Author: simongardner344

Darken our Lightness

Under The Stars: A Journey into Light By Matt Gaw (2020, Elliott & Thompson) Walking in the Dark Matt Gaw is a writer and naturalist whose fascination with darkness leads him to seek out experiences of being outside at night. In Under The Stars he is inspired to write by taking walks in the moonlight,… Continue reading Darken our Lightness

Arguing with teabags

I only wanted a fruit tea, not a transcendent experience In the Old Days (think black-and-white 405 lines TV) PG Tips never tried to sell us a lifestyle, unless it was the prospect of the chaos of a chimps’ tea party. But increasingly the groceries are trying to make me a better person. Don’t get… Continue reading Arguing with teabags

Other Worlds

A History of Delusions: The Glass King, a Substitute Husband and a Walking Corpse by Victoria Shepherd (2022, Oneworld Publications) Distorted Mirrors A book of famous case histories of delusional individuals, could so easily become a distasteful sideshow, like visiting a Hall of Mirrors, or paying your penny to gawp at the inmates in Bedlam.… Continue reading Other Worlds

Reaching for the sky

The Comet Sweeper: Caroline Hershel’s Astronomical Ambition by Claire Brock (Icon Books, 2007) Caroline Hershel’s reputation has long been in the shadow of her brother William, who was the discoverer of Uranus and first president of The Astronomical Society of London (which later became the Royal Astronomical Society). She is rightly portrayed as the utterly… Continue reading Reaching for the sky

When I was Ten

Jump to it! Your World of Adventure – in Living Colour! I am writing this on my eldest grandson’s 10th birthday. What was I doing when I was ten? One thing I am certain of: I was reading Tell Me Why magazine, which may be the source of most of the general knowledge that I… Continue reading When I was Ten

Icons of Ideas

“… not caring about understanding the Second Law of Thermodynamics is equivalent to someone boasting that they have never read anything by Shakespeare.”