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I’m reading 2001 a Space Odyssey again.  It is such a great book, with complex themes and an enthralling story but written in an easy and engaging style.  I had seen the film when it first came out, long before I had read the book and to be honest Stanley Kubrick’s depiction was way beyond … Continue reading 2001

A three hour trip through the archipelago seemed like a long time but the weather was fine, the seas were calm and the day stretched out before us.  Even by eight in the morning there was a long queue of day trippers on the quayside with blankets and picnics and newspapers in hand, waiting to … Continue reading A trip to Finnhamn

It was that time that no homeowner ever wants to contemplate, the time that we all put off for as long as possible.  It was time to empty out the garage.  The garage - a space attached to the house with the original purpose of protecting the one and only car that the family possessed … Continue reading So much stuff

I’d left my jacket in the hall.  My favourite jacket, left behind above where my shoes had been and now we were on the coach, making our way to the airport.  We were far too far away to go back, there was not enough time.  I had reminded myself not to forget it.  I’d left … Continue reading Left behind

They know what they are doing those blue bottles you know. They hover around your neighbourhood on the lookout for open windows and doors through which they can come in and annoy you. That's their purpose in life. It's a game they play because they know you can't bear the buzzing and fussing.  They love … Continue reading Blue bottles

Most people understand the concept of demand in terms of defining service delivery but just in case according to Wikipedia ‘The term demand signifies the ability or the willingness to buy a particular commodity at a given point of time’.  Demand is taken to mean the pull of product or service by the customer or … Continue reading Two types of demand

I hadn’t been on my bike for a long time, perhaps eighteen months or so, ever since I had suffered from kidney stones.  The doctor had said that exercise might unsettle the stones and so it was a good reason not to do anything strenuous but that was just an excuse because really I was … Continue reading Getting back on my bicycle

Stockholm must be one of the most beautiful cities in the world although I confess to not being that well travelled and so cannot be absolutely certain.  It is its location that is so stunning, built on a dozen or so islands at the edge of the Baltic Sea but with thousands of other islands … Continue reading Stockholm

I don’t know who they are but they’re responsible for so much that goes on around here. I hear it all the time. They’ve only gone and done this or they’ve only gone and done that. I don’t know what they do either but they seem to have their fingers in so many pies, they … Continue reading Who are they?

He had the wrong shoes to be a chief executive.   They were black but matt black and flexible.  They weren’t a sturdy pair of brogues or a pair of Oxfords, polished and buffed with shiny toe caps.  They didn’t have laces tied in double bows over a pair of strong feet in black socks.  Instead … Continue reading Wrong shoes