History
Who Was Puss In Boots?
“To Southwark Fair, very dirty, and there saw the puppet show of Whittington, which was pretty to see” – Samuel Pepys In the fourteenth century the toll required of a prostitute who wished to cross [more…]
Blog
Computing
A Simple R6G Dye Laser – Part 3
If you’ve been following along (well done you!) then you might recall that we need a fast switch that works at a very high voltage for the laser’s pump lamp and, indeed, for the laser [more…]
Arts
Confessions of a Language Lover
“Grammar Nazi”: the words spit out at me from the screen. Because the paucity of the allusion profoundly depresses me, I have decided to spare the complainants personal embarrassment by no longer highlighting their individual [more…]
Business
GDP Tells Us Little about the Health of an Economy
The government’s and the mainstream media’s favorite economic statistic is Gross Domestic Product (GDP). If GDP goes up, then the economy is doing well. If GDP shrinks, then the economy is doing poorly, or so [more…]
Authoritarianism
Growing, Foraging, Eating In A Pandemic; Mask Wars 2
Mask Wars Part Deux Like many other people (no doubt) I looked forward, with mounting anticipation, to walking up to the bar in my local, being greeted by a smiling serving wench and taking my [more…]
Arts
Eastern Tide Meets Western Shore – Part One
I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong hills. The equator runs across these highlands a hundred miles to the north, and the farm lay at an altitude of over six [more…]
Authoritarianism
Politicians – the People’s Enemy for Centuries
Most problems that blight the lives of ordinary folk are caused by politicians. In a democracy one might suggest this is counter intuitive, but democracy has mutated since its Athenian concept so drastically it has [more…]
Business
Euro 2020 Penalty Shoot Out Bloodbath
GP’s Bloodbath investigative team, having returned from a bad-tempered Batley and Spen by-election battleground ballot box bust-up, thought they could take a relaxing break in front of the England v Italy Euro 2020 final. How [more…]
Economics
Basic Economics
The great debate now obsessing Treasury bosses and central bankers is whether all those trillions they continue to print so obsessively are at last producing a perceptible bout of hyperinflation. Before trying to make sense [more…]