What a fascinating book ‘The Divided Self’ by RD Laing is. It is perhaps not the kind of book I would normally pick up but it was lying around and it is quite thin. I would urge anyone who has any interest in the workings of humanity to give it a go. Why? Because the … Continue reading The Divided Self
We’re no basket case
It seems to be a bit of a sport these days to paint the North East as a bit of a difficult area, with the differing authorities at logger heads and each secretly scheming up plans at the others’ expense yet this is a picture that is far from true. Yes, we do have our … Continue reading We’re no basket case
Getting to be number one
I haven’t written about Andy Murray for a while. There are many things I haven’t written about but I do have form on this one. I first mentioned him back in October 2014 and he has made an infrequent yet regular appearance ever since. Now I know he is a bit Marmite. Some people for … Continue reading Getting to be number one
Will we ever lose our love affair with the car?
I am writing this while making my way to work on public transport. I have had to leave the car at home as I am wanting to have a couple of drinks later as one of the team is leaving. It is a journey by train and bus and will take me about twice as … Continue reading Will we ever lose our love affair with the car?
An oasis
There is a small oasis in our local tip. Morpeth's waste recycling centre has been transformed into an Eden, a paradise on earth. Among the metal skips and lumbering vehicles, among the ephemera and detritus of our modern lives there lies a pair of small gardens. Someone, I assume it is one of the people … Continue reading An oasis
The writer’s craft
It was a very Morpeth affair at the Autumn Authors Evening at the Chantry. There we were, upstairs amongst the bagpipes, a group of grey haired, mostly white, mostly retired upright citizens of our small and I am afraid to say, provincial town. Provincial is a word I don’t like but in this case it … Continue reading The writer’s craft
This is the well we drink from
Now don’t get me wrong, I am not condoning either of the activities that I am going to talk about in this blog but rather want to use them to highlight how funny people are. We are fickle and apply different rules depending upon the situation. We then go on to justify how right … Continue reading This is the well we drink from
Why I wear my poppy
There was a time when I didn’t wear a poppy around Armistice Day. I felt that it was a glorification of war but as I have got older my feelings have changed. I always now wear one at this time of year. I wear it for two reasons. Firstly, it reminds me of the many … Continue reading Why I wear my poppy
Reflections on Aberfan
Some days I have to really squeeze my head to think of something to write and on others I have too much to say. Today was one of those days. I would have liked to blog about this on Friday but had the piece on Dynamites the previous night to post while it was still … Continue reading Reflections on Aberfan
Private money vs public money
When I worked in the private sector money was easier to come by, or at least it seemed to be so. I never used to worry about expenses as such. If I needed to buy some petrol I would stop at the nearest service station. Hang the price. If I wanted to meet up with … Continue reading Private money vs public money
Thoughts from a Guerrilla Worker 