My bucket’s got a hole in it by Trevor Plumbly
It was a new one on me when I first heard the term ‘bucket list’. Apparently it’s a list of things you’d like to do or see before you kick it. Does that make sense? It does till you try to make one! I don’t know if there are any rules regarding length and feasibility for the list, but I decided to keep my list reasonably short; I’ve thumbed my nose at fate a fair bit recently and didn’t want to overdo it. I look forward to my fellow bloggers baring their… Read More
Cannabis: a pleasant relaxant or an addictive curse? By Angela Caldin
At one time, I had a job looking after witnesses in a magistrates’ court. To start with, I had a makeshift office in a tiny space between probation and the window; such are the joys of the charity sector. The great thing about that office was that all sorts of people passed by and I got to know many of them, gaining a great deal of inside knowledge. One of the people I met was a drugs worker who worked with the prisoners down in the cells. Like many others, I believed… Read More
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
Conclusion Thinking TMP* – rational thinking in an irrational world. By Emily Smart
Given the proliferation of help, advice and outright molly-coddling we have around us, it’s a small wonder anyone ever actually gets to think for themselves. The average person, earning a reasonable income, owning a home and raising a family, has an abundance of sources where they can ‘download’ their issues and get help finding solutions to moral, ethical, physical and mental problems. And if they can’t directly find someone to help, they can seek those that have been in a similar position. From Internet chat rooms, self-help books, documentaries and Dr Phil… Read More
Mothers’ Tea Sets by Angela Caldin
Stamford in Lincolnshire is one of my favourite places to visit. It’s a beautiful limestone town, home of the characterful George Hotel, a comfortable old coaching inn with a luxuriantly leafy garden restaurant. It has Burghley House, a spectacular Elizabethan mansion, the Water Meadows with the starting point of the Jurassic Way to Banbury, and the Arts Centre where our Stamford friends perform and direct plays at the Shoestring Theatre. Last time we visited, one of our friends treated us to an old fashioned tea at her house, served in her late… Read More
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