Looking at the world through a clearer lens...

Eyedrops – my life for the next six weeks

I woke up yesterday morning and could see.

No, not a divine miracle, but a result of expert surgery and it’s only one eye so far. The other one will be sorted out in a fortnight’s time. (Update 10 October: Second eye done and […]

Let's hear it for 'shades of grey'

No, not Fifty Shades, but something a long, long way away from that.

Since 2016, I’ve seen a marked decrease in rationality, the lessening of the desire to examine and discuss and disagree in a civilised way, and for that to have become the norm.

‘Polarisation’ used to apply to the nutters at the far […]

Strange business, Christmas

Christmas tree 2017

It’s Christmas Eve morning and I’ve had my croissant and pain au chocolat. We normally have much healthier muesli, but as we bought a boxful of butter laden pastry morning goods for the visitors, why not raid one or two?

No sign of life from the visitors – they probably […]

Achieving the private/public balance of being an author

Is an author who publishes books, by whatever route, entitled to a fully private life? Yes, and no.

Publishing a work – fiction, non-fiction, academic – makes that work and its author’s name available to the public. A fiction writer may use a pseudonym, of course. Readers will read the work – let’s call it […]

Sexual harassment - a perspective

This is going to get me into trouble, but I’m trying to find perspective.

It’s obvious that bullying – sexual, emotional, mental, physical or other – is wrong. Violent bullying, abuse or rape is criminal and punishable by law – rightly so. But the problem is not just about non-consensual sex; that’s the way feelings […]