Why would a sixty-one year old want to ride through town on a bright orange scooter? For two reasons, firstly to give it a go and secondly to see if it provides a good way of getting around Newcastle. Anyone who has been in Newcastle recently will have seen the Neuron scooters lined up at … Continue reading Neuron
Christmas is upon us
Image thanks to IB Times Leafing through the Sunday papers I realised how much stuff there was for sale. The supplements were filled with seemingly endless adverts for trinkets, doodads and labour saving devices. Behind each advert was a company, trying to make its way by selling its products. I have no doubt that displaying … Continue reading Christmas is upon us
Private planes
I must admit to being a bit behind the curve when it comes to COP26. The conference seemed to promise so much, with all its surrounding hype and yet I can’t get a sense of what has been achieved if anything. I know that deals have been struck around methane reduction, stopping investment in fossil … Continue reading Private planes
The Unwomanly Face of War
I read a lot, anyone who has read this blog will know that. I always have several books on the go and try to have a diverse selection of subjects and authors. Being a member of the Lit and Phil in Newcastle helps enormously and during the pandemic the amount of books I have been … Continue reading The Unwomanly Face of War
Diamond League
I’ve finally made it. It’s only taken me 2053 continuous days of practice but I have finally made it to the top of the leaderboard in Duolingo, the online language app. So that’s practicing languages every day for over five and a half years, Christmas day, New Year’s day, every day. I’ve studied Dutch, Spanish, … Continue reading Diamond League
The need to create
I thought I’d blogged about this before but checked and cannot find anything. One of the very few advantages of the pandemic has been the need to create your own entertainment. Going out among the hoards has, at times, not been an option. Holidays and their ilk were put on hold and so it was … Continue reading The need to create
A trip to the moon
Image thanks to This is Durham We went to visit the moon over the weekend, not the real one as far as we were aware though we were unable to check the sky just in case. We went to the Museum of the Moon at Durham Cathedral. According to the website, the seven metre diameter … Continue reading A trip to the moon
Feed the poor
Image thanks to Wansbeck Food Bank Foodbanks! If ever there was a sign of modern times it is the foodbank. The thought of people going hungry in one of the richest countries in the world galls me, especially the children yet I gather there are over a million of them skipping meals every day. It … Continue reading Feed the poor
Stop building roads
Image thanks to Highways England They’re widening the AI around Newcastle, from a two lane dual carriageway to three lanes. There isn’t really enough room and so I imagine they will be narrow lanes. The problem is that it will make no difference to traffic flows. I remember when the bypass was built. Before that … Continue reading Stop building roads
Vanishing Bitcoin
Image thanks to BBC A colleague of mine was lamenting the fact that he had bought 10 Bitcoin, way back in the day when they had very little value. He had lost the 40 character long password and had no paper copy. Though it’s money he never had he would have been sitting on a … Continue reading Vanishing Bitcoin
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 