I have to admit I love the ideas in science, even though the mathematics leaves me failing badly, the whole idea that things are related at the particle level, that there are laws and rules to chemical actions and physical objects no matter how large, is fascinating. Like many people I do not think it…
Snow And Life
Well the week of icy weather has abated for a while at last, and the hill on which I live is now passable again. Not that during the snowy weather people didn’t try to drive along it including me. I found a week ago I couldn’t reverse into my parking bay so I parked outside…
Myth-Making
I write for children and like most of the world love the ancient myths of people from different countries but I think we often forget how much we live in a mythical creation of our own even as adults. Perhaps this is what gets us by in life, I am not sure but I am…
The Dated Game
Spent a while listening to Dean Martin today and realised how music has a definite sound in every generation. This is something I should have found obvious because of my classical music appreciation studies that went through the development of classical motifs and styles. This is very pronounced in the electronic age with different equipment…
Personality Alchemy
The alchemy of choice is fascinating; what makes one person become a career criminal and another fear to even steal a penny? Yes it has a lot to do with influences of other minds as one grows up but it is also about strength and weakness of character and that comes from many places; including…
Investigative Journalism
There have been many notable, and even more simply recorded, moments when politicians and businessmen have been caught out by speaking candidly to journalists working under-cover. There are those who say the resulting exposure is in the public interest and those who say these are sting operations inveigling people into ruining their careers. Even more…
Growing Up
It is a strange business to become aware as we grow up, for our minds to be developing all the while and for us mostly to be unaware of it. I am not the first to wonder how learning a language, and following examples of those closest to us in order to survive lays down…
Magical Science
I am sure we can all point to thing in our thinking that at first glance appear to be opposites, but none-the-less we have an affection if not a high regard for both. For me these two things are an deep love of the magical from the childhood spells to the adult awe in the…
To Past Laughter
I see so much of human activity as an attempt to fill up the hours, days and weeks with anything that stops us thinking about how short life is, that sometimes I forget the simple joy of shared being. I heard a story on BBC Radio 4 which made me smile and I thought I…
Winter Wonderland
The snow which now has the village pretty well cut off continued yesterday and though the days temperatures are warmer it looks like it is here for Christmas. Which of course would normally be wonderful except for the fact that I have a cold – or at least I am fighting off some bug that…