Today brought some pretty flattening news with the publication of a short article by Anna Raccoon announcing that she is closing her blog.
If you are not aware of Anna, she has been one of the finest - if not the finest - libertarian bloggers in the UK for nearly ten years. Always written in a warm and chatty manner - with a large number of dedicated followers in the comments - her site was likened more to a cosy saloon bar chat in front of the fireside rather than a writer issuing forth from a soap box.
She has been suffering health problems for a few years and has disappeared for varying lengths of time previously (sometimes this has also been to thwart angry mobs when she touches on a taboo subject, which she has never been afraid to do), but this would appear to be the final last orders at "The Raccoon Arms".
Her content has been quite simply awesome. Astute and incredibly rigorous, she has attracted the respect and admiration of journalistic commentators, and regularly put many in the news profession to shame with her attention to detail and almost bloodhound-like determination to verify sources and evidence.
Although long time readers here will mostly remember her partnering up with Old Holborn to spring Nick Hogan from prison, her articles have often been electric and searing on extremely spiky subjects. Tackling stories such as Savile from a position of accuracy rather than hysteria is not an easy thing to do, and her weaving of personal accounts into her writing - as she has done brutally in recent days - is as brave as it is hypnotically compelling.
And now it looks like that is all stopping. It is a sad day.
I first met Anna in person in 2008, and have spoken to her by phone and email occasionally since. She has always been a source of wisdom and guidance, both with offering her legal and administrative experience of running a site like this and also on the odd personal matter.
She will be sorely missed, and there will now be a big empty space in the libertarian blogosphere and my blogroll which I can't see anyone else filling adequately. So tonight I'll be raising one last glass of cheer for The Raccoon Arms, sadly closed but never to be forgotten.
If you are not aware of Anna, she has been one of the finest - if not the finest - libertarian bloggers in the UK for nearly ten years. Always written in a warm and chatty manner - with a large number of dedicated followers in the comments - her site was likened more to a cosy saloon bar chat in front of the fireside rather than a writer issuing forth from a soap box.
She has been suffering health problems for a few years and has disappeared for varying lengths of time previously (sometimes this has also been to thwart angry mobs when she touches on a taboo subject, which she has never been afraid to do), but this would appear to be the final last orders at "The Raccoon Arms".
There is nothing more to be said. This really is goodbye. I may tweet occasionally, I shall certainly watch the world go mad from a distance – and I shall spend a lot of time curled up next to Mr G for as long as I can.As someone who began blogging in 2008 when Anna was producing content that had national dailies pricking up their ears and scouring her pages on a regular basis, the news that her site will not be there anymore is quite upsetting.
Her content has been quite simply awesome. Astute and incredibly rigorous, she has attracted the respect and admiration of journalistic commentators, and regularly put many in the news profession to shame with her attention to detail and almost bloodhound-like determination to verify sources and evidence.
Although long time readers here will mostly remember her partnering up with Old Holborn to spring Nick Hogan from prison, her articles have often been electric and searing on extremely spiky subjects. Tackling stories such as Savile from a position of accuracy rather than hysteria is not an easy thing to do, and her weaving of personal accounts into her writing - as she has done brutally in recent days - is as brave as it is hypnotically compelling.
And now it looks like that is all stopping. It is a sad day.
I first met Anna in person in 2008, and have spoken to her by phone and email occasionally since. She has always been a source of wisdom and guidance, both with offering her legal and administrative experience of running a site like this and also on the odd personal matter.
She will be sorely missed, and there will now be a big empty space in the libertarian blogosphere and my blogroll which I can't see anyone else filling adequately. So tonight I'll be raising one last glass of cheer for The Raccoon Arms, sadly closed but never to be forgotten.