Promotional Material - some other blogs worth reading

You might remember a while ago that I gave out some advice about doing a PhD (well, doing a uni course really) in which I mentioned that some days are just unproductive. Well, it's been a fallow few days. In all honesty I did astonishingly little work yesterday - much time was spent staring at the computer without a single thought coming into my head as to how best proceed getting through my in-tray.

As I wait then for whatever creativity I have left to come back from its holiday, some other blogs it wouldn't hurt to read (n.b: apart from the ones listed up on your right). In no particular order: 

1) John Redwood's Diary: Say what you want about the Conservative MP for Wokingham (and let's face it, most of what's been said has included the word 'Vulcan' in there somewhere), but he is a prolific blogger and writer on economic and public affairs. The style is aimed towards the reasonably knowledgeable, but it isn't hard to follow. The layout is plain - something I think of as a strength with this blog - while the content has attracted admiration and a following keen to analyse and debate each post. 

2) Purposeful Purity: A blog aimed at encouraging young Christians in their faith, this is written by Hannah and Bella, two British student Christians. The tone is genuinely faithful, the content sound and righteous and the layout bright and funky. In no way am I envious of either the fact that at the ages of 18 and 17 they are setting out on such an excellent task so well (well, maybe a little bit....). 

3)  Liberal Democrat History Group: OK, this one bends the rules a little in that it isn't an actual blog. The Liberal Democrat History Group, while not maintaining their blog nearly as well as their Conservative counterparts, is an excellent starter resource for those investigating Liberal history and well worth a read if you're heading down that route. 

4) If you have some money to spend the Cambridge classicist Mary Beard has a blog on the Times website (I haven't, so no link for this one I'm afraid) that was, the last time I could read it, a nicely evocative blog on life in higher education. 

5) Tom Harris' Blog: I've mentioned him before here but the Glasgow South MP maintains a pretty decent blog. Less of a specific focus than John Redwood's (if one overlooks his ongoing spat with the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority) but arguably a more cordial and easy-going style. Plus he's a Doctor Who fan, so despite being a Labour MP he can't be all that bad.

N.B: As of a few days ago, Tom Harris has stopped blogging.

Added on, 31/10/2010

6) Rory Stewart's Blog: Many new MPs these days struggle to find what extra-Parliamentary life experience they've had (one, speaking on this week's The Week in Westminster, pointed to the fact that she came from the North-East). Rory Stewart, MP for Penrith and the Border, is a former Army officer, diplomat, deputy Governor of Maysan Province in Iraq, academic and NGO founder. He also once walked 6000 miles across Pakistan, Iran, Afghanistan, India and Nepal, and has written at least one pretty good book: Occupational Hazards, about his time in Iraq. He's written another, but as I haven't read that I can't comment.

N.B: Further research tells me that the MP I referred to above is Catherine McKinnell (Lab, Newcastle-upon-Tyne North), who spent some time working as an employment solicitor in Newcastle, as well as working part-time for her husband's events company and doing excellent work as a student officer at Edinburgh University (all found here: http://www.catherinemckinnell.co.uk/blog/). Apologies to Mrs. McKinnell.