Fiction
Jinnie’s Story – Book Two, Episode Six
On Thursday the weather was still excellent, if anything it was a little warmer than the day before and once again Jinnie woke up just in time for the seven o’clock news. The media was [more…]
Blog
Arts
GB News Review
GB News 29th July 2021 Present: Catherine (Travel expert) Laurence Fox (Political activist) Angela Levin (Royal watcher) Dave Rogers (Olympic correspondent) Venue: Brazier & Muroki We join the programme with regular presenter Mercy Muroki and [more…]
Collecting
Camping, Backcountry Knife choice
I recently reread two of Bertram Gilfoyles articles – the first teaching us about Japanese knives and the second helping us understand how to keep them sharp. His knowledge is far deeper than mine especially [more…]
20th Century
Behind the Bamboo Curtain, Part Four
My uncle was a staff reporter for the Manchester Evening News from the late 1940s until his death in 1973. The following is from a series of articles in which he describes his extensive visit [more…]
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…]
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…]