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  • Soccer fever pitch

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    Sat in a local bar blissfully unaware that the hoops have a match against Motherwell I made my way to the Gents. The goal and the accompanying excitement made me aware of this fixture. Football gives its fans an outlet for their emotions like nothing else. A missed shot on…

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  • Six Nations

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    More in hope than in expectation sums up my betting strategy. Ireland outclassed Wales and England were put to the sword by Scotland in Edinburgh. In today’s match between France and Italy I have picked another longshot France to score a try in the first 10 minutes, lead at halftime…

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  • Bear trap

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    Russian dictator, Vladimir Putin, is finally free of his main opponent. A man whose name he refused to say publicly. A man who exposed the extent of corruption at the heart of the Kremlin. Alexei Navalny Alexei Navalny

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  • Neighbourhood

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    When I am trying to study I go in search of cafés or bars because at home I can always find something to do apart from study. Today I found an interesting café called Neighbourhood in the Cathedral Quarter of Belfast. They have some unusual items on their menu, including…

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  • What is science?

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    Karl Popper, a famous philosopher of science, addressed that question by examining what is not science and is what he called ‘pseudo-science’. Marxism, astrology and Freud’s theories about the mind were all ‘pseudo-science’ according to Popper. He held the view that science was neither empirical nor inductive. Scientific knowledge is…

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  • Green eggs

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    Dr Seuss had a point, until you’ve tried green eggs you don’t know what you’re missing, Instead of ham I had a delicious sausage to go with my eggs on sourdough. The Pocket restaurant is a hidden gem in central Belfast. Great service and tasty food.

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  • Work avoidance

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    I don’t feel comfortable with deadlines or scheduled tasks. It’s a bit like kicking against the pricks… pointless. Retirement has given me opportunities to do stuff that I wasn’t inclined to do when I was working. I say working but I never conformed to that model of corporate fidelity. I…

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  • Sovereignty

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    Western super powers were reluctant to give up their colonies. Great Britain had painted the globe pink with the extent of its empire and finally marched its armies out of India and other golden geese to retain them in the British Commonwealth and keep them as allies. The consequences of…

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  • Putin’s murdered opponents

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    Machiavelli would have been proud of Vladimir Putin’s ruthless use of power. Those who have dared to criticise his regime risked death or imprisonment. Having failed to kill Alexei Navalny, Putin’s harshest critic, using the nerve agent Novichok, they sentenced him to imprisonment in a penal colony in the North…

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  • The weeds are winning

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    There was a time when we were more on top of things, particularly gardening. We have a small front garden with a square of grass and bushy plants up to the low metal fence. At the back of the house the ground slopes gradually down to the wooden fencing. We…

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