BritBlog Roundup 111

Welcome to Liberal England for this week's BritBlog Roundup. As it is no. 111, I have asked the cricket umpire David Shepherd to jiggle about on one leg while I put it together.

Thank you to everyone who made nominations. There were so many that I have not had to add any of my own. In fact, where someone suggested more than one posting from the same blog, I just chose one of them.

To work...

The topic of the week has been the seizure of British sailors by the Iranians. Cape to Rio thinks they could have done with some good old-fashioned Naval pattern cutlasses, while Freedom and Whisky sees a sinister conspiracy behind the affair.

Back home there has been a lot of excitement about the new sport of downhill skiing on Tube escalators. Bread and Circuses has the story. Also in London, Diamond Geezer reports on the War on Starbucks and Onionbagblog on a popular uprising in Brixton.

In the world of books, As a Dodo parodies the litigation over The Da Vinci Code, which ended this week, a very clever and exciting place for words to live offers a sobering account of the difficulties of getting published and pandemian suggests a magazine that really ought to exist.

Meanwhile at the theatre, the Grumpy Old Bookman has been to see Rick Mayall in The New Statesman. Alan B'stard is now a key member of Blair's cabinet, of course, but our reviewer did not enjoy the play.

About now my attempts at grouping links thematically are threatening to break down. So let's notice the call by Philobiblon for a feminist archaeology and a vignette of life in France from petite anglaise before moving on to politics.

First, the environment. An Englishman's Castle offers what may just be an important contribution to the climate change debate. Sajjad Karim MEP is bemused that the EU charges duty on imports of energy-efficient light bulbs.

Now for Liberalism. Chase me Ladies... comes to the defence of the creed:

Nor do I understand why she calls the man a "liberal", as if hippies defecating on flags were John Stuart Mill's idea.

And Stephen Tall looks at the success of present-day Lib Dem MPs at getting noticed by the media.

Elsewhere in politics, Tim Worstall (he's the Daddy) looks at UK precautions against terrorism which apply everywhere except, er, Northern Ireland. Not Saussure mourns the collateral damage from the War on Drugs.

Blood & Treasure suggests, surely rightly, that New Labour would not have abolished slavery so much as modernised it:

We need a new slavery – a slavery capable of adapting to the challenges of the global economy. A slavery fit for purpose in the fast changing 19th century. A slavery for the many, not the few.

Also to humourous effect, Rachel in North London considers the state of the Home Office.

Between the Hammer and the Anvil sees the forces of unreason massing; Peter Black AM is interested in politicians' use of Facebook - apparently it's something the young people enjoy.

Central News wants to elect the BBC bosses and Suzblog considers the fallout from a (white) councillor dressing up as Nelson Mandela.

If the wickedness of the world is getting you down, try taking solace in nature. Living for Disco may have encountered a leopard, but life is gentler in Lancashire, where The Ribble Cycle Diaries tell us that the Ribble coast and wetlands are now a regional park.

And you can always enjoy the Bean Sprouts recipe for nettle soup - "delicious, terribly fashionable and also free".

Next week's Roundup will materialise at Philolbion. As ever, please send your nominations to britblog [at] gmail [dot] com.

Thank you, Mr Shepherd.