Hit and Myth

Bookshops are piled high with copies of The Essex Serpent, a novel by  Sarah Perry. I read it at the end of last year and have some reservations.

Kiva

I have only had one bad debt on Kiva. I lent a few dollars to Golden Services Organisation in Kenya. GSO raised $4,950 in total but only paid back $1,653. The money had been use to sell charcoal fuelled stoves but they were sold on credit and you can guess the rest. I wrote about… Continue reading Kiva

Published
Categorised as Charities

War Memorials

An unresolved question has been bouncing around at the back of my mind for a while. I came close to answering it when I was in St Paul’s earlier this month.

Published
Categorised as History

British Boxers

British Boxers supply good quality clothing – I am a customer. Another British boxer is Tony Bellew. He has more titles than Prince Charles and he has made a small but significant difference to the lives of Bellews living in England.

Published
Categorised as Family, Sport

Blue City

Friends have just come back from Jodhpur, known as the Blue City. Another Blue City is Chefchaouen in Morocco. As you know, things often come in threes and the third Blue City is closer to home.

Just a Minute

I try to avoid hesitation, repetition, and deviation. I fail lamentably with deviation and there is an element of repetition today.

Desire

“For every man hath business and desire.” You recognise  the words Shakespeare put into Hamlet’s mouth. I play a straight bat and will not hide from you my desire.

Published
Categorised as Psychology

Borough Polytechnic

In the 1980s polytechnics went out of fashion and were re-branded as universities. In 1892 Borough Polytechnic was opened by Lord Rosebery to provide practical instruction to people in the area. One of the speakers at the ceremony rather patronisingly hoped that “the Polytechnic would do its share towards perfecting many a valuable gem found in… Continue reading Borough Polytechnic

Published
Categorised as Art

Monetary Union

My first impression of James Agate’s diaries was that they are a bit dry but as I get to know the recurring characters I am enjoying Ego 2 enormously. Now I want to tell you about four things that happened last weekend.

Micawber

If I gave you a butterscotch early 1950s Fender Telecaster with a Gibson PAF humbucking pickup, what would you do with it? I might add, to make my theoretical gift more interesting, that it’s called Micawber.