In the same way that we all know that hindsight is a wonderful thing, similarly there can be benefits, even substantial ones, that are only observed, as it were, in the rearview and not up front. I once heard someone giving thanks for COVID and I could see that immediately there opene
Due to the large amount of recent rain, one morning I perched myself atop a nice stable three-legged iron garden table and pushed out the large volume of water that had collected on our gazebo. It made light work of all that heavy water. However, within the space of half of one second
The time is fast upon us where we are, much more widely, going to have to don our masks out in public places. So, have you decided yet what type of mask you are going to wear? Will it will be a bulk buy of the cheapest and most basic mask? Alternatively, will you do even better than t
It has been now a couple of weeks’ worth of lockdown changes with: 2 million primary children invited to go back to school, more people back in work, and the restrictions generally somewhat eased. Opinions are pretty mixed as to whether we are truly following the science or whether we
Just 10 days ago the world learned that the renowned African-American mathematician, Katharine Johnson, had passed away at that grand old age of 101. Ms Johnson was hired by NASA in 1953 to be, what they called at the time, a “human computer”, using nothing much beyond pen
By now the decision has likely been made and the result out in the public domain – I refer to the choice over whether to let Huawei equipment form the heart or just a lesser part of the 5G national network. For some of us “early adopters” we might be quite excited ab
Very recently I came across a fascinating article on the subject of distraction. Even for the most focussed and work-efficient people, getting distracted is nigh on impossible to avoid. So you’re sitting having an intensive discussion with someone and then you hear that faint
They call it a story of greed, deceit and herd madness. Over the last couple of months there has been a series of BBC podcasts with the title: The Missing Cryptoqueen. It has to do with the sudden disappearance of Dr Ruja Ignatova, founder of the amazing cryptocurrency scheme OneCoin,
We’ve probably all had the experience of a removal lorry stopping right next door. For most of us we’re a bit wary of the newcomers since we don’t know whether they’re going to be good, bad or truly monstrous! In one recent case a lady called Hillary had a woma
Thinking of the most basic staples of life, our bread and water, I wonder how far you would be willing to go for them? I recently came across a couple of stories which showcase what people have been willing to do. The first is from a village in East Java province called Klepu. There t
You have to feel sorry for the poor guy. He went into Leicester Royal Infirmary for a botox injection and came out full on circumcised! Not the best way for a hospital to make their mark. Of course I understand that, with the best will in the world, we are all fallible people. Even wi
I was amused hearing about the family that got a celebratory takeaway when their child was threatened with a detention for talking in class. As may not surprise you, the backstory for this news item was a bit more complex and involved. A girl called Red had gone through nursery school
It comes under a raft of names: a bonanza, a treasure trove, a windfall etc. It was just the other week we were hearing about the lady who scooped the lottery jackpot and walked away with a cool £1m in prize money. What was particularly interesting was that the lady concerned, Paula W
Knives making better lives London has just opened a new outdoor gym by the name of Steel Warriors. There’s no membership fee, there’s even a free coaching facility. Now if this doesn’t already sound too good to be true, this gym has been built from two tonnes of surr
The picture on the front was that of an elephant pushing the baby along with its trunk, the title: “Nudge” by Prof Richard H Thaler who has just now been awarded a Nobel prize. The previous Prime Minister took up some of his ideas in the creation of an internal depar
It was this month I bumped into a BBC article highlighting a new word that seems to be doing the rounds at the present: ableism. The article explained:
Minding my own business out and about in Thatcham Town Centre on Monday 27th January 2014 and I spy the BBC Radio Berkshire car and Bridgitte Tetteh scouting around for likely interview candidates – so here we go Lord – in for a penny in for a pound.