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Showing posts from January, 2013

Morals, Conscience and Hypocrisy - where do we draw the line ?

A discussion on a writer's forum has me thinking. A comment I  made appears to be at odds with a number of views, so here I state my case.  I think that attending a religious funeral, singing hymns and praying whilst having no religious beliefs yourself, is acting hypocritically. I would feel a hypocrite by attending a religious funeral where my own beliefs were different to the general belief of the deceased and the other attenders - whether that was Christian, Muslim, Humanist, Creationist, Hindu or any other religion that has a name to it. I was brought up within the beliefs and attitudes of the Methodist Church. My father was a local preacher and played  the organ for weddings, funerals, christenings and Sunday services from around the age of twenty. He wrote and illustrated books on Methodism and the history of his local circuit. My mother I was brought up within the beliefs and attitudes of the Methodist Church. My father was a local preacher and played the organ for wed

Clearout or Waste ?

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I started this post yesterday and today it’s in the news that as much as half of the world's food, around two billion tonnes worth is wasted. It's maybe coincidence (or one of those 'being drawn to things' scenarios) but it's relevant anyway. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers said "the waste is being caused by poor storage, strict sell-by dates, bulk offers and consumer fussiness". The study also found that up to 30% of vegetables in the UK were not harvested because of their physical appearance. The institution's Dr Tim Fox said the level of waste was "staggering". World Food Waste  I’ve just done the biennial food cupboard clean out. I say biennial as I just can’t remember whether I did one this time last year or not but based on the ‘best before’ dates of more than one item, it seems as though if I did, I didn’t do it very well. In world food statistics I don't suppose my thrown out food plays a very big part but I

Another Year -Let's hope it's a good one.

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I've waited till today 2nd January, to write a blog about and in, this new year of 2013. Not because I haven't any thoughts about anything - for a change, lately - but because I wanted to refrain from using all those more than well used phrases like "it's that time of year again" and "standing on the threshold" and "new beginnings" and all that stuff. There's been more than enough reviews of the old year in the media too over the last couple of weeks. The 100 best songs, books, films, tv progs, plays, E readers, Smart phones etc. Just name something and it will be in a list of "best ofs" I can guarantee. Then there's the lists of "famous" people who have died, and notifications of ones soon to be born. It's natural I suppose to want to put the last 12 months to the back of our minds are rally forth with predictions, expectations and hopes for this next year. Mankind as a whole surely can not afford to contin