Category Archives: opinion

Suddenly I’m totally incensed. But only in a good way

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Suddenly I’m totally incensed. But only in a good way | Comment is free | The Observer

Miranda Sawyer, writing in her column in The Observer today, confesses she is finding a new perspective on life by attending church with her young son. In the final paragraph she allows the idea that there may be something more to challenge the routine of everyday life.

I dont want to leave everyday life entirely – I like everyday life – but the niggly specifics of it can mean you spend your time fussing over the detail rather than considering the bigger picture. Its nice to stop microscoping and, instead, spend some time pondering other people, charity, the world, old stories. To silence the minds circular chatter about deadlines and whos taking the kid to the childminder and have we got any milk and whither mortgage rates, and open it to the possibility that living might be about something more.

Bully pulpit — On baiting of the Clergy

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Bishop Alan’s Blog: Bully pulpit — On baiting of the Clergy

An interesting piece about bullying in the church. There’s an article in the Church Times too. I can’t help but feel that we’re in sad times when congregations and clergy need protection from each other through guidelines and the threat of legal action. While these things raise awareness and positive action can be valuable in reducing incidents, legal action is never a route to resolution – just division, bitterness and even  retribution.

O! His dad is a patent lawyer

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BBC NEWS | UK | Youngest inventor patents broom
A five-year-old boy is thought to be the UKs youngest person to patent an idea after inventing a labour-saving broom to help his father sweep leaves.
Sam Houghton, of Buxton, Derbyshire, was just three when he came up with a double-headed broom to collect large debris and fine dust simultaneously.
After passing the rigorous patenting process, his idea is now protected from anyone who might copy it.

I heard this story on 5Live this morning. The boy was apparently only 3 when he invented the broom.  Amazing. Then I heard that his father is an expert in patent law. At that point the story lost something. Am I just being cynical?

Waugh at the BBC: the most ill-natured interview ever

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The most ill-natured interview ever on CD after 55 years | guardian.co.uk

Evelyn Waugh

He was a novelist known for his quick and cruel wit, his wide-eyed opinions and his indifference about saying the shocking. So a BBC Home Service programme called Frankly Speaking in which Evelyn Waugh is quizzed by three abrasive questioners was never going to be a walk in the country. Today what was later described as the most ill-natured interview ever broadcast can be heard for the first time since 1953.

This is more like an inquisition than a radio interview. I have no idea why three professional broadcasters should subject him to such an inane line of questioning. It reminds me of some disastrous job interviews I’ve endured. Perhaps Waugh was unwittingly being lined up for a job at the Beeb rather than for a broadcast. At least his sense of humour didn’t desert him.

Asked what failings in others he could most readily excuse Waugh replies quickly: “Drunkenness.” Any others? “Em [long pause] … anger. Lust. Dishonouring their father and mother. Coveting their neighbours ox, ass, wife. Killing. I think there’s almost nothing I can’t excuse except perhaps worshipping graven images. That seems to be idiotic.”

Nestlé Jettisons Rowntree Name

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Nestlé Jettisons Rowntree Name (from York Press)
A MAJOR link with York’s past has been severed with news that Nestlé is all but abandoning the Rowntree name.

Rowntrees factory, York

Almost 20 years after it acquired Rowntree, the company has revealed its Nestlé Rowntree confectionery division will now trade under the name Nestlé Confectionery (UK).

This huge international company may leave the name off their letterheads and factory signs, but it will take a bigger operator than Nestlé to remove the legacy of Rowntrees from York. The work that this family did contributed significantly to modern social science. Today the Joseph Rowntree Foundation still funds significant research into social issues.

Kit Kat Snack

As far as I am concerned the Kit Kat will always be a Rowntree snack. It’s still the world’s most popular chocolate bar and I eat far too many of them!