odespinner

Where would you be guaranteed snow this Christmas? Scandinavia?  Of course, they had snow in October. Bur somebody came to Oslo and nicked it all. We are going there to investigate. Stocking up on bo duty-free booze is a high priority. Dinner with an old friend and his family is…

A sleeping giant is stretched out over Divis Mountain. He has been stuck with tall masts like acupuncture needles that flash red into the night sky. A warning to smaller beings not to disturb the sleeping giant,

When first I heard Tom Waits his music was the backdrop to my life in turmoil. Closing Time was the album that calmed me, inspired me to love again and will always be music that stirs my emotions. Rain Dogs, a grittier album with a growly voice tells stories that…

If rules are there to be broken, does that make breaking them an act of conformity? Delia inspired another banana cake this morning. This time I pretty much followed her recipe The ingredients I didn’t have were the orange and lemon for their zest. Luckily, I had some satsumas that…

Camus held the view that a person with integrity will always do the right thing, so rules are unnecessary. But how can we know what is right without weighing the evidence. Does integrity imply infallibility? I think Camus’ point is that conventional behaviour does not equal correct behaviour. The norms…

Less than a month to go and the signs are there. People are moving quicker, the eye contact is problematic and the attempts at joie de vivre are not terribly convincing.   What to do, what to do? Give up trying to fake it. If you are not feeling festive,…

There is far too little respect for a person’s need for private time or space. The consensus view is that we must all muck in together because that path leads to shared happiness and conviviality. Whenever the social behaviour police are doing their rounds make sure that you are wearing…

As a part-time supporter of Chelsea, my admiration for Jose Mourinho is tempered by the fact that he made a right hash of the Manu Manager’s job. OK, maybe he had one hand tied behind his back in the battle to restore the fortunes of one of the greatest English…

A person with integrity works with the same honesty and good moral values in any environment. Albert Camus’ quote “Integrity has no need of rules” underlines the notion that a person with integrity will behave rightly because it is right, rather than because it conforms to a standard of behaviour. Discuss… Are there really universal and…

Denis Diderot may not be known to many people, but he is one of my heroes. A cheeky philosopher at the onset of radical thinking in France, he was fearless about publishing a grand opus, the Encylopedie. This was a work that to all outward appearances was a source of…