Ubi caritas et amor is a Gregorian hymn. There is something about this kind of music that is very grounding, very atmospheric, reverential, peaceful and therefore focusing and clearing of the mind. My musical version of choice is the choral a cappella setting by Maurice Duruflé.Read more…
It’s politics time again in this country – a.k.a. The Battle of Whose Morals Are the Worthiest – which means it’s time to sit back and watch as generations-old biases and insults and slogans get hurled at us from all corners. Plus ça change… If,Read more…
Here is an excerpt from The Aeneid of Virgil (from the translation into English by E. Fairfax-Taylor) that caught my eye recently: It is from book 1, verses XII and XIII: XII. So spake the God and with her hest complied, And turned the massive sceptre inRead more…
iPeoiaud (n.) – generic device to be found dangling from the ears or hanging out of the pocket of some ultra-attractive alpha person, which makes the wearer feel very happy and content with their life. iPhad (n.) – trend for the latest technological electronic deviceRead more…
Google [conceived while lying in bed one night, trying – in vain – to sleep.] – with apologies to John Betjeman Whatever will rhyme with Google? There’s only the Scottish name ‘Dougal’; Why! in Scots I shall try With my words to get by, IfRead more…
I got a fright the other day as I was walking down the toiletries aisle of the supermarket looking for some girlie sanitary products. There it was, emblazoned across the shelf, in large bold type, a sign advertising: “Digital Tampons”. What?! For one scary momentRead more…
…No, not the song by Radiohead. I refer to those communication “experts” who have, for mind-baffling reasons, seen it fit to allow the virtual eradication of the comma from the written word in the English language. These days, commas in text are about as sparseRead more…
As a pedant and a lexophile, I have been increasingly troubled lately by what I see as the sad disappearance of simple words like ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Especially in the world of business. And in these humble words’ place, a new proliferation of polysyllabic verbalRead more…
