The Queen’s Gambit
Chess players, mathematicians, physicists, scientists, etc are not automatons; mechanical, calculating machines devoid of any creativity but in fact, they are supremely alert to creative possibilities.
Abolish the Welsh Assembly!
There is a solution that will benefit the people of Wales immensely – that solution lies in the past. It is a Wales without the Welsh Assembly! Is that a backwards step? Not in the slightest.
Book Bites: “Voices from the Rust Belt” by Anne Trubek (ed)
The book poses some new questions for us as we now see that there are consequences to the hollowing out of American industries and cities.
Infrapenny Infrastructure
The relics of disused Victorian railway lines scattered across the landscape attest to a creative spark that demanded progress and bore no sentimentality, a recognition that reaching the future required risk, demolition, casualties.
Down and out in Paris and London by George Orwell.
It’s a great book for telling us about Europe between the wars; but also because of what can it tell us about today, in particular homelessness?
Risk and the construction industry
Understandably, Health and Safety has been a major concern for workers, unions and health and safety organisations for many years. However, in the age of coronavirus there is a growing perception that all jobs must be “safe”.
Casinovirus
The joy of gambling – the bit that is missed by the puritans – is that it is a social activity. Gambling by yourself on a mobile phone has its appeal, but it is no replacement for having a bet with others.
Down and Out in Manchester
“Homelessness is a problem all around the world. Through my lens and this mini-series of images, I wanted to expose a human situation that is both local and global; human and troubling”. – Zhu Runzi
Chernobyl Fallout
The virus thrives on the essential elements of social life, such as the need to socialise, the importance of proximity, or the desire to comfort. To defeat the virus, we are told that we have to become reclusive.
Stay safe but remain sceptical
Regardless of the UK government’s twelfth-hour assurance that these new powers will be reviewed every six months, a potentially worrying precedent may have already been set.
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