The Riyadh Test and the Trump Test We human beings are a lazy crowd and look for quick rules of thumb (“heuristics” as they are called in the philosophy trade) to help us make quick judgments about situations. I have … Continue reading
I learned today of the death of Robert T Carroll, author of the The Skeptics Dictionary book and website. He fell silent in August 2016 and I suspected the worst but for some reason (hope?) did not check. He had … Continue reading
Six Yeshiva Students Skimming Pebbles At the end of November 2016 my wife and I spent a few days in the Lake District. It was the end of the most glorious autumn I can recall and the air itself seemed … Continue reading
About twelve years ago, a company for which I worked had a new MD appointed. He knew nothing of the business but tried fanatically to impose a one-size-fits-all version of lessons learned in American business school and from corporate self-help … Continue reading
This last Sunday my granddaughter was christened. She is a 13 month-old joyful noisy little soul and we had a vision of her running round the church shouting “Bugger!” – or something that sounded like it. In a fact she … Continue reading
Over the years I come across copies of my books in various odd places: international airports, a cottage I once rented near Alnwick, a box of second hand books so ill-regarded that no one cares if you steal them. In … Continue reading
MY HOLIDAYS Waterside was a caravan park by a rocky cove. The railway line ran next to it, taking trains to Paignton and Torquay. At the age of eight I sat on the grassy embankment and watched the Great Western … Continue reading
THE FAMOUS PHILADELPHIA This last weekend my wife and I were at a reunion ball in Durham, where we went to university fifty years ago. It happened to be the same weekend as Miners’ Gala, an event that I thought … Continue reading
EVENTS 2016-2017 – 23 June 2016 revision
This is my list of forthcoming lecture gigs for 2016-17. In April 2016, I did a cruise on Fred Olsen’s ship Braemar along the French coast to Bordeaux and ending with a beautiful cruise up the seine estuary. This was the fourth time that Fred Olsen had invited me to lecture, and I am grateful and assume I must be doing something right. The organisational skill of the cruise companies and the quality of their staff never cease to amaze me. The lecture in Chester was fun and the topic of Great Forgers seems to be the one audiences most ask for. The Grimsby lecture went well to a large audience and gave me an opportunity to see a much loved niece and her husband. The Hazel Grove lecture was a repeat invitation after both audience and lecturer had great fun with Great Forgers in 2015. In April my wife and I took a short break in Bath and used the opportunity to lecture to the Bedwyn History Society following an invitation received on one of my cruises.s
Chester 25.1.16
Great Forgers
Grimsby – Everyman Club 9.2.16
The First Great credit Crunch
Hazel Grove – Stockport Walking and Outdoor Group
9.3.16
Casanova
Heaton Chapel Li & Phil 9.1.17
Great Forgers
Hull Lit & Phil Soc 15.11.16 Casanova
Keswick 1.11.16
Great Forgers
Romily U3A 28.7.16
Charlatans and Frauds
Wiltshire – Bedwn History Society 12.4.16
Casanova
LITTLE JIMMY’S CHRISTMAS Auntie Lottie suffers from deafness, senility and badly fitting false teeth. She’s a relative of Auntie Winnie, my Uncle Fred’s wife, and already a million years old when Little Jimmy is born. I only ever see her … Continue reading