A Study In Scarlet Facsimile Edition
Beeton’s Christmas Annual 1887, A Study In Scarlet
Contains the first appearance of Sherlock Holmes in print exactly as it first appeared. With colour advertisements and further stories, this is an affordable facsimile of the “world’s most expensive magazine”, for just £15!
“A perfect addition to the Sherlockian’s shelf”
Category Archives: Opinion
Are we entering the New Dark Ages?
Today, I compare the fall of Rome and the rise of what used to be called the Dark Ages, and what’s going on in Europe today, to see if there are parallels and if we can understand our modern age … Continue reading
Disruption, Farage, Brexit – and the Winchester Gallop
Brexit has many historical precedents, all of them bloody, writes Matt Wingett. When royal wannabe Harold Godwinson was blown off course and shipwrecked on the coast of Northern France, that disaster was bad for him, but very good for William … Continue reading
Snow encounters
Sometimes when the cold grips the town it grips my heart, too, and I feel the need to get out in the snow and walk. Just so in winter’s late flowering yesterday, when I headed out in a flurry of … Continue reading
Posted in Opinion
Tagged alzheimer's, canoe lake, depression, homeless, rose garden, snow, southsea
6 Comments
Observations in Paris 1: A Trump Voter
Met a Trump voter in Paris. She was actually really an intelligent woman, which surprised me, because, I admit, I’ve built a stereotype of racist rednecks full of bigotry and hate being solely responsible for Trump’s rise to power. She … Continue reading
The Death of a Bookshop – Blackwell’s Portsmouth
Sadly, after much imploring, petitioning and dissent among university and townsfolk alike, today sees the closure of Blackwell’s University Bookshop, Portsmouth. The shop has been the most extraordinary hub, with writers launching numerous books here, academics and townsfolk alike mingling … Continue reading
The strangeness of creatures 3: elephant kindness
Another example of the conscious behaviour of animals – these elephants are excited and keen to offer succour to a new orphaned elephant. This is not explicable except in terms of awareness of others and their feelings. WATCH: I … Continue reading
The strangeness of creatures: 2
Part of my continuation of arguing for consciousness in animals – here we have a rabbit brawl broken up by two hens. Argue that in non-conscious terms. Ugly bunny fracas is swiftly broken up by the chicken police. pic.twitter.com/kTxMODYsGa — … Continue reading
Wonder Woman – three themes that made me cry
SPOILER ALERT: This blog discusses plot points and scenes within the movie Wonder Woman. Okay, so it’s pretty slushy to admit to crying at watching a superhero movie. They never normally get me like that… but Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman … Continue reading
Posted in Inspirations, Opinion, Writing
Tagged DC Comics, Gal Gadot, Hippolyta, Movie, Steve Trevor, Themiscyra, Wonder Woman
Leave a comment
Wonder Woman – The movie and why it is great.
I just got back from the early morning showing of Wonder Woman, and I’m crushed. It wasn’t just the brilliant visuals or the well-paced and intelligently thought-through secret origins story. Nor was it only the extreme attention to period detail … Continue reading
The strangeness of creatures: 1
Strange video footage. As more and more footage of animals performing in apparently ritualistic ways and showing a degree of sophistication appears, it becomes more and more likely that the notion animals are not conscious will be jettisoned, like former concepts … Continue reading
Posted in Inspirations, Opinion
Tagged animal consciousness, dead cats, mysteries, turkeys
Leave a comment