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When I first read the headline on the news website, my immediate reaction was “Don’t tell me the bleeding obvious!”. I can’t recall the...

Recently, one of my in-laws announced that he and his wife had decided that when they died, they would not have a funeral, since they were..

No, really.  We won’t even say “it’s bound to be better than last year”.  Last year was OK, as years go, and whilst we all suffer from...

Among my childhood baubles, one item stood out: a shellac 78 rpm record of Enrico Caruso singing ‘La donna è mobile’ from Verdi’s ‘Rigoletto

High value crops are sprayed excessively in North Sumatra, damaging beneficial insects and reducing biodiversity. Mark Twain is a fine...

What’s racist about discussing the likely colour of your grandchild’s or niece’s skin, if the unborn child be the product of the union...

Stoker seems to have developed a minor obsession with water works; the Editor thinks it’s a sign of the passing years. More though...

In 1973 I was one of group of aspiring British diplomats undergoing the Foreign Office selection process.  For one exercise we were...

My training to become a research scientist was lengthy, frustrating and absorbing. The future after getting my PhD in 1981 was uncertain...

Two months ago, my 8-year-old niece, who is living with us, looked up from her iPad and told me that she had received 2,000 views on a...