How to Deal with a Blindy by Trevor Plumbly
The Perils of Being Partially Sighted I first wrote something along these lines for an in-house magazine for visually impaired people with a view to putting a lighter slant on the daily problems that face the visually impaired. Being partially blind gives me an insight into both camps (excuse the pun); sure I use, and rely on, a white cane but unlike the majority of ‘blindies’ I do have some vision left: not enough to enjoy TV, but let’s face it, that might be a bit of a blessing along with the… Read More
Angela’s ABCs – Words Often Confused: it’s and its
Mistakes with these two words are very common, but there is a fool-proof way of checking to see if you’ve got the right one: It’s is short for it is or it has and nothing else. Therefore if you can’t substitute it is or it has in your sentence, you’ve no doubt got it wrong, and you need its without an apostrophe which is a possessive adjective (like his and her). Look at the following examples – in all of them, you can substitute it is or it has for it’s: It’s… Read More
Think On by Angela Caldin
“Whenever you’re in conflict with someone, there is one factor that can make the difference between damaging your relationship and deepening it. That factor is attitude.” William James William James was an original thinker in and between the disciplines of physiology, psychology and philosophy. His twelve-hundred page masterwork, The Principles of Psychology (1890), is a rich blend of those three disciplines together with personal reflection that has given us such ideas as “the stream of thought” and the baby’s impression of the world “as one great blooming, buzzing confusion.” It contains… Read More
Carol Ann Duffy, a Truly Accessible Poet by Angela Caldin
Brief Background on Carol Ann Duffy I knew three things about Carol Ann Duffy a few days ago. I knew she was the Poet Laureate in the UK, following on from Andrew Motion and Ted Hughes. I knew she was the first woman to hold this post. I also knew that she was gay, or perhaps bisexual. Now, since my husband gave me a copy of her collection of poems entitled ‘The World’s Wife’ for my birthday, I know a great deal more. Mainly that she is witty, subversive, inventive, observant, thoughtful,… Read More
Together Again – A Cynic’s Look at Reunions by Trevor Plumbly
Invitation to a Reunion When the card came inviting me to a school reunion, I couldn’t believe that some silly bugger would think that I or anyone else of sound mind would possibly want to get together after 50 odd years, but there are obviously some people who just can’t leave well alone and waste oodles of time in their senior years trying to re-unite people who have avoided that very nicely for years. I can’t possibly think what they, or even their victims, get out of it: maybe they’re so… Read More
