The Kindness of Strangers The other day my wife was on a train to a business meeting in Yorkshire. A poor young woman was in the same carriage, traveling for a job interview using a cheap ticket that turned out … Continue reading
Category Archives: Life
Donald Trump has made me virtuous
Donald Trump has made me virtuous A couple of days ago I ripped the bottom out of my car by driving over a dragon’s-teeth barrier on the driveway to a golf club where an excellent gig of Brazillian music was … Continue reading
A New Christian Creed – Comments from Christians, all other Faiths and Atheists appreciated!
A New Christian Creed – Comments from Christians, all other Faiths and Atheists appreciated! A New Christian Creed – What Christians believe Christian churches are characterised by “creeds”: systems of belief to which members must, at least nominally, subscribe in … Continue reading
THE RIYADH TEST AND THE TRUMP TEST
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
SIX YESHIVA STUDENTS SKIMMING PEBBLES
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
Fascism – some thoughts
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
Robert T Carroll – skeptic – 1945-2016
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
How to Make Hypocrites
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
THE FAMOUS PHILADELPHIA
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
TWO OLD GUYS AND A TIN BATH
TWO OLD GUYS AND A TIN BATH This isn’t a new subject. My old pal, Foggy, and I have been taking a regular country walk most months since we renewed our friendship after an interlude of 42 years when we … Continue reading