The latest astonishing(ish) brainfart to come from the Conservative Party is the re-introduction of National Service. My late father was born in July 1939, and so was in the last or second to last batch to have to do this. He always said it was a complete waste of everyone's time, and the regular army... Continue Reading →
After this, quatrains and stuff. A proper limerick is improper, imo. "There was a young man named Eenis..." and so on. Sure, there are some I cherish that are distressingly clean - but a decent lyric not only scans but is NSFW. However, we can't always get what we want, and you defo didn't want... Continue Reading →
One of the advantages middle-class people often have, and one that they are often blind to, is multiple opportunities to fail (because they goofed around/weren't quite good enough first time round etc). Obviously even in their lives there are chokepoints, but not as many, not as consequential as for people without the cushions of money/cultural... Continue Reading →
As I get older, I am learning to pace myself. Wasn't feeling 100% yesterday arvo (did Dr Termagant give me her bally cold?), so didn't go to gym. And this morning, didn't wear weighted jacket or backpack with bricks while went to feed the moorhens/ducks/swans before heading to the gym for a light-ish session. Probably... Continue Reading →
Four hours 34 minutes with weighted jacket (11ish kilos) and 2 bricks in a daypack. Also, sensibly for once, 2 litres of water consumed in hour 3. Goslings - 18-20 of the blighters, cared for in a "creche'. I will put video footage on Twitter and then link back if I remember/am asked. Podcasts (in... Continue Reading →
This morning was taking the tetrapaks to the recycling centre (presumably they are then incinerated or landfilled, but I've Done My BitTM), and listening to a podcast. Oh My. Oh My Oh My Oh MY. All the liberal handwringing. All the refusal to think about what would happen if you mashed up (as you should)... Continue Reading →
A short walk, and not in the Hindu Kush. Just to the marina and back (roughly 80 minutes). Weighted jacket and two bricks, as usual. Listened to the end of a podcast about James Baldwin (interesting comparisons with his essay "Notes of a Native Son" and Ginny Woolf's "A Room of One's Own.") Then a... Continue Reading →
For shifting lard I tend to a) overeat less b) yomp more. Fascinating, eh? Well, it's working, and more importantly I am getting to see some wildlife and listen to some podcasts. In theory I am going to blog each yomp. In reality I won't. But anyhoos, the times I do will include a) links... Continue Reading →
Just got a lovely Twitter reply - Marc. I’ve decided I’m going to get into your stuff on climate movements. Where do I start? What has worked, what doesn’t, what’s needed next. That kind of thing. Especially anything practical at city level. This request sounds lazy but I’m very time poor. Thanks! So, this is... Continue Reading →
James Baldwin was a very smart guy. For the purpose of this blog post, the key insight is from a January 1962 New York Times column, in which he wrote "not everything that can be faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced." And so on to the UK climate... Continue Reading →
