The Liberal England year - part 1

It's time for a look back at some of the stories that have preoccupied me over the past 12 months.

January

The year began with the unwelcome news that the old Tory Party was alive and well.

For some reason I became very exercised by the fact that a funeral had been held at a Leicestershire school while lessons were in progress. I also discovered that two prominent 20th-century figures had been in the same class as boys. ("Hitler and Wittgenstein, I might have known.")

And Bobby Fischer reached the eight rank and was promoted to better things.

February

I attacked plans for a Leicestershire "eco-town" in a House Points column and wrote a posting arguing that Britain in the 1960s was a far more tolerant place that the USA.

I also argued (as an atheist) against the disestablishment of the Church of England.

March

One of the questions more mainstream journalists should have asked was why there were so many children in care on Jersey.

I remembered two forgotten TV series: Gophers! and 1990.

And we all discovered that Matthew Taylor's great-grandfather was the Liberal MP for Harborough.

April

Isn't that Enoch Powell on a pogo stick?

The press woke up to the fact that armed foreign police may patrol London during 2012 Olympics.

And one of my New Statesman columns pointed out the perils of taking your fox up the aisle.

May

Three popular Basils of the 1970s were featured and I told the National Association of Head Teachers to see me afterwards.

Locations visited included Coventry Cathedral and the tomb of John Stuart Mill.

June

I asked if the Lib Dems should love-bomb David Cameron and certainly thought we should have stood against David Davis in his self-inflicted by-election.

Then you could have joined me on an exploration of the area around St Pancras International.

Part 2 tomorrow.