Future Events
You are invited to the launch of the SAU Publication
MONARCHY MATTERS
By Peter Whittle
On Monday 18TH April 6.30pm at 55 Tufton Street London SW1P 3QL
RSVP to prwhittle@btinternet.com
2012 sees the Diamond Jubilee, the 60th anniversary of the Queen’s accession. Such an important historical event will certainly be celebrated with the enthusiasm which greeted her Silver and Golden Jubilees – an enthusiasm which on those occasions took much of the country by surprise. Elizabeth II is now an institution in herself – widely respected, and held in great affection. It could be the biggest Jubilee yet.
But what about the monarchy itself? In this robust defense of the institution, Peter Whittle, the writer, broadcaster and director of the New Culture Forum looks at the continuing advantages of the monarchical system, and explores its current state of health. He describes its unique ability to act as a binding force in an increasingly fragmented society – a function which will surely grow in importance in the coming years. He explores the extent of public support for the institution, which, contrary to received wisdom, remains remarkably stable and unchanging despite what has become a largely antipathetic cultural atmosphere. He argues that Bagehot’s maxim that the monarchy couldn’t survive if ‘daylight’ were let in on ‘magic’ has proved false, and that its survival after a period of unprecedented crises and media scrutiny is testament to its strength. He describes the ongoing benefits of a monarch as an impartial, non-political Head of State, at a time when the institution has been buffeted by a cultural onslaught from the left on one side and the impatience of free-marketeers on the other. He looks at the future, and the safety of a throne occupied by Charles III or a William V.
Finally he makes some suggestions as to how the upcoming Diamond Jubilee might be celebrated – and why it offers a great opportunity for an increasingly atomized society to come together.
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Submitted by peterwhittle on Fri, 2011-03-25 15:06.
Katharine Birbalsingh, who is the NCF's guest speaker this week - details are below if you'd like to attend - has been much in the press this weekend.
She was on the front page of the Sunday Times, with a major article also leading the News Review section.
And she has been interviewed by the Guardian's Decca Aitkenhead I Spoke at Tory conference so I must be evil :
"I'm not meant to speak the way I do, cos I'm black and comprehensive-educated and have dedicated my life to working in the inner city, working 70 hours a week for the poor trying to bring about a better life for them. What people expect someone like me to be saying is what the state sector needs is more money, what we need to do is close down the private sector. But that is absurd. I don't believe that."
Katharine will be speaking at the NCF this Wednesday, 23rd February, at 7pm, at 55 Tufton Street London SW1P 3QL
RSVP to prwhittle@btinternet.com
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Submitted by peterwhittle on Mon, 2011-02-21 12:18.
The most memorable speech made at last year's Conservative Party Conference came not from a politician but from Katharine Birbalsingh.
Katharine is an inner-city teacher who drew on her own experiences to describe how left-wing ideology was strangling the state education system and betraying pupils. Her speech caused a sensation. She was hailed as the teacher who dared to tell the unpalatable truths about our schools.
Since then, she has become a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph, has written for Standpoint magazine, and has a new book coming out, called To Miss With Love, in March.
The NCF is delighted that Katharine has agreed to address us. She will be our guest on Wednesday 23rd February, at 6.30pm for 7pm, at 55 Tufton Street, London SW1P 3QL.
If you would like to attend, RSVP to prwhittle@btinternet.com
There will be a Q&A session after her speech. It will be a fascinating and important talk. We hope you can join us.
A SORRY STATE
Self-denigration in British Culture
Edited by Peter Whittle
Foreword by Michael Burleigh
Thursday 25th November 2010 6.30pm- 8.30pm
at 55 Tufton Street, Westminster, London SW1P 3AY
If you would like to attend RSVP to prwhittle@btinternet.com or 0207 340 6059
Self-loathing permeates our culture to such an extent that we no longer even see it for what it is. For many of us, it has come to be the natural way of looking at the world. We have become used to living in a permanent state of cultural cringe, of apology, of guilt for real or imagined acts; where our opinion formers appear to agree that western culture is an indefensible horror.
The aim of this collection of essays is to illustrate how self-denigration operates in both specific and general areas of contemporary life. So, along with Helen Szamuely’s essay on history teaching in schools, Emma French’s exploration of the effects of cultural self-laceration in higher education and Marc Sidwell’s analysis of the big state as an expression of self-distrust, we have Gulliver Ralston examining the effects of self-hatred on music education, Paul Seaman on corporate image-building, Juliet Samuel on the environmentalist movement and Douglas Murray on how our response to radical Islam is being compromised. Tony Wells describes the minefield of a simple dinner party among the middle-class intelligentsia, Guy Stagg makes an argument for religion as an expression of self-hate, and Richard D. North describes how so-called ‘anti-elitism’ is another facet of the same phenomenon.
We have aimed to be constructive in this collection, to offer up ways out of self-hatred. Leadership is not just about economics, and the sooner our own elected representatives acknowledge that the burning issues of our time are cultural ones, the better. In the words of countless demonstrators over the years, it is time to ‘Stop the Hate’.
Table manners by Tony Wells
Over the rainbow: How radical environmentalists thwarted Copenhagen by Juliet Samuel
There’s no such thing as the state by Marc Sidwell
Cultural self-effacement in music education by Gulliver Ralston
How public relations sells western firms short by Paul Seaman
‘Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe’: Cultural self-laceration in British universities by Emma French
Mea maxima culpa: Religion and the sanctity of self-hatred by Guy Stagg
How do self-hatred and self-blame shape our response to radical Islam? by Douglas Murray
History came to a . by Helen Szamuely
The country that hates itself: Why curing anti-elitism can sort things out by Richard D. North
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Submitted by peterwhittle on Fri, 2010-11-05 17:35.
