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Alliums ahoy! Some striking white ones in the Orchard in Grantchester on Friday afternoon. Quote of the Day “Computers are useless. They can only give you answers.” Picasso Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Louis Armstrong | What A Wonderful World Link The BBC put on a wonderful — and moving — celebration of David Attenborough’s 100th birth in the Albert Hall on Friday night, which ended with a recording of him reading the lyrics of this song against a backdrop of clips from his…
Out of office? Cambridge in the Summer? Quote of the Day ”Holy Mother we do believe, That without sin Thou didst conceive; May we now in Thee believing, Also sin without conceiving.” A.P. Herbert My late mother, a very devout Catholic, would not have been amused. ## Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Haydn | Cello Concerto No. 1 in C Major | II. Adagio | Yo-Yo Ma Link Long Read of the Day The Myth of the Informed Citizen Nicholas Carr is one of the best communicators of our age.…
Iris surveillance These crept up on us in our front garden. We went to the Lake District for a week and when we arrived what should we find but these show-offs. Quote of the Day “The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” Isaac Asimov The problem seems to have got worse over the years since he made the observation! Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Joan Armatrading | Love And Affection Link Long Read of the Day A…
Refractive Jellyfish One of the most enigmatic photographs I’ve ever taken. It looks as though someone’s monocle has fallen on the sand. But it’s just a jellyfish. Taken on a beach in March 2012. Quote of the Day ”Familiarity breeds contempt, but without a little familiarity it’s impossible to breed anything.” Noël Coward Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Vivaldi | Nulla in mundo pax sincera | RV r630 | Marie Lys, soprano Link Music for a May morning. Long Read of the Day How…
Conkers Hitherto, it had never occurred to me that Chestnut trees might be interesting at this time of year. Until yesterday. Quote of the Day ”This damp little shambles of a democracy on the edge of the Western world”. Nuala Ó’Faolain on her (and my) native land, which is currently a bit of shambles. Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Mozart | Giunse alfin il momento…Deh vieni non tardar |Marriage of Figaro | Regula Mühlemann Link Long Read of the Day The King, the Queen, and the…
Sheepishly Our nearest neighbour in the Lake District, photographed shortly before we left for home. Herdwicks (which are native to the Lakes) are such beautiful animals. Quote of the Day ”It is discouraging how many people are shocked by honesty and how few by deceit.” Noël Coward Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Lord Inchquin Link One of my favourite Irish airs. Long Read of the Day When Decentralization Fails This essay by Alex Chalmers is a long, long read, but in a way…
No mist without fire? I know, it looks like smoke, but it’s really an early morning mist. Quote of the Day ”I always want to say to people who want to be rich and famous: ‘Try being rich first.’ See if that doesn’t cover most of it. There’s not much downside to being rich, other than paying taxes and having your relatives ask you for money. But when you become famous, you end up with a 24-hour job. . . . The only good thing about fame is that I’ve gotten out of a couple of speeding tickets.…
The Doll’s House Yesterday we walked to Hill Top House, the rural retreat of the writer Beatrix Potter, whose books were a staple of my childrens’ early lives. It’s an interesting and evocative place and though I’d been there once (after the pandemic) I thought it’d be nice to revisit, not least because of the huge (and beneficial) impact she had on the Lake District (where we’re on holiday). Her house is now maintained by the National Trust (to which she bequeathed it) and is kept as it was…
The view from here We’re in the Lake District for a few days, and a bit off its beaten tracks. Bliss! Quote of the Day ”The quiet truth about AI is that it doesn’t replace the thing that was hard. It replaces the thing that was slow.” Joost Boer He’s right. And that has implications that tech companies (and governments) are busy trying to ignore. Ralph Vaughan Williams | The Lake in the Mountains Link Seemed appropriate for the tranquillity all around us here. Long Read of the Day Austerity…
Zoombini A photograph of the most remarkable and intelligent cat I’ve ever known, taken in 2012. She died five years ago, and I miss her still. Quote of the Day ”A perfect martini should be made by filling a glass with gin then waving it in the general direction of Italy.” Noel Coward Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Bach | Cello Suite 1 | Pablo Casals Link Long Read of the Day You Are Not a Function If, like me, you think that universities are heading into deep trouble, then…
Regime change This Private Eye cover made my day. Quote of the Day ”What is the difference between a Nazi and a dog? The Nazi lifts his arm.” Viktor Borge Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Clannad | Tá’ … Continue reading →
The enduring fascination of Harry Potter Every time I pass through King’s Cross I am reminded of it. Must be wonderful to be an author who made such an impact on people. ## Quote of the Day ”The secret to … Continue reading →
No such thing as a free lunch Seen on a street in Brighton in March 2012. Quote of the Day ”Reality has no sense of plot, timing or strategy. It just goes on.” Jack Watling in Statecraft: The New Rules … Continue reading →
Stairway to… … who knows… Quote of the Day ”No solution to the problem of poverty is so effective as providing income to the poor. Whether in the form of food, housing, health services, education or money, income is an … Continue reading →
On reflection… Quote of the Day ”Courage is a banal consequence of a lack of imagination”. André Malraux Vintage example of French cynicism. Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Paul Desmond and the Dave Brubeck Quartet | Take Five … Continue reading →
Tulip Mania These amazing multi-coloured tulips which suddenly appeared in our garden a couple of years ago, give one a hint of why the Dutch went mad about the bulbs in the mid-1600s. Quote of the Day ”The modern conservative … Continue reading →
An orchid by any other name… … is still an Orchid. Seen on a windowsill in College. Quote of the Day ”Most people would sooner die than think; in fact, they do so.” Bertrand Russell Musical alternative to the morning’s … Continue reading →
Figures on a beach You have to squint to see the people. I love the limitless skies and huge beaches of North Norfolk. This is Brancaster. Quote of the Day “America has a choice. We can have great wealth in … Continue reading →
Perfect symmetry The Gibbs building, King’s College, Cambridge. It was in a room in the building that the famous confrontation between Ludwig Wittgenstein and Karl Popper at a meeting of the Moral Science club in October 1946 took place. The … Continue reading →
Big Mac In — of all places — Venice! A pre-Trump example of American ’soft power’? Quote of the Day ”Power, in a nutshell, is the ability to get things done, and politics is the ability to decide which things … Continue reading →
Blossoming Seen on a walk on Saturday. Quote of the Day ”I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong.” Bertrand Russell Musical alternative to the morning’s radio news Sonny Boy Williamson and the Yardbirds | Pontiac … Continue reading →
Megalithic Sunrise Sunrise at Stonehenge on Friday, 20th. I wasn’t there but my friend, Keryn Jalli, was, and took the photograph. Quote of the Day ”Faced with the choice between changing one’s mind and proving that there is no need … Continue reading →
O Magnolia! This tree takes me by surprise every spring. I went searching to see who else has felt ambushed by it. Claude came up with Robert Lowell, who wrote of “blossoms on our magnolia that ignite the morning with … Continue reading →
Crooked Timber The trunk of an old tree in the Library court of my college. It looks as if it had been wrung out by a Goliath doing to it what we do to wet towels. But it always reminds … Continue reading →
