I recently had blood tests for four issues that I thought it worth checking – blood sugar levels, liver function, kidney function and PSA. After about a month I had heard nothing so I contacted the GP surgery asking about the results. Rather than offering an appointment for me to discuss the results with my […]
Why the GP Won’t See You Now Read More »
There is an old joke about a Dubliner, who is lost in the Irish countryside on his way to his cousin’s wedding. He asks a random farmer for directions. The farmer sucks in his teeth and replies: “I wouldn’t have started from here.” Britain, like the lost Irishman, is where she is. Our country in
We Are Where We Are Read More »
That the NHS at the time of writing has a waiting list for treatment of over 7 million patients is not a symptom of a failing organisation. It is actually an indicator that the organisation has failed. Any moves to address this public disaster without major change in how British people access health care are
Time to Put the NHS to Bed Read More »
Principles are funny things. When they apply to others, we tend to regard them as hard and fast rules, never to be broken; when to ourselves, more as rules of thumb, to be followed up to the point at which they conflict with our other desires. Rare is he who always does what he says
The Slippery Slope of Euthanasia Read More »
One of the characteristics of older age, is that one tends to drop being old into conversations frequently enough to force people to ask how old you are. The expectation is that when you tell them they will gasp and say “no, you can’t be. You look at least 10 years younger”, and your ego
Is Reform the Right Future for Britain? Read More »
If there exists an anchor that connects generations, surely it is the classic dad joke. Characterised by their pun-laden simplicity and eye-roll-inducing punchlines, these jokes have an unassuming charm that, when well-chosen and delivered, can elicit laughter from children, parents, and grandparents alike. Why did the man fall in the well? Because he can’t see
The anger, sense of injustice and total mistrust of anything a politician says is now manifesting itself dangerously across the nation. Perhaps the way to earth the bubbling rebellion is to come out with some policies which make sense to a cynical population. It is easy to select ten issues of burning concern to a
Is it Time for the Luddite Party? Read More »
THE EVAPORATION OF AUTHORITY (In conclusion to Part I yesterday) This unorthodox proposal about language and thinking has far more corollaries and consequences than I can touch on in this essay. Here I want to draw attention to one peculiar consequence: the gradual evaporation of authority. Authority is in essence a relationship between one person and
Madness and the Evaporation of Authority (Part II) Read More »
What is going on? We are surrounded by insanity. The Western world is riddled with irrational beliefs, absurd policies, dysfunctional organisations and fanatical advocates of monomanias in medicine, climatology, education and sexual politics. Amid this lunacy single-minded corporations are making outrageous profits regardless of the collateral damages of their actions. The mad, like the poor, are always
Madness and the Evaporation of Authority (Part I) Read More »
For many years I worked for a behavioural training company. One model we taught was Push/Pull. It focuses on the difference between pushing your ideas, wishes, etc., at people instead of persuading them to adopt your thinking. It is a simple but powerful model, and I’ll not pretend the implementation of it is easy. I
