Think On by Angela Caldin

‘Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go.’ Herman Hesse

Think On by Angela Caldin

‘Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.’ Harvey S. Firestone (American businessman, and chairman of the board of the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company.)

Turnham Green by Angela Caldin

There’s a catch with the expanse of open space called Turnham Green in Chiswick, west London: it’s quite a long way from Turnham Green tube station and Turnham Green Terrace, and this often causes confusion for visitors who assume that the grassy area opposite the tube station must be the eponymous park, whereas it is actually Acton Green and just the other side of the bridge, there’s Chiswick Common. Turnham Green itself is a good fifteen minutes’ walk down the High Road. One of Turnham Green’s main claims to fame is that… Read More

Think On by Angela Caldin

I don’t know much about Søren Kierkegaard, except that he was Danish and is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. I learnt those facts many years ago when I did a Masters in French Thought and finished the year only marginally wiser than I was at the beginning. However, I’ve recently discovered that he did say the following, which I consider to be well and truly on the button: Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards.

Think On by Angela Caldin

UK Treasury minister David Gauke has said it is morally wrong to pay tradesmen such as plumbers and builders in cash in the hope of avoiding tax. He argued the practice came at a big cost to the Treasury and meant other people had to pay more tax. This made me think about all the times many of us pay and accept cash: for cleaners, baby sitters, window cleaners and lodgers, thinking little of it. More than 2000 years ago, the poet Ovid penned these prophetic words: How little you know about the… Read More