Governments have a strange tendency to use ‘economy’ as a synonym of ‘society’. They talk about protecting the economy as if it is the only measure of a people. It is not. The governments of small countries line up behind more powerful countries because they want to protect the economy ie the money. Politicians want…
“Smile!” they chirp, plastic grins on plastic faces Cheery demands to friends, colleagues, complete strangers Cheesy humour, blasé assumptions “It’s not that bad! It might not happen! Smile! Come on, smile!” Smile? What for? What makes you think your greeting card jolly will help What goes through your head? Do you really believe Your perky…
It happened again A man is killed by the authorities one of many, latest in a long and shameful line Arrested for a minor offence killed for the colour of his skin and finally the people have had enough. It starts and swells like an avalanche gathering momentum as it sweeps down a mountain sometimes…
It’s an inconvenience mostly sometimes it’s a real joke And at the end of it all we don’t want to hear it don’t want to know shut our eyes and put our fingers in our ears and pretend it isn’t happening ‘Hey!’ we shout ‘Why don’t you smile? Why don’t you get a life,…
When I wrote my poem ‘Make a Wish’ last week, it got me thinking about the different traditions of wish making, and I thought it might be interesting to look at a few of those, including where they happen and their origins, if known. Wishing Trees can be found in many parts of the world.…
The world knows that my country is currently being devastated by severe fires, beyond what has been experienced before. Man-made climate change seems responsible – temperatures are getting hotter and hotter, much of the country has been in prolonged drought, so the bush is ready and waiting to burn at a single spark. Millions of…
There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is…
The idea of so-called prosperity preaching within the Christian Church is not as new as you might imagine. It started to creep into church teaching in the USA as far back as late nineteenth to early twentieth century. The basic idea is as follows: God will bless those who have faith in a material way,…
When I was young, as a filler between longer shows one of the stations would play short animated shows, with episodes usually five to ten minutes in length. There were some absolute classics to be found in this way. These shows were extremely funny, and I would recommend them highly. The Red and the Blue…
This is the lucky country but lucky for who lucky if you’re born in the right place affluence and influence then you can have the right education make the right contacts and enter the right employment work hard and up you go aren’t you lucky Lucky that you’ve never wondered how to pay the…
Eclectic Assemblage 