Picture by Becca McChaffie, Unsplash WITHOUT fanfare my local M&S has today reopened its ground floor clothing, cosmetics and sundry items section. No shouty newspaper or TV campaigns. Almost a whisper; a soft opening as similar cautious events are described. Yet hardly had the doors slid open to provide access to its Food Hall than the other racks of non-essentials were being perused; busy fingers sorting through outerwear and underwear, items being fondled and considered. Lines were forming at the check-out counters. It was not yet nine-o’clock on a chilly and blustery morning but buyers and sellers were already in full… Continue reading
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AS the world rushes hither and thither to conquer one virus, another, almost as pervasive and pernicious within its own realm, is rapidly spreading unchecked. The virus of click-bait journalism is devaluing words, dragging them down to bargain basement level and beyond. Words are losing their value quicker than sterling’s… Continue reading
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The lexicographers are working overtime. New words are being coined, reviewed and added to dictionaries worldwide almost daily. It seems there’s nothing like disasters and pandemics to send the spin doctors into a frenzy of creativity as they try to find ways of cloaking and minimising what is actually happening. Continue reading
For once I can use the phrase “a true page turner” with utter conviction. And happily add the clumsier “unputdownable”. This novel fully merits both descriptions. And though I am not one of those speed readers who can zip through a book in a single session, I was close to… Continue reading
via Hot drinks in bed: I’ll not drink to that… Continue reading
"The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner" has hitherto been a joy, a positive. It has now become a negative. Continue reading