Category Archives: Uncategorized

GCSE results last week.  A levels the week before.  Expectations met.  Expectations exceeded.  Hopes fulfilled.  Hopes dashed.  Futures mapped out….? I have mentioned before that one of my favourite Radio 4 programmes is The Life Scientific.  Jim Al-Khalili – the … Continue reading →

When I have won my gold medal, who am I?  Or more challenging still, perhaps, having spent four years and not got the expected medal, who am I?  Not questions that most of us have to answer.  But we all … Continue reading →

The opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics was certainly different.  Instead of taking place in a stadium, it was a continuous procession down the Seine, with teams and tableaux on barges.  In spite of the incessant rain, there were some … Continue reading →

It’s a wonderfully warm day today and I joked that I was glad that I hadn’t entered the Olympics this year.  I wouldn’t have had the energy in this heat!  Of course, you can’t self-select yourself for such a competition.  … Continue reading →

It’s peak holiday time again.  The flights to and from Manchester are just as numerous as before Covid.  This weekend some 20,000 Mallorcans protested in their main square in Palma.  As one of them put it, “We don’t want to … Continue reading →

It was the Greek philosopher Heraclitus who remarked that “ No-one ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and they are not the same person.”  We may not notice the fact, or we may … Continue reading →

“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.” (Luke 6:36) Once upon a time, in a dense forest, lived a mighty lion.  King of the jungle.  One day, after a large meal, he was taking a nap under the shade … Continue reading →

“You’ve got four jackets.” “Yes, but they’re all different – different colours match different occasions.  Two are everyday, one is lightweight and one is dark and formal.” “And the blazer?” “Yes, that makes five, I know.” That’s the kind of … Continue reading →

Human beings tend to like certainty.  We like things to be predictable.  But predictable may exclude possibilities. In writing a booklet on mental skills for young footballers (I started out life as a PE teacher) I wrote: “Football is a … Continue reading →

A friend of mine forwarded me a picture of his 5 year old grandson.  He was dressed as a cowboy and pointing a revolver at a security guard outside a Star Wars Convention.  The security guard had his hands up … Continue reading →