David Borrington
David Borrington MA RCA
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"In politics, 'cui bono' probes motives, revealing who gains from events, exposing political maneuvers' intent."

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“PHONETICALLY SPEAKING” To reflect the fast pace of world news, my blog is probably best served as a stream-of-consciousness text. Fast and unadulterated. With this approach, and on first encounter, text might not seem to scan. This is because I am dyslexic. Instead of keeping the proof-readers busy, I would rather let my blog updates of my visual work stand as a record of my experience of dyslexia, which I am keen that you now get to enjoy too. Unlike some news outlets, I hereby excuse myself the need for a ‘corrections’ section! The excitement of a new language is something I’m quite familiar with, and it is with this ‘joie de vivre’ that I am delighted to guide you through my thought and work processes, more phonetically (than fanatically) speaking.

I was recently asked if I was proud to be English. I looked puzzled. "Of course," I said. The person questioning me seemed surprised, even curious. "Why?" they asked, as if the idea of national pride was outdated or shameful. I replied without hesitation: "Because we banned slavery worldwide." That statement landed like a lead balloon. They looked at me as if I had said something outrageous. To them, slavery was something we should be ashamed of, not something to take pride in. But that’s exactly why I’m writing this because the history of Britain’s abolition of slavery, led by the British working class, has been erased or distorted. It wasn’t the elites who led the charge; it was the ordinary people the miners, mill workers, and factory hands who put relentless pressure on the establishment to end the vile trade. And when we did, we didn’t just ban it in Britain; we spent vast amounts of our national wealth and deployed the Royal Navy to enforce abolition across the world. Some scoff at the idea of being proud to be English, pointing to our nation’s role in the transatlantic ...