Practical Thoughts

Dear Reader, To see a World in a Grain of Sand And a Heaven in a Wild Flower,  Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand  And Eternity in an hour. - William Blake. Well, it may depend on which kind of sand granule. This week we have had, of course, the world-wide demonstration by schoolchildren and others against the slow-shoe-shuffle performance of the Establishment in getting its act together about Climate Change. But the call to action by those who are to inherit the Earth has not come early enough; it should really have been voiced 10 or more years ago to trigger a strong change of thinking and action then , not now at the 11th hour. To those involved in the front-line, it was perfectly clear back then what was evolving, and also to those that had (even as onlookers) studied the situation over the preceding 50 years. But world governments had long mastered the art of keeping people away from the truth, and people don't like to change their habits, nor ...

Dear Reader, Despite having lived away from my birthplace (Birmingham, UK) for half of my 75 years, I still have a strong sense of the history and development of the place. In fact, my interest in it has increased in the decade and more since I returned here, mainly because I have had a lot more time to research Birmingham's history more thoroughly. I have to say, though, that over 60 years I have had the privilege and enjoyment of utilising three generations' worth of Birmingham Central Library facilities, now called the Library of Birmingham. Our forefathers deserve a huge "thank you" for their foresight in caring to provide this magnificent free facility over 150 years ago. It has only got better as time has passed. On the matter of care, one of the most important points that I discovered  more recently is  that whereas the north of England - particularly Manchester - became famed for the virtual enslavement of its workers during the 19th century following th...