• What’s in a name?

    The Committe for Public Safety has an innocently protective ring to it. But, created during the French Revolution to protect the revolution from internal and external enemies, its executive powers were increased in 1793. So began the Reign of Terror administered by this dictatorial body and its brutal leader Maximilien…

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  • The Moment

    The moment when, after many yearsof hard work and a long voyageyou stand in the centre of your room,house, half-acre, square mile, island, country,knowing at last how you got there,and say, I own this. is the same moment when the trees unloosetheir soft arms around you,the birds take back their…

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  • Tranquility

    Today I decided to visit the Oxford Island nature reserve on the shore of Lough Neagh. The cycle from Lurgan took me to the nearby Marina where I stopped for coffee. The House Martins were zipping around the Discovery Centre and the lake shore where a plentiful supply of midges…

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  • Birds

    One of the unexpected benefits of lockdown was the ability to hear birdsong a lot more clearly. We live near a motorway, and the reduction in traffic levels made us acutely aware of nature’s symphony. The magpies are a noisy bunch, seagulls easily identifiable and pigeons are distinctive in their…

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  • The Fountain of Youth

    This year is a new beginning for me. I resigned from my job at Christmas and have time to concentrate on things that bring me pleasure. A slow look at the world is now possible without all the rushing about to earn a crust. Our garden is looking better than…

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  • Holyhead to Bangor

    I have enjoyed many tootles on the ebike around Belfast over the last year or so. I was more adventurous yesterday and took the bike on the train to Holyhead to follow a coastal path to Bangor. It started well, the raised esplanade wide enough for cyclists and walkers. But…

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    Gutted

    The problem with afternoon imbibing is the lack of focus. When I placed my bet for Portugal to beat Hungary 3 – 0 there was some lack of manual dexterity. I hadn’t appreciated the significance of that fumbling until the end of the game when Portugal wom 3-0. Why then…

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  • Euros 2020

    Hungary v Portugal in Budapest with a capacity crowd. Lots of drama, the dives and fouls keep coming. My score predictions yesterday were rubbish, but the wee bets make the games more interesting. A winning bet would be nice though. France v Germany might be a good game if we…

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  • Protocol

    As a smuggler of Spanish cigarettes, I am appalled at the difficulties facing those who have taken the trouble to make trade with Johnny foreigner and are then forced to forge a lot of damn fool documents in order to appease some faceless bureaucrats. Her Majesty would be horrified to…

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    Dasein

    I wish I had been there, or you should have been there are often heard about great events. Usually it was a great sporting contest, like England winning the rugby world cup in Sydney with an amazing drop goal in the dying minutes of the game. Yer man Heidegger coined…

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