Robert Buckland Weblog

In 1959, the last veteran of the American Civil War died, ninety-eight years after its start.  Fifty years on, the last veteran of the Western Front, Harry Patch, has died.  The photography of the Civil War is striking and celebrated, but it ended about ten years before Edison recorded sound for the very first time, [...]

A long and tiring trip to Staffordshire Probation Service HQ to continue judicial training was the culmination of a hectic few days that should have continued with my trip to Rwanda.  With much regret, however, I have had to bow out of Project Umubano for this year, bearing in mind the continued illness of Sian’s [...]

A troubled week in Afghanistan for our Armed Forces has once again brought Wootton Bassett into the spotlight.  Quite rightly, coverage of the town’s determination to quietly honour the returning dead has been very positive.   There is nothing mawkish or inappropriate about what has been happening with morbid regularity in the past few weeks.  Wotton [...]

I had promised a further update during my week of Judicial training at the University of Warwick, but such was the intensity of the course, I didn’t have time.  In summary, the debate at Trinity College was an opportunity to discuss not only general concerns about civil liberties but the practical dangers inherent in large Government [...]