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Continue reading →: Football – but not as we know it
The Italians are behind their football team every bit as much as the English are supporting theirs. Calcio, as football, is called in Italian, is a word that has its origins in a game played in Florence in the 16th century. This year’s games have been postponed until September when…
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Continue reading →: Bike stuff
I booked my ebike in for it’s first service since buying it from Halfords about a year ago. Belfast Bicycle Workshop (owned by Austin) have been looking after my bikes for the last twenty years. Their service is excellent and they take the time to discuss any issues or options…
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Continue reading →: Euphoria
On June 11th English people had low expectations of their national football team and it’s manager Some holiday plans had been cancelled and working from home was losing its appeal. Then we made it out of the group stage and beat Germany 2-0. We began to believe that this time,…
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Continue reading →: Music theory and practice
I sang in the choir at my Primary School and at Junior School until my voice broke. My parents paid for music lessons, yet I never learnt how to read music. I had a good memory for tunes and bluffed my way through new Psalms, Hymns and Choral works. I…
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Continue reading →: Balls
The joy to be had chasing spherical objects is exquisite. Watching people skilled in ball control is a more leisurely pursuit, particularly in the summer months when laziness becomes an art form. At Wimbledon the grunting efforts of top tennis players may be watched by crowds lounging on Henman Hill…
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Continue reading →: The international situation is intensifying
Recent news reports show the world’s superpowers flexing their muscles. China has warned foreign powers not to interfere in China’s affairs or “they will have their heads bashed against a great wall of steel”. This cartoon went viral in China: Vladimir Putin has imprisoned his political rival, Alexei Nivalny. Iran’s…
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Continue reading →: National Identity
Where you come from can instil feelings of pride in the traditions and culture associated with the land of your birth. When the land of your birth has been conquered and colonised, the indigenous people might well retain grievances and the hope that the colonial power will relinquish their dominance.…
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Continue reading →: 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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Continue reading →: 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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Continue reading →: 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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