I don't remember things as easily as I used to. I could have shrugged and accepted the loss. Instead I decided to do something about it. So here are some simple tricks I use which make my memory feel more focussed. I'm not claiming any scientific basis to this. I find these tricks useful. Your … Continue reading Top memory tips for old gits
This hotel room has been painted over with emulsion so many times that it seems to be smaller than it ought to be. I meet Jim in the breakfast room. We eat, then drive to a car park below the mountain. We put on our boots and climb gently for an hour or so. Leaning … Continue reading Elidir
My dictionary suggests that asshole means a stupid or vulgar person. But that doesn't capture the current usage. An asshole is a person who puts their own interests ahead of the people around them. Assholes push into queues, threaten you if you call them out, perv on vulnerable people, take up three seats on a … Continue reading How (not) to be an asshole
On Sunday I read a pile of story books to my grandson G, aged 3½. Here are my reviews of four of them. Moose and Mouse by Colin West This book owes much to Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Lobel and Fred and Ted's Road Trip by Peter Eastman (both of which are … Continue reading Moose and Mouse and other Children’s books – some reviews
I used to hate dogs. When I was small they would bark at me and chase me. Across the street there was a German Shepherd which lived behind a sign that said Beware Of The Dog. It barked viciously and was reputed to have bitten several people. I was terrified of this dog. It weighed … Continue reading Dogs are human too
There's a photo showing me in my early 30s on an island in the middle of a lake, with my two sons, aged about 3 and 4. The sun is shining and we all look happy. I look young, fit, and slim. The photo gave me a feeling of envy; I wished I could be … Continue reading Self envy
The cops are after you The car is battered And parts keep dropping off But you drive on In the end the car collapses In a steaming heap of wreckage The cops handcuff you The game is over But not until that moment Until then you drive on The old man would say to me … Continue reading Drive on
Polite people don't talk about money. It's vulgar. But right from the start, Bob made it clear how rich he was. I know a few people with money and I'm used to them talking about amounts that I could never hope to have as if they are small change. But Bob was the master at … Continue reading The true story of Bob
Dear Dominic You and I got into a discussion about the abuse of the word literally. I suggested that you look at something I wrote about learning language by osmosis. Language is what people speak, I suggested, not what the rules say. You didn't see it that way. You made an analogy with shopping: [...] … Continue reading A letter to a would-be King Cnut of language
The word teach makes me cringe. It suggests an asymmetric power relationship in which the teacher's pronouncements are by definition true. The students' opinions are not relevant. There's also an idea that the students may be tested later to show that they can echo what has been taught. Disagreement with the curriculum is not … Continue reading Show, don’t teach
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