Perfect freedom
Perfect freedom DM 30th August 2025 There’s an interesting verse in the final Book of the Bible on the topic of heaven. In speaking about the city to come, it says, “On no day will its gates ever be shut”, with this reason attached, “for there will be no night there.” I’m not sure that […]
Faint praise
Faint praise DM 23rd August 2025 I knew that the smallest bone in the human body was located in the ear. In high-school biology, we called it the stirrup, but its anatomical name is stapes. And I knew that it was a clever bone, and critical to the function of hearing. But I’d never heard […]
The Wigtown Whistler
The Wigtown Whistler DM 16th August 2025 In a diary by the proprietor of The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland, irritating patrons are named and shamed, and I have just been convicted for the innocent crime of whistling. “Sadly this type… is a man (it is always a man) who is so blissfully ignorant of the […]
Patience with progress (& vice versa)
Patience with progress (& vice versa) DM 9th August 2025 A recent article in the Australian Geographic tackled the hot topic of fingernail growth, which admittedly, was rather nail-biting stuff! How fast do they grow? Answer: Slower than a snail. Slower even than a glacier; but faster than your toenails apparently. One tenth of a […]
Shelter
Shelter DM 2nd August 2025 You can find the story on youtube and meet the central characters – Theodore Malgorne the lighthouse-keeper and Jean Guichard the photographer. Just type in ‘La Jument Lighthouse’ and voila, the story will appear. In 1989, during a huge storm off the coast of Brittany, Jean Guichard chartered a helicopter […]
Botany 101
Botany 101 DM 26th July 2025 I walked past the sandstone memorial today to mark the life of Joseph Banks, the first European botanist to put foot on Australian soil. Apart from the contested political question, it must have been a pretty exciting moment for him to encounter the largess of new leaves and plethora […]
The Father’s Estate
The Father’s Estate DM 12th July 2025 My son is getting married soon, and one of his friends, who owns a winery, has generously offered to supply some cases of his best reds and whites. I hope it’s not too good, otherwise the question of whether there’s enough will raise its awkward head. At least […]
The bargain
The bargain DM 5th July 2025 There’s a smile that never fails to amuse me. It regularly appears on Antiques Roadshow every time someone, who submits a treasured heirloom from their great aunt’s estate for appraisal, is told by the expert the estimated price. And then it appears. Words are said, “Gosh! I didn’t think […]
Oranges and lemons
Oranges and lemons DM 28th June 2025 Whoever composed the rhyme, “Oranges and lemons, the bells of St Clements” was a cheat! Lemons and Clements are not perfect rhyming words, if one properly enunciates their ‘t’s. Not only that, but the London church referred to in the rhyme is actually St Clement Danes, and so […]
Vasovagal
Vasovagal DM 21st June 2025 What a sook! Fancy fainting getting a simple blood test. It wasn’t the sight of blood. I never look. It wasn’t the fear of needles. It wasn’t that the blood-nurse looked like Count Dracula’s niece. I’m not sure what happened, until I woke up on the floor with people asking […]