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Social Life, Uncategorized

Action-packed Weekend

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September 16, 2018

After a very busy working week, I usually like to do as little as possible. So, a surprise 60th birthday party invitation did not immediately fill me with a sense of joy. After all, there was rugby to watch, clothes to wash and food to enjoy. I like a tagine…
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creative writing, Uncategorized

Cracking Stories – Week 1- The Project

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September 14, 2018

Dr. Dermot O’Loughlin was bored. The book he had hoped would lift his spirits had filled him with ennui. Having skip read six hundred of Rochfoucauld’s maxims he left the library in search of distractions.
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books, Uncategorized

Special Collections

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September 12, 2018

There is something charmingly ritualistic about entering the inner sanctum of Special Collections in the McClay library. You are given a key and a smart pass by the librarian and accompanied to your desk. The book(s) you requested are brought to you. The books I had asked to see were…
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creative writing, Uncategorized

Friday is story time

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September 12, 2018

I have the germ of an idea, and I hope it will be of interest to my discerning readership. Every Friday, I will publish installments of a story about…well, you’ll have to read it to find that out. I may try to stick to a word limit, but that has…
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Uncategorized, writing

New Direction for jdscribe

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September 11, 2018

I have had a couple of half-hearted efforts at becoming an entrepreneur. Customised poems, my first go at e-commerce, faded out of existence with very little resistance and even less marketing. My next attempt at an online business was a frustrating dalliance with GoDaddy’s customizable website in order to provide…
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evolution, Uncategorized

Evidence of Design

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September 9, 2018

A weekend visit to IKEA with my better half was the typical mixture of appreciation for simple, effective design and annoyance at the one-way system imposed on customers as they file through the store. The new IKEA catalogue failed to impress. There was something about the drab colours and clutter…
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economic systems, Uncategorized

Who me – shellfish?

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September 6, 2018

Yes, there are people who disagree about the merits of shellfish. I love mussels, crabs, langoustines, lobsters, sea snails (boules), prawns, oysters; in short, I cannot think of any shellfish that I would turn my nose up to. Scallops are so popular with TV chefs and restaurants hereabouts that premium…
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poets, Uncategorized

Ovid

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July 31, 2018

Homer is gripping, Plato is readable and Julius Caesar chronicles major historical events with brevity. So why don’t I get Ovid, hailed as a great classical and innovative writer of poetry? Maybe it’s the 1986 translation by A..D. Melville. here’s a taste of a new translation by David Raeburn: PROLOGUE…
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music, Uncategorized

Macca goes back to the Cavern

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July 27, 2018

Sir Paul McCartney tweeted “It was fabulous and brought back loads of beautiful memories and reminded me of where we started” after yesterday’s gig at the Cavern Club in Liverpool. Here’s one of my favourite Beatles songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney in 1967: When I’m 64 When…
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politics, Uncategorized

Tamil National Identity

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July 26, 2018

The Sri Lankan government has opposed efforts by Tamils for national recognition. This brought about 30 years of armed conflict between the government and the Tamil Tigers. Three years ago a national unity government was elected and it was hoped that reforms would address the grievances of the Tamil people…
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