The master at playing dead — Pogo on the stairs. There’s a ball in that cavernous mouth somewhere. The home phone call last week, while on holiday, wasn’t entirely unexpected. Situations, minor or otherwise, rarely go unreported. Today it was Pogo’s turn. Not so minor. He couldn’t or wouldn’t get up. …

Why did I stop? — Cycling holiday in France I was trying to work out the other day when I last slept in my trailer tent and what happened to end that pastime? My memory had been assaulted by a bright, tangerine coloured sleeping bag, dumped on the hall floor, before it magically vanished again…

It’s far more helpful than cannabis — Photo by Esteban Lopez on Unsplash Occasionally, I read something which really excites. My first reaction on discovering the history and super-plant properties of hemp (sometimes called industrial hemp) was to wonder why we’re not growing it everywhere? Hemp and cannabis plants are the same species, but legally hemp only…

Will innovation be enough? — Photo by Jason Blackeye on Unsplash Last week I introduced the thoughts of four journalists from The Economist and their live discussion about climate change and the role of technology. …

Are we really greening the grid? — Energy giant RWE operates a coal-fired power station, as well as wind turbines in North-Rhine Westphalia Last week I joined The Economist’s talk on climate technology given by four of their journalists. …

James Webb telescope, broadcasting 12th July — Courtesy of the European Space Agency (ESA) The James Webb space telescope (JWST — named after a NASA admin bod) has been described as a time machine by many scientists. It will be hunting out life-supporting planets in our own galaxy as well as studying the universe shortly after the…

Can anything change us? — Happisburgh near Norwich, courtesy of NationalWorld For those who have been reading my weekly missives for a while, thank you. You may have also noticed a recent trend, focus drawn more to climate change. …

Does it change our behaviour? — Lachlan Gowen, Unsplash I joined Ealing Golf Club for three reasons. The greens are wonderful, there was a locker for my clubs and I could get there via the Central Line from Notting Hill. Then the pandemic arrived. Once a new reality returned, I decided to rent an electric car…

Shame on you? — Photo by Richard Cartmell on Unsplash My first foreign holiday was to Salou on the Costa Dorada in Spain. I was 9 years old, least that’s my best guess when I look at the black and white photograph descending the steps of our plane onto the hot tarmac of Barcelona…