Have you ever opened a kitchen drawer, or cupboard, and wondered what some of the items in there actually do? We know about the ice-cream scoop and, possibly, the melon baller, you might even recognise an old-fashioned potato peeler. What about that odd thing with cog wheels and what looks like the winding key forContinue reading “Never mind Inspector Gadget we’ve all got gadgets at home”
Category Archives: My blog
From innocence to sexual predators in one fell swoop
It is amazingly simple to make a giant leap from a fairly mundane chat about songs from the 60s and 70s to suddenly find yourself in a discussion about paedophiles. I’m not suggesting this was a chat over a pint in a pub. I’m not even sure that people discuss pop songs and paedophilia inContinue reading “From innocence to sexual predators in one fell swoop”
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
by Robert Louis Stevenson Published by Penguin Classics We all know the horror story of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, well a lot of us know the story of the kind and gentle doctor and the evil counterpart. You can see it now, a man takes a drink of a potion which bubbles and glowsContinue reading “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde”
What goes around comes around – especially spectacles
There are certain things in our lives that are important, yet we only think about them if someone else comments on them. A classic example is glasses, or spectacles if you prefer. When you first get them you notice how they press on the bridge of your nose, or how they lie along your ears.Continue reading “What goes around comes around – especially spectacles”
Ding dong the Bells had the literary world in a muddle
In 1847 three books were published by authors with the surname Bell. There was Currer Bell, Acton Bell and Ellis Bell. Literary stalwarts, reviewers and those in the publishing world immediately smelled a rat, but they were on the wrong track. They suspected the books were all written by one person – a man. WhatContinue reading “Ding dong the Bells had the literary world in a muddle”
Even the man on a Clapham omnibus could understand these basic instructions
You never know what you’ll find on an instruction sheet when you buy a gadget. Once upon a time it would identify the component parts and explain what each part did. If it was made in the UK it would have assembly instructions (if it needed assembling) and operating instructions. These would be written inContinue reading “Even the man on a Clapham omnibus could understand these basic instructions”
From home phones to mystery emails – grifters keep trying
Why do scam artists (actually that’s an insult to real artists, sorry Vincent, Renè, Michelangelo, Pablo, Salvador et al) think that anyone over 70 is as dumb as Trump, and you’d need to get close to the bottom of the IQ ladder before you’d find a candidate, and an easy mark for a grifter. FiveContinue reading “From home phones to mystery emails – grifters keep trying”
Blame those responsible not the NHS front line workers
We all know the National Health Service is under tremendous strain. Staff shortages; not enough time for GPs to spend with patients; hospitals having to leave new patients on trollies because there are not enough beds on the wards. Who is to blame for all this? In fact that should be who is responsible forContinue reading “Blame those responsible not the NHS front line workers”
Pick a puzzle to keep a sound mind in a not-so-sound body
There’s nothing like a good puzzle to keep your mind active – over the years I’ve tried them all: crosswords; wordsearch; Sudoko; even a GCHQ quiz book and that modern phenomenon Wordle. The best of them all, however, is the puzzle to end all puzzles – the jigsaw. I remember as a little child havingContinue reading “Pick a puzzle to keep a sound mind in a not-so-sound body”
Don’t judge a book by its cover, or a TV show by a snippet
Once upon a time the only real way to discover when new programmes were being broadcast was either by buying the weekly Radio Times (which included BBC TV programmes as well as ITV programmes); or buy a daily newspaper which had all TV listings. If a new programme was being introduced you had to relyContinue reading “Don’t judge a book by its cover, or a TV show by a snippet”
Robin's Nest 