Author: philjackman

There has been a lot of fuss this week about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the proposed referendum in Scotland.  Apparently this will be held in the autumn of 2014 and will be to decide if Scotland will remain part of the union.Many questions have been posed, such as which … Continue reading State of the Union

If you're average at something I'm sorry but it means that you’re not very good. You're certainly closer to being the worst than being the best. How so? This is because ability is not linear. In any activity there are many more people who have a lower level of skills than those with a higher … Continue reading Being average

You would think that washing machines are fairly simple things. A big drum, some water, a heater and a motor to turn it all around. Well they are not, as I found out when I had to dismantle one over the weekend.  I say I had to but it’s more like I decided to..Ours started … Continue reading The Washing Machine

A trip to IKEA is like going on a short holiday. The visit raises the expectation of foreign experiences. Even the car park is massive and airport like.  Remember to write down the area and parking space number for your return home.The first thing that greets you in the lobby is an invitation to visit … Continue reading A trip to IKEA

The problem with our form of democracy is that it is based upon physical space.  We govern by countries, regions, counties, districts, boroughs, parishes and wards.  All are marked by lines and features in a map. But places don’t vote, people do. We assume somehow that everyone trapped within the man made shapes has something … Continue reading Places don’t vote

County Durham is a big place, believe me I know. I’ve spent all day driving between the nine different buildings from which my team is working, scattered across the County. The drive from Tanfield to Crook was squally but I had the wind behind me on the way to Spennymoor. Seaham was definitely bracing and … Continue reading It’s a big place

One of my favourite books, I have several, is 'If on a Winter's Night a Traveller' (Se una notte d'inverno un viaggiatore) by Italo Calvino (1923 - 1985). Only read in English.  I can't pass a telephone ringing in a room I am passing without the book coming back to me. On the back of … Continue reading Italo Calvino

New Year’s resolutions are funny things. Every year I pretend to myself that I’m not going to fall in to the trap of trying to make myself stick to something that I have no chance of achieving. I tell everyone that I don’t do them but deep down somewhere inside, a little part of me … Continue reading Happy New Year