The cracks are starting to show…

“Share this to show you’re willing to listen”. “It’s good to talk”. “My Door’s always open.”. Positive in intent, posts like these abound on Facebook and other forms of Social Media, designed to promote awareness of mental health issues. Amongst men, misguided testosterone-fuelled bombast often muddies these waters with trite nonsense like “Stiff upper lip”, “Grow a pair”, “Man up” – cliched and old-fashioned attitudes that can make men feel inhibited when it comes to sharing their feelings and talking about mental health issues.Read More

The “Happy Nostalgia” of rediscovered musical taste!

Memory is a funny thing isn’t it? I have an ability to recall things and recount their details (an enjoyable movie scene or who said what in a conversation for example), that a friend of mine referred to as semi-eidetic memory. However, my wife and I can pull up outside our local grocery store, she’ll ask me to go inside and grab a few things, and I’ll forget one or more of them! Similarly, nostalgia. Recalling things from times gone by very fondly…yet I don’t recall liking them at the time! Case in point – music.

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A worthy cause, but in a COVID-19 world?

George Floyd’s 25th May 2020 death was an abhorrent example of racism towards African Americans in the USA. Although it already existed, it helped the #blacklivesmatter movement spread, with protests against racism across the world. I don’t condone the rioting and looting that has accompanied a lot of that in the USA, although I understand the anger that has motivated it and empathise with the genuine causes. Racism has no place in a modern civilised society.

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The end of the (Amber) Road

The few (!) changes on my CV over the years have occasionally made me feel a little self-conscious, especially when it’s examined by recruiters or interviewers. The same concern on my behalf has also come from older family members, a generation more often blessed with job longevity. The case for the defence is as follows, your honour:

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Special place(s)

I recently started considering childhood memories and / or memories of my own children when they were younger for blog subject inspiration. I used one of my own schoolboy memories for my last post, recalling writing a piece in response to extracts from Milton poetry during my English Literature A Level. The whole process got me thinking about “writing in response to…” as a means of kick-starting the creative muse. A worthwhile exercise, given that this blog is random in its subject matter as driven by said muse!

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The toxicity of the Brexit debate

Debates and arguments see people all loudly shouting over one another to champion their own point of view. These often calm down amidst a sea of reasoned argument, presentation of facts and compromise to varying degrees, with even the most aggrieved parties shelving their resentment (or certainly being less vocal about them). With regards to the UK debate on ‘Brexit’ and leaving the EU, the utter refusal of many people to even listen to anything that contradicts their own opinions, both opposing argument or cold hard facts, has seen the debate become a hideously toxic mess.

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Advice for bloggers: Grammar, spelling & punctuation ARE important!

I recently joined a number of blogging groups on Facebook. My own blog isn’t commercial or filled with affiliate links, so joining those groups wasn’t flagrant self-promotion (!) but was simply a desire to get better at blogging. To see the efforts of others, to share, to advise. To receive advice and feedback, and invite opinion on topics covered in blog articles if I choose to share them with this now wider audience. One thing that leapt out at me however, as part of an exercise on one group when we all invited to share a link to a post and comment on / share links shared by others: Spelling, grammar and punctuation!

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Why write a blog?

“Blogging forces you to teach yourself what you don’t know and to articulate what you do…you are forced to organise your thoughts…”

Michael B Fishbein, The Huffington Post 2014

For some time now, I’ve had it in my mind to write a blog post about why one could or should write a blog. That’s not because I feel some sort of urge to magnanimously share information, nor is it to impose my opinion on that subject on others. It’s not even because I’ve been asked by several people, each for their own reasons (and with varying degrees of hostility!), why I do it. Blogs are all so different; general news blogs, tech reviews, fans of a movie / TV show, cooks sharing recipes, even attempts to influence government policy and campaign on particular issues. The list is endless! Equally so, there are a variety of reasons one could cite for writing them, and the benefits for both writer and reader.

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Shaken but restored!

To paraphrase Forrest Gump, life is indeed like a box of chocolates – we don’t know what we’re going to get. It is full of variety, the human factor being the ultimate randomiser. In theory therefore, we should be prepared for this variety, good or bad. That doesn’t alter the fact that things happening which are unexpected, or that do not fit into some form of perceived “norm”, feel downright odd or just plain upsetting!

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Offenc(e)(ive) etiquette!

It’s now very common to hear people say, ‘I’m rather offended by that.’ As if that gives them certain rights. It’s actually nothing more… than a whine. ‘I find that offensive.’ It has no meaning; it has no purpose; it has no reason to be respected as a phrase. ‘I am offended by that.’ Well, so fucking what.”

[I saw hate in a graveyard — Stephen Fry, The Guardian, 5 June 2005]

I recall reading that Stephen Fry quote for the first time (quite recently, despite it’s age) and smiling. The man almost always makes me smile whenever I read or see one of his erudite quips. There’s a degree of envy on my part I think, about the particularly articulate nature of his intelligence and humour.

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