All posts by Keith

I’m a controversialist and catalyst, quietly enabling others to develop by providing different ideas and views of the world. Born in London in the early 1950s and initially trained as a research chemist I retired as a senior project manager after 35 years in the IT industry. Retirement is about community give-back and finding some equilibrium. Founder and Honorary Secretary of the Anthony Powell Society. Chairman of my GP's patient group.
quotes

Monthly Quotes

This month’s selection of interesting, amusing and thought-provoking quotes encountered …

There come moods when these clothes of ours are not only too irksome to wear, but are themselves indecent.
[Walt Whitman]

We had an opportunity to be the most influential country in Europe, but our very marginal decision to leave the EU, based on a combination of simple ignorance and some sort of myopic xenophobia, has weakened both this country and the whole of western Europe. Even so, Europe remains the most culturally interesting continent and the one where the finest wines in the world continue to be made …
[Charlie Boston; Understanding European Wines]

Over the past couple of decades, scientists have discovered that bones are participants in complex chemical conversations with other parts of the body, including the kidneys and the brain; fat and muscle tissue; and even the microbes in our bellies. It’s as if you suddenly found out that the studs and rafters in your house were communicating with your toaster.
[https://knowablemagazine.org/article/health-disease/2022/fun-facts-about-bones-more-just-scaffolding]

London Zoo at half-term is a cheerful cacophony with blue macaws out-screaming six-year-olds.
[Emma Beddington; https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/06/the-zoologist-sticking-her-neck-out-in-the-battle-of-the-sexes]

The majority of spiders are sexual cannibals … the big spiders in the middle of webs [are] always female; males are basically wandering useless sacks of sperm.
[Lucy Cooke; quoted by Emma Beddington at https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/mar/06/the-zoologist-sticking-her-neck-out-in-the-battle-of-the-sexes]

No one is finally dead until the ripples they cause in the world die away … The span of someone’s life is only the core of their actual existence.
[Terry Pratchett]

Always keep a bottle of Champagne in the fridge for special occasions. Sometimes the special occasion is that you’ve got a bottle of Champagne in the fridge.
[Hester Browne]

When the rich rob the poor it’s called business. When the poor fight back it’s called violence.
[unknown]

Sexuality is completely natural, however mainstream culture and society have falsely turned it into something considered to be controversial and perverse. We should never condemn, fear or distort any of the beautiful and sacred properties of Nature.
[Damien Carrion]

That’s the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it’s impossible to ever see the end. The fog is like a cage without a key.

Compassion is to have a sense of concern for others and the community. Look at today’s world—we are interdependent. We can’t think only of my nation’s interests. We have to take the whole world into account. Let us live happily together, helping each other rather than fighting.
[Dalai Lama]

current affairs

One of My Rare Forays into Current Affairs

OK, so Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe is on her way home to the UK having been released from 6 years detention in Iran. And let’s not forget that Anoosheh Ashoori has also been released and is non this way back to the UK.

Of course this is tremendous news for them and their families, at which we should rejoice.

But as always there is undoubtedly more to the story than we’re being told. So …

Q. Why are they released now?
A. Because the UK finally paid the almost £400M which Iran claimed it was owed.

Q. So why did we pay this money now, when it could have been paid years ago?
A. We now want to have friendly relations with Iran.

Q. But why would we suddenly want to be Iran’s friend?
A. Because the UK wants Western sanctions against them lifted.

Q. Why?
A. Very simply because we want their oil; oil which they currently can’t sell in the West.

You see just as with Kuwait many years ago, it all revolves around oil (and ultimately corporate greed). As Clare Short memorably remarked when Iraq invaded Kuwait many years ago: If the Kuwaitis grew carrots, no-one would care. So with Iran, my friends.

Boris Johnson needs oil (and gas) to keep the country running – to Hell with climate change – now the Russian (and Ukrainian) supply is effectively cut off.

What a cynical move, when we could (and should) have gotten them both freed years ago. Words fail me to describe my contempt for this government and its immediate predecessors.

memes, words

Ten Things: March

This year our Ten Things each month are words with particular endings. Clearly this won’t be all the words with the nominated ending, but a selection of the more interesting and/or unusual.

Ten Words ending with -id

  1. druid
  2. foetid
  3. carotenoid
  4. milkmaid
  5. camelid
  6. meteoroid
  7. apartheid
  8. colloid
  9. thyroid
  10. fibroid

Your challenge, if you choose to accept it, is to write a story in at most three sentences using all these words correctly. Post your attempt in the comments before the end of the month and there’s an e-drink for anyone who I consider succeeds.

amusements

March Quiz Questions

This year we’re beginning each month with five pub quiz style questions, with a different subject each month. They’re not difficult, but it is unlikely everyone will know all the answers, so hopefully you’ll learn something new, as well as have a bit of fun.

March Quiz Questions: General Knowledge

  1. Fielding and Chavannes, the inventors of bubble wrap, were originally trying to create what?
  2. Who or what are Rouge Croix, Rouge Dragon, Portcullis and Bluemantle?
  3. Three private (ie. non-state owned) companies in the world each employ over 1 million people. Name one of them.
  4. How is the clock in the Elizabeth Tower (aka Big Ben) of the Houses of Parliament regulated?
  5. Who patented the first automobile?

Answers will be posted in 3 weeks time.

amusements, personal

Unblogged February

Tue 1 Like the first of every month, a day full of tedious admin: household, literary society, patient group … It just multiplies.
Wed 2 Good grief! My chilli plants are still producing a few fruit. Picked 5 today. But they’ll get pruned back later this month so they can put up new growth and hopefully a good crop for a third summer.
Thu 3 Successfully bid for another picture at our local auction house. It’s the brother of one I already have, so really wanted, and I was surprised to get it as cheaply as I did.
Fri 4 Why do jobs always take 10 times longer than they should. A 15 minute update to a website this afternoon took over 4 hours of endlessly fiddling around. And that was just one of 10 things I was supposed to do in that time. Hello weekend – NOT!
Sat 5 So intent on slogging away at website updates this afternoon, I didn’t realise how cold I was – absolutely frozen. Unusually for me I needed a thick sweater to warm up.
Sun 6 Rain lashing down and a gale blowing all night. Wet when I went to bed, and still wet when I got up at 07:15. Awoken, of course, by a drowned Boy cat arriving at 06:15. Still, up early meant lots done.
Mon 7 Went to collect the painting I bought last week at our local auction house. First time going somewhere non-medical in almost 2 years!
The crocuses and the alder catkins are coming out, in lovely Spring-like sunshine.
Tue 8 Discovered why one of our tubs of bulbs had fallen from its position to lie on its side on the lawn below. The trail camera shows Mr Fox jumping up on it from below, making it topple over the edge. Exit Mr Fox in haste.
Wed 9 BookReceived an interesting-looking new book in the mail: Understanding European Wines by Charlie Boston. I don’t know the author, but I do know the guy who’s written an introduction about Anthony Powell and Wine. It goes straight to the top of Mount TBR.
Thu 10 Lovely trip to the dentist this morning. An hour in the chair for crown prep, but no impressions as they now have a wizzy machine which does scans instead. Sad that as I opted for a gold crown, I won’t get to see the scans printed as a crown onsite: gold has to go to the lab.
Fri 11 Actually managed to do a bit of family history today for the first time in ages. And here’s an interesting problem: my half-aunt wants a printed chart of the family line back as far as I have it. This runs to 28 sheets of A4 (14×2) so will be about 3×0.5 metres! How best to do it?
Sat 12 Family history curiosity of the day. May 1563 in Cranbrook, Kent; marriage between Reynolde Madisson and Frysweed Webb. Then in the same church in June 1626; marriage between William Unicombe and Regenerat Weekes. (Sadly none are mine.)
Sun 13 Sunday lunch of cold leftover chicken & chickpea curry sandwiches. The curry maybe even better than it was hot last night. Plus an improved loaf thanks to the new bread machine (the old one has retired after almost 10 years!).
Mon 14 How is this our 44th Valentine’s Day together? Our first (1979) was really cold; like 5cm of ice even on major roads, but the buses were still running. We were at my parents and still managed to go out (by bus) to a fantastic local restaurant: Blunk’s in Waltham Abbey (now long gone). The meal cost £50 (almost a week’s take-home) for the 2 of us!
Tue 15 Dear God! How much more rain can the garden take? We’ll soon be swimming in mud; the continual parade of muddy paws suggests the cats already are.
Wed 16 Hosted the second evening talk for the literary society. An immensely interesting talk from Nick Birns which was well attended. An hour easily turned into an hour and a half.
Thu 17 Great fun after dinner: we decided to strip down the old bread machine for recycling. Two of us and one hour to produce a carrier bag of metal/electrical parts and one of plastic parts; plus hundreds of screws; and a bonus cut finger from the brittle, heat-stressed plastic.
Fri 18 We’ve not had wind like this since the Great Storm of October 1987. The Gods have obviously forgotten about the effect of beans and Jerusalem artichokes.
Sat 19 I’ve been far too lax during the pandemic about wearing my hearing aids around home. So I’m making a concerted effort to get used to wearing them during the day. Let’s see if I can keep it up.
Sun 20 The bloody Winter Olympics are over, thank the gods! They’re not intended to be, but all Olympics have become a nauseating festival of global corruption and willy-waving.
Mon 21 What’s this? The third storm in a week? And not even any snow? Now come on, this just isn’t playing the game, even for winter in London.
Tue 22 Early evening meeting. Why are they always across food time? And how much longer can they resist meeting in person, which still worries me witless.
Wed 23 Lamb Shank & Fennel Casserole with Garlic Bread for dinner. I also cooked Chicken & Mushroom Pie (with homemade shortcrust pastry!), so we have that (cold) for tomorrow.
Thu 24 To the dentist (the only reason I didn’t have toasted garlic bread for breakfast) to get my new piece of gold mouth jewellery. Then spent a chunk of the afternoon picking oakum: demolishing some cotton string to make bird nesting material.
Fri 25 Arrggghhhh!!!!! No supermarket delivery due to IT issues. Have had to rebook it for tomorrow. Now tell me why we have a full freezer.
Sat 26 Finally got the supermarket delivery this afternoon. The the logic (or incompetence) of the pickers continues to astonish me. This week we were short 2 bunches of daffodils; but gained 1 fennel (3 rather than 2) and 3 tubes of tomato paste (8 rather than 5). OK we win but that’s a hard way to make a profit.
Sun 27 Found an error in my family tree: Elizabeth Cotton, wife of Stephen Marshall (right name; wrong identity). Stephen (born c.1763) is currently the furthest I can get my paternal line; I know where he logically fits but I don’t have the evidence, and the records seem not to exist. I now know Elizabeth Cotton’s name, but no details.
Mon 28 Absolutely no go, either mental or physical, today despite a reasonable night. So, yet again, little got done – and none of the things I’d planned.
environment, history, links, medical, natural history, science

Monthly Links

Here are my monthly links to items you may have missed, but didn’t know you didn’t want to.

Science, Technology, Natural World

Despite extensive studies, scientists still can’t agree on Chernobyl’s impact on wildlife. [LONG READ]

Try putting your ear to the ground … scientists are discovering that life in the soil is unexpectedly noisy. [LONG READ]

So can melting permafrost release ancient pathogenic microbes? [£££££]

It seems that magpies care! They’ve outwitted scientists by helping each other remove tracking devices.

But an even bigger problem … Do birds have language, at least in a way we would recognise? [LONG READ]

Finally in this section … a very short piece on the curiosities that are Britain’s pipefish.

Health, Medicine

A very worrying look at how the GP’s job has changed in the last 30 years. [LONG READ]

Researchers are discovering that bones are a lot more than bits of scaffolding.

How does what you eat affect your sleep, and vice versa?

What happens when depression collides with the menopause and perimenopause? [LONG READ]

Oh dear! Apparently everything we thought we knew about posture is wrong. [LONG READ] [£££££]

At last some good news … Apparently dark chocolate (at least in moderation) is good for your health, and for the microbiome.

Sexuality

So here’s a relationship therapist on how to have better sex.

Environment

Cranes were reintroduced to Britain in the late 1970s, and now they’ve had their best year for 400 years.

History, Archaeology, Anthropology

A fossil of a large pterosaur has been found on the Isle of Skye.

Recent research is suggesting that the meteor which killed off the dinosaurs fell to Earth in the Spring.

Palaeontologists are coming to the conclusion that the extinction of the Neanderthals was not caused by the brutal domination of Homo sapiens.

Remains of woolly mammoth, and some other Ice Age remains have been found in Devon.

Some important prehistoric chalk sculptures, thought to be childhood artefacts, have been uncovered in Yorkshire.

Trousers are one of those wonders of civilisation in that their construction is not overtly simple or logical. So it’s astonishing that the oldest known “pants” seem to have originated in Asia, and a pair is survived around 3000 years. And the weaving is absolutely amazing.

Back at home, Museum of London archaeologists have found an 8m Roman mosaic floor in Southwark, just south of the Thames.

Here’s our favourite Medieval Historian on the power and influence of women in medieval times. [LONG READ]

Still with the medieval, researchers have found what appears to be the earliest known account of ball lightning in England, dating from 1195.

London

Just one London item this month … the Museum of London will close this December for 4 years, while it moves to its new home in the old Smithfield Market.

Lifestyle, Personal Development, Beliefs

And finally in this issue … British Naturism has, again, pointed out that it is not illegal to go naked in your back garden, and that it is not a matter for the police.

amusements

Christmas Amusement Answers

Back on Christmas Day I posted a link to the 2021-22 King William’s College General Knowledge Paper.

The Guardian have today published the official answers at https://www.theguardian.com/games/2022/feb/27/the-king-williams-college-quiz-2021-the-answers.

No I’ve no idea how well I did – except it’s guaranteed to be badly – as I consigned my answer sheet to the recycling a couple of weeks ago. Anyways round you probably did better!

current affairs, medical

Why are GPs Leaving the NHS?

Dr Clare GeradaEarlier this week there was a long read article in the Guardian by Dr Clare Gerada, a senior GP and former chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners. In the article Dr Gerada draws on her own experience to show how the GP’s role has changed in the last 30 years. No wonder the NHS is haemorrhaging GPs because it is not a pretty tale.

“In my 30 years as a GP, the profession has been horribly eroded”

We should be very worried, because we are clearly not getting the healthcare most of us would want, or expect.

amusements, music

February Quiz Answers

OK, so here are the answers to this month’s quiz questions. All should be able to be easily verified online.

February Quiz Questions: Music

  1. Which Renaissance composer wrote a madrigal entitled El Grillo? Josquin des Prez
  2. What was the name of the band formed by Jack Bruce, Eric Clapton & Ginger Baker? Cream
  3. Who composed a piano piece called the Golliwogg’s Cakewalk? Debussy
  4. Part of which Christopher Smart work was set to music by Benjamin Britten? Jubilate Agno
  5. Which astronomer is name-dropped in Bohemian Rhapsody? Galileo

Answers were correct when questions were compiled in late 2021.