I am not as good at this as I thought I was. I thought I was able to name the most obvious deciduous trees but on my walk today I found out that the huge and ancient oak tree I have often seen in winter is budding as a beech tree. I also was not…
Author: Daniel
Cars
I have always had a like/loathe relationship to cars. On the one hand I enjoy the freedom to visit anyone, anytime on the other they cost a fortune, stink of petrol, pollute the world and are difficult to keep in top quality shape without the paid help of a good mechanic. They also engender a…
It Is Easy to Ignore
My friend’s thirteen year old son commented that I was a vegetarian because I didn’t like to hurt anything. I didn’t tell him that I started to become vegetarian when I was 14 nor did I suggest he didn’t like to hurt anything either so why was he eating meat. He is too young to…
Water Companies in the UK
Over thirty years ago the water companies in the UK were privatised by the conservative party on their altar of ‘private is more efficient’ and on the basis of the investment needed to bring water resources to modern standards. I remember raw sewage being pumped into the sea in Cornwall. No one ever asked why…
Rwanda
I haven’t said much about the migrates into Europe and I have no excuse to avoid their plight. The BBC tells us most come from war zones or places of deepening conflict. It seems to me that wiser destination countries should be looking at the causes of these wars and the causes of migration in…
Facebook Fails
There is a lot of text on a coloured background on Fb to catch your eye. Most of it is homilies which are always for the dreamers but sometimes they are just ridiculous in their attempts to be intelligent. The latest one I saw today was saying tat student demonstrations have always been on the…
ART
Art This is a life, Where poet, writer, painter, Heat their hands from flames Burning from the brain’s fire – Earth’s very sky is held still As they turn sea to words – Rock to paint – Wine and beer wash throats With song and conversation – In a bodily exchange for art – Where…
Universities
I have heard a good deal about universities in American and students becoming antagonistic towards Jewish students because if Gaza. I am all for people caring. I am all for saying that the people dying in Gaza are being murdered because that is what war is. I am not surprised that the students show no…
Scrabble
I recently played a game of scrabble with friends and managed to get the word Segue. No one knew what it meant and they were teetering on challenging me and finally did. It got me thinking about one’s passive vocabulary. Passive vocabulary are the words one probably never or very rarely uses, but one knows…
My friends told their 12 year old son they didn’t want him playing too many hours of games on his phone and computer and would restrict his screen time. in response he dressed up in his best clothes and made a presentation to them about what it was like being a child with no authority…