Sixty-Five Years Since Orwell’s Death
George Orwell passed away sixty-five years ago today. He died alone in his room on the fourth floor of UCLH’s Rosenheim Building, where…
Orwell—The First Blogger?
I have been reading Orwell’s As I Please columns from when he was at The Tribune in the early 1940s. They make wonderful…
Soviet Posters With An Orwellian Message
As a regular feature, starting today I’m going to post instances of totalitarian (Soviet, mostly) mis-information that corresponds with “Newspeak’ mis-information as described…
O’Brien’s ‘Brotherhood’ Inspired by Orwell’s Visit to Sheffield?
In his diary entry for 3 March 1936, George Orwell writes “In the evening was taken to a Methodist Church where some kind…
Graduation
I did it… I graduated! A BA in English Literature with Creative Writing. And then I spent the summer working as a surveyor…
New Tesco Store Modelled on Orwell’s “Airstrip 1”
Tesco is not a supermarket, it’s a superracket. The store near Watford’s town centre has just been refurbished. According to Tesco, this is…
Orwell’s Writing
I have finally accepted that there’s no chance of me getting a job with only six weeks of the summer holiday remaining, even…
Not So Big Bother!
My momentous first day at UEA was spoiled somewhat by getting caught speeding en-route from Hertfordshire to Norwich, and to rub salt in…
Prince Andrew – Orwell Would Have Smiled
The recent announcement that Prince Andrew is to ‘retire’ from his ‘job’ as UK Trade Ambassador is an indication that the prince is,…
Spain – If Orwell Could See It Now!
I’ve just returned from a short but thoroughly enjoyable holiday in southern Spain, my first visit to the country for almost twenty years….