cough…PERSONALMonthly Blog 158
157January 2024How The Georgians Celebrated MidwinterHISTORYMonthly Blog 157

2023

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
156December 2023Tracking Social Media: It’s High Time for Effective RegulationCIVICSMonthly Blog 156
155November 2023The anonymous author, seeking justified privacy or avoiding responsible transparency?CIVICSMonthly Blog 155
154October 2023In Praise of (Judicious) RegulationCIVICSMonthly Blog 154
153September 2023Acknowledging The Passing of TimePERSONALMonthly Blog 153
152August 2023 Short and Cheerful Meditations upon Returning to Live in a (currently) Temperate ClimateCURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 152
151July 2023Reflections upon Roaming in Rome, after a Return Visit to The CityCURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 151
150June 2023Tribute to the Gracious International City of Geneva – Historic Home of Three Hegemonc Radical Thinkers – and, Additionally, Thronged with SparrowsHISTORYMonthly Blog 150
149May 2023Tracking Down The Fugitive History of the Body LouseHISTORYMonthly Blog 149
148April 2023Tracking down Eighteenth-Century Optimists and Pessimists in order to write The GeorgiansHISTORYMonthly Blog 148
147March 2023A Great Painted Tribute to an Eighteenth-Century Cultural Ambassador between Global East & WestHISTORY/CIVICSMonthly Blog 147
146February 2023 Towards Democracy: The Significance of Britain’s Eighteenth-Century ElectorateHISTORY/CURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 146
145January 2023Being a Citizen whilst Living under a Hereditary MonarchyHISTORY/CIVICSMonthly Blog 145

2022

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
144December 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 12HISTORYMonthly Blog 144
143November 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 11HISTORYMonthly Blog 143
142October 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 10HISTORY/CURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 142
141September 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 9HISTORYMonthly Blog 141
140August 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 8HISTORYMonthly Blog 140
139July 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 7HISTORYMonthly Blog 139
138June 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 6HISTORY/CURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 138
137May 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 5HISTORY/CURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 137
136April 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 4HISTORYMonthly Blog 136
135March 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 3HISTORYMonthly Blog 135
134February 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 2HISTORYMonthly Blog 134
133January 2022A Year of Georgian Celebrations – 1HISTORYMonthly Blog 133

2021

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
132December 2021Is Teaching SexyCIVICSMonthly Blog 132
131November 2021Remembering Adrian AgainPERSONALMonthly Blog 131
130October 2021Meanings of being Penelope PERSONALMonthly Blog 130
129September 2021The Surprising Consequences of Learning to Float-and-Kick SimultaneouslyPERSONALMonthly Blog 129
128August 2021Appreciating Northumberland and seeking the best adjective to describe its scenic beauties.CURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 128
127July 2021 World citizens in the twenty-first century are generating an ‘international sphere’ of public opinion, outside and beyond the control of national governments.CIVICSMonthly Blog 127
126June 2021Does classifying people in terms of their ‘Identity’ have parallels with racist thought? Answer: No; Yes; and ultimately, No.CIVICSMonthly Blog 126
125May 2021 What Does It Mean to be a Whole Person? Why Should We All be Arty-Smarty?CURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 125
124April 2021Battersea’s Female PioneersCURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 124
123March 2021The Peopling of Britain: Proposed Schools Course for TeenagersCIVICSMonthly Blog 123
122February 2021Proposed Roots Project For TeenagersCIVICSMonthly Blog 122
121January 2021Being Assessed as a Whole Person – A Critique of Identity PoliticsCURRENT AFFAIRSMonthly Blog 121

2020

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
120December 2020Isaac Newton, World Renowned Physicist & Inventor of the Cat Flap!?HISTORYMonthly Blog 120
119November 2020The Feline Muse in the Long Eighteenth-CenturyHISTORYMonthly Blog 119
118October 2020Commemorating Another Feisty Eighteenth-Century Sea-Going CatHISTORYMonthly Blog 118
117September 2020An Eighteenth-Century Folly-Builder & Cat-LoverHISTORYMonthly Blog 117
116August 2020The Long Eighteenth Century’s most amazing Lady RecluseHISTORYMonthly Blog 116
115July 2020The Eighteenth-Century Invention of Two New Solitary OccupationsHISTORYMonthly Blog 115
114June 2020 Self-Isolation Eighteenth-Century StyleHISTORYMonthly Blog 114
113May 2020Light from The Lamp of Experience HISTORYMonthly Blog 113
112April 2020On Reconsidering the (Interrupted) FutureCIVICSMonthly Blog 112
111March 2020Three Rules for Writing a Regular BlogCIVICSMonthly Blog 111
110February 2020The (Political) Red-Green AllianceCIVICSMonthly Blog 110
109January 2020Honouring Vera Bácskai (1930-2018)HISTORY/CIVICSMonthly Blog 109

2019

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
108December 2019Why must Humans beware the Midas Touch?CIVICSMonthly Blog 108
107November 2019Reasons for unrepentant (relative) Optimism about the coming of Green PoliticsCIVICSMonthly Blog 107
106October 2019Cities Greener Still and GreenerCIVICSMonthly Blog 106
105September 2019 Researchers, Do Your Ideas Have Impact? A Critique of Short-Term Impact AssessmentsCIVICSMonthly Blog 105
104August 2019Is it Time to Look beyond Separate Identities to Find Personhood?CIVICSMonthly Blog 104
103July 2019Who Knows These History Graduates Before The Cameras and Mikes in Today’s Mass Media?HISTORYMonthly Blog 103
102June 2019Are You an Optimist? How well do You know your Own Temperament?CIVICSMonthly Blog 102
101May 2019 Are You a Lumper or Splitter? How well do you know your own Cast of MindHISTORYMonthly Blog 101
100April 2019Controlling Street Violence learning from the Demise of DuellingHISTORY/CIVICSMonthly Blog 100
99March 2019Why Bother to Study The Rulebook?CIVICS/AUTOBIOGRAPHYMonthly Blog 99
98February 2019How should you approach the PhD Viva?SKILLSMonthly Blog 98
97January 2019‘Why is the remarkable Charlotte Despard not better known?’HISTORY/CIVICSMonthly Blog 97

2018

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
96December 2018‘What’s wrong with prehistory?’HISTORYMonthly Blog 96
95November 2018‘What is the Greatest Sin in The World?’ Christopher Hill and the Spirit Of EqualityHISTORY/CIVICSMonthly Blog 95
94October 2018Thinking Long – Studying HistoryHISTORYMonthly Blog 94
93September 2018 How to Study Historians: Historiology, not HistoriographySKILLSMonthly Blog 93
92August 2018Historians at Work Through TimeHISTORYMonthly Blog 92
91July 2018People Sometimes Say: ‘We Don’t Learn From The Past’ and Why That Statement is Completely AbsurdHISTORYMonthly Blog 91
90June 2018Celebrating Human Diversity amidst Human UnityCIVICSMonthly Blog 90
89May 2018 As The Language of ‘Race’ Disappears, Where Does That Leave The Assault Upon Racism?CIVICSMonthly Blog 89
88April 2018How I write as a HistorianSKILLSMonthly Blog 88
87March 2018Burned BoatsAUTOBIOGRAPHYMonthly Blog 87
86February 2018Completing a Big ProjectAUTOBIOGRAPHYMonthly Blog 86
85January 2018Working with WordsSKILLSMonthly Blog 85

2017

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
84December 2017Inventing WordsHISTORYMonthly Blog 84
83November 2017 Sex and the AcademicsCIVICSMonthly Blog 83
82October 2017Writing Personal ReferencesSKILLSMonthly Blog 82
81September 2017Responding To Anonymous Academic AssessmentsSKILLSMonthly Blog 81
80August 2017Writing Anonymous Academic AssessmentsSKILLSMonthly Blog 80
79July 20172017 – Another Summer of Love?CIVICSMonthly Blog 79
78June 2017Who Cares? Getting People to VoteCIVICSMonthly Blog 78
77May 2017Ideas taking a Wrong TurnHISTORYMonthly Blog 77
76April 2017Humans as Collective Time-Travellers HISTORYMonthly Blog 76
75March 2017 Humans as Time-Specific StardustHISTORYMonthly Blog 75
74February 2017Why can’t we think about Space without Time?HISTORYMonthly Blog 74
73January 2017Writing Into Silence About TimeHISTORYMonthly Blog 73

2016

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
72December 2016Remembering Conrad Russell, Historian of Stuart Britain and ‘Last of the Whigs’HISTORYMonthly Blog 72
71November 2016 How is Growing Inequality Dividing The British Tories from Within? CIVICSMonthly Blog 71
70October 2016What’s Wrong with The European Union’s Hybrid Constitution?CIVICSMonthly Blog 70
69September 2016 Britain and Mainland Europe Viewed Long: From Concert of Europe to Council of EuropeCIVICSMonthly Blog 69
68August 2016Referenda Viewed LongCIVICSMonthly Blog 68
67July 2016What’s Next? Interrogating Historical Evidence?HISTORYMonthly Blog 67
66June 2016What’s so Great about Historical Evidence?SKILLSMonthly Blog 66
65May 2016 How did Women first Manage to Break the Grip of Traditional Patriarchy?HISTORY CIVICSMonthly Blog 65
64April 2016Why is it Taking So Long to Normalise the Role Of Women at the Top in Politics?HISTORY CIVICSMonthly Blog 64
63March 2016 The Value of Voting – And why the Practice should not be MockedHISTORY CIVICSMonthly Blog 63
62February 2016 Is the past Dead or Alive? And the Snares of such Binary Questions.HISTORYMonthly Blog 62
61January 2016 DOES The Study of History ‘Progress’? And how does Plurilogue help?HISTORYMonthly Blog 61

2015

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
60December 2015 Writing through a Big Research Project, not Writing UpSKILLSMonthly Blog 60
59November 2015 Supervising a Big Research Project to finish well and on time: Three Framework RulesSKILLSMonthly Blog 59
58October 2015 Living intensely in the eye of the storm: Why do people quit their daily lives and go to join crusades in distant lands?CIVICSMonthly Blog 58
57September 2015Riding the Tides of HistoryCIVICSMonthly Blog 57
56August 2015More Post Election Meditations: On Changing the Labour Party’s nameCIVICSMonthly Blog 56
55July 2015Post Election Meditations: Should the Labour Party Change its Name?CIVICSMonthly Blog 55
54June 2015Post-Election Special: On Losing?CIVICSMonthly Blog 54
53May 2015Election Special: What’s Wrong with the Old Practice of Open Voting, Standing up to be Counted?CIVICSMonthly Blog 53
52April 2015Facts and Factoids in HistoryHISTORYMonthly Blog 52
51March 2015Talking about the Shape of HistoryHISTORYMonthly Blog 51
50February 2015What does the ‘Temporal Turn’ mean in Practice for Historians and Non-Historians alike?HISTORYMonthly Blog 50
49January 2015What on Earth is the ‘Temporal Turn’ and Why is it Happening Now?HISTORYMonthly Blog 49

2014

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
48December 2014The Art of Public Presentation – with Structured Content and a Final Snappy DictumSKILLSMonthly Blog 48
47November 2014 Women and Public Speaking – and Why it has Taken so Long to get ThereHISTORYMonthly Blog 47
46October 2014The History of the Hand-ShakeHISTORYMonthly Blog 46
45September 2014 Doffing One’s Hat HISTORYMonthly Blog 45
44August 2014 Quotations and Irony SKILLSMonthly Blog 44
43July 2014 Mis-Speaking…and How to Respond SKILLSMonthly Blog 43
42June 2014 Chairing Seminars and Lectures SKILLSMonthly Blog 42
41May 2014 Historical Reputations: Disappearing from HistoryHISTORYMonthly Blog 41
40April 2014 Historical Reputations through TimeHISTORYMonthly Blog 40
39March 2014 Studying the Long and the Short of History HISTORYMonthly Blog 39
38February 2014 Why is the Language of ‘Race’ holding on so Long when it’s Based on a Pseudo-Science? CIVICSMonthly Blog 38
37January 2014 How do People Respond to Eliminating the Language of ‘Race’ CIVICSMonthly Blog 37

2013

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
36December 2013 Talking of Language, it’s Time to Update the Language of Race CIVICSMonthly Blog 36
35November 2013 Dons and Student-Customers? Or the Community of Learners? CIVICSMonthly Blog 35
34October 2013 Coping with Writer’s Block SKILLSMonthly Blog 34
33September 2013 Contracting out Services is Killing Local Democracy CIVICSMonthly Blog 33
32August 2013 Reactions to Making a History DVD SKILLSMonthly Blog 32
31July 2013 On Scripting and Co-Directing an Hour-Long History DVDSKILLSMonthly Blog 31
June 2013[NO BLOG – SABBATICAL]
30May 2013 But People often Ask: History is really Politics, isn’t it? So Why shouldn’t Politicians have their Say about What’s Taught in Schools?CIVICSMonthly Blog 30
29April 2013 Should each Secretary of State for Education rewrite the UK Schools History Syllabus?CIVICSMonthly Blog 29
28March 2013 Answering Questions post Seminar Papers/Lectures
SKILLSMonthly Blog 28
27February 2013 Asking Questions post Seminar Papers/Lectures SKILLSMonthly Blog 27
26January 2013 Worst and Best Academic Lectures that I’ve Heard SKILLSMonthly Blog 26

2012

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
25December 2012 Championing the Study of History CIVICSMonthly Blog 25
24November 2012 History as the Staple of a Civic Education CIVICSMonthly Blog 24
23October 2012 Why Do Politicians Undervalue History in Schools?CIVICSMonthly Blog 23
September 2012[NO BLOG – SEE REVIEWS]
22August 2012 To Trust or Not to Trust?CIVICSMonthly Blog 22
21July 2012 Historical Periodisation – Part I HISTORYMonthly Blog 21
June 2012[NO BLOG – SEE REVIEWS]
20May 2012 In Praise of Distinctive Cities and against the March of High-Rise Anywhere City CIVICSMonthly Blog 20
19April 2012 In Praise of Public Information and Dispraise of Sugared Public Relations CIVICSMonthly Blog 19
18March 2012 In Praise of Memory HISTORYMonthly Blog 18
17February 2012 Events Lived Through, Part II: 1971AUTOBIOGRAPHYMonthly Blog 17
16January 2012 Events Lived Through, Part I: 1968AUTOBIOGRAPHYMonthly Blog 16

2011

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
15December 2011 Two Historians who Influenced me AUTOBIOGRAPHYMonthly Blog 15
14November 2011 An Unknown Book that Influenced me AUTOBIOGRAPHYMonthly Blog 14
13October 2011 Cross-Class Marriage in History HISTORYMonthly Blog 13
12September 2011 What is a Riot?CIVICSMonthly Blog 12
11August 2011 Where is the Political Left Today? CIVICSMonthly Blog 11
10July 2011 What’s Wrong with the Arts & Humanities Research Council Citing Political Slogans? CIVICSMonthly Blog 10
9June 2011 What has Gone Wrong with the Audit Culture? CIVICSMonthly Blog 9
8May 2011 The British Labour Party: Viewed Sociologically, Organisationally and IdeologicallyCIVICSMonthly Blog 8
7April 2011 Why are British Universities Politically so Supine? CIVICSMonthly Blog 7
6March 2011 Reconsidering RevolutionsHISTORY Monthly Blog 6
5February 2011 Studying History for Love and Usefulness CombinedCIVICSMonthly Blog 5
4January 2011On the Subtle Power of Gradualism HISTORY Monthly Blog 4

2010

No.DateTitleCategoryDownload as PDF
3December 2010 Why do Humans Still Learn Chiefly via Face-to-Face Communication? CIVICSMonthly Blog 3
2November 2010 Why is the Formidable Power of Continuity so often Overlooked? HISTORYMonthly Blog 2
1October 2010 What should a New Government do about the Skills Agenda in Education Policy?SKILLSMonthly Blog 1