Part 1 – The Journey to ETS The old captain and his crew had been retired. They had sailed many journeys and brought back great tribute. But he had been succeeded by Maximus Rudderless the young-faced commander so popular with the people. The citizens waited in great expectation. This commander had a new crew, although […]
My blog essay comes this week with a warning attached. Engineers, economist and accountants are advised that this material may cause offence. (To tell the truth I will probably be disappointed if it doesn’t!) As my writings will demonstrate there are many areas where my knowledge is deficient. For some time now I have been […]
In recent weeks there have been discussions about racism in Australia, particularly with respect to indigenous Australians as a consequence of the committee report on proposed changes to the constitution and then as a result of the appalling incident in Canberra where dissidents from the so-called aboriginal tent embassy confronted the prime minister and the […]
There has been some rather interesting discussion in the papers in the last few weeks about the notion of “Social Inclusion”. In the recent cabinet reshuffle of the Gillard government, the unfortunate Mark Butler was made Minister for Social Inclusion. At a press conference afterwards the new Minister found great difficulty in explaining what the […]
You may remember (but this is more than likely just my ego surfacing again) that I wrote a blog essay a few weeks back which I titled “The Power of Three”. In this essay I conjectured if Readers Digest Condensed Books Division had got their hand on the Old Testament they might have distilled the […]
It seems to me that I have written something on this subject before some twelve months or more ago. But of course now that I am older my perspective might have changed somewhat. Was it Samuel Johnson who said something to the effect, “That nothing focuses the mind like a hanging!”? No doubt those whose […]
Those who know me well appreciate that I am a cricket tragic. But despite all the wonderful things that have happened in cricket in the last few weeks I am not inclined to impose my fanaticism on you. But let me share this with you. When the TV commentary team was describing the field they […]
Most of you will have never heard of Tommie Connor. Connor was a British songwriter. His hits had such unforgettable titles like “The Biggest Aspidistra in the World” (sung by Gracie Fields) and “Never do a Tango with an Eskimo” (sung by Alma Cogan). [If you think I’ve made this up it is easily verified […]
I suppose it is because I am an introvert (which my wife disputes) that a good deal of the pleasure that I get on a daily basis comes from reading and listening to music. The pleasure of these pursuits is a very important part of my life. Indeed, I felt so strongly about reading that […]
This week I want to turn my attention to dementia. (Yes, I know some of you think I am talking from personal subjective experience!) As a result of some serendipitous circumstances (she had heard of me from a mutual acquaintance and acquired a couple of my books) I got to meet an extraordinary lady. The […]