A reminder

Both my co-editor and I have been amused to see the occasional comment on this Blog, couched in terms of what amount to instructions to us to write about cetain topics, or complaining that we have not. And while we always welcome comments – which are taking on a character of their own and comprise, in some respects the better part of this Blog - we thought it appropriate to remind you all that we do both have "day jobs" to do as well.

For my part, life is particularly fraught as, with my co-author Christopher Booker, we are rushing to complete our second edition of The Great Deception, the final manuscript of which must be delivered to the publishers the day after the completion of the European Council on 16/17 June.

Written to be what we believe to be the definitive history of the European Union, with special emphasis on the EU constitution, the genesis of which lies not in the Laeken declaration of 2001, but the Ventotene Manifesto of 1942, the completion of this book requires a considerable amount of work, and therefore time, which necessarily detracts from keeping this Blog as up-to-date as we would like.

Not least of the problems is that I insist on the writing being "evidence-led", which means collecting all the available press cuttings - about 600 pages per month – and relevant reports, and then gradually boiling them down into a manageable brief which my co-author can then take as his draft from which he writes the final manuscript.

It was in fact that process which led to the creation of the Blog in the first place, as I felt that, since I was collecting so much material anyway, I might as well put it on the net. But the Blog has since taken on a life of its own which is not always complementary to the book-writing process.

Anyhow, for the next two weeks, I will be only keeping half an eye on the Blog, as we rush to the deadline, but will keep stories on key events posted, with analysis where possible. Feel free to post material on the Comments, with links where possible, which will help keep all of us informed.