My Dad died. It happened in 2022, long after my Mother had gone. In the final few years, he lived with my sister. He remained remarkable fit until he was 90, then he gradually died, always good humoured, until he final passed away aged 94. He had a good life. This blog is my tribute […]
Archive | Life
I had a stroke
I have a good excuse for the hiatus in this blog. Firstly, my Dad went and died. Not a great surprise (he was 94 years old), but he was my loyalest fan. He thought this blog was great. Then I had a stroke, which sounds alarming, and for a while, it was. Mainly, “a stroke” […]
What’s going on?
One of the most memorable features of 2016 was a continuous cacophony of intolerance and raw aggression. Our most pressing task for 2017 is to find a distinctive voice of militant tolerance and decency. It is a bit of a challenge, but it must be done. Stridency appears to have infected public debate of all […]
The last blog of 2016
As befits a curmudgeonly older man, I tut a lot about Christmas decorations going up before the cricket season is over. I object loudly for months about the intrusions of the winter festival of excess. When Christmas eventually arrives, I enjoy it. Sharing good food and drink with people you care about is an irresistible […]
Walls come tumbling down
A long time ago, I was a militant junior doctor. I qualified too late to have anything to do with the 1975 junior doctors’ strike, but for several years I was involved in representing junior doctors in various ways. We campaigned to reduce onerous hours-of-work throughout my time in medical politics. One weekend, we arranged […]
If you stand up to a bully, they are very likely to hit you
Bullying is in the news a lot these days. Two recent examples: A few weeks ago, Labour MPs who voted for the bombing of Syria complained that constituency party members had threatened to deselect them, that they had received abusive messages and that they were being bullied. There is an appalling allegation of Conservative Party […]
Bandipur blues again
We have been in Karnataka for more than three weeks now, and we fly home after the weekend. Dr Tony Ryan has joined us, bringing his usual energy and drive. We are struggling to find time to hold all of the meetings and visits that we need, which seems ridiculous in the context of such […]
Parisian aftermath, Mysuru Saturday 14th November 2015
Countless people across the world ate a sombre breakfast today as they received news of the murderous attacks in Paris. In Mysuru, we were no different. Deaths by violence are tragic wherever they occur. I dislike the fact that my reaction to the machine gun attacks in Paris is different to my reaction to suicide […]
It’s enough to make you cry
The hapless Sir Tim Hunt FRS, Nobel laureate and important scientific dude, is currently attracting support from a range of senior scientists. They feel that he has been victimised by a baying Twitter mob following some crass comments about female scientists. No one likes to see somebody hounded, but the fact is that his comments […]
Life
When I was young, old people had a certain mature dignity. They had been through the Second World War. They didn’t talk about it or, if they did, they construed it as one huge apocalyptic party and sing-song. Women still wore the fashions of the 1940s. Men had oiled short back and sides, topped off […]