Almost half a century has passed since Watergate first entered public consciousness. The name quickly became synonymous with political scandal and has since spawned a spate of ‘-gate’ suffixes for anything from minor parish council peccadillos to serious breaches of […]
Category: Social Commentary
No man will tether time nor tide, literally speaking.
Promise you! I’m literally going to cut my throat if I see that word again. Oh dear, I just have, Excuse me while I go and look for my grandpa’s cut-throat razor… Fortunately, I couldn’t find it and I’m still […]
How proofreading ruins everything
The longer I worked in the writing trade, the more familiar I became with the processes of editing. From taking the first blush of an idea through each phase of creative development to final print requires dedication – to theme, […]
Taking the black beast by the horns
Although Black Ram whisky features prominently in my diet, a black beast is seldom far away. (Bête noire to the uninitiated). Sometimes these beasts run rampant and rival their bullish counterparts at the annual encierro in Spain’s Pamplona. Tonne, icon, […]
The best of all possible worlds?
All’s for the best in the best of all possible worlds. (orig: Tout est pour le mieux dans le meilleur des mondes possibles). This was the maxim of Dr. Pangloss in Voltaire’s political satire, Candide. Whatever misfortune befell, Dr. Pangloss […]
Be just and fear not
I’m becoming increasingly aware of “Just saying…” being tagged on at the end of online comments, emails, and contributions to letters pages. What does it mean? Surely what has been said is self-evident so why does the writer feel the […]
Crock and top role – as oldies vie for US presidency
‘Ageism’ has become as toxic as racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and all the other dangerous -isms that are pitfalls for the unwary and politically incorrect. Perhaps that’s why a unique aspect of the US presidential election has gone largely unremarked. No […]
Playing it safe
As directed, I avoided breathing the vapours. I chose to risk the less preferred option of a well ventilated area indoors; the recommended option, outdoors, was ruled out by heavy precipitation. I did not smoke. (This was easy for me, […]
Trying to catch the wind – and succeeding, all too well
Carbon emissions are invariably highlighted as the major culprit in climate change, but there is another contributor – possibly even more damaging – that has been overlooked almost completely. For decades, long before climate change became such a dominant global […]
Containing the waste line…
One of the best known quotations from the advertising and marketing business goes along the lines: “Half my expenditure is wasted. Trouble is, I don’t know which half.” Depending which side of the Atlantic you’re on, it’s attributed to US […]