Open Writing

Chaser

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 08:02:00 +0000

Tina Trivett's brief poem is a plea for a life-change.

You Are Not Alone - Even If You Wish To Be

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:28:00 +0000

...Recently, I heard two iconic statements that pinpoint what I am saying. The first was a phone call, in which the caller said, �Oh! I just wanted to leave a message. I didn�t actually want to speak to you.� The other was a response to an announcement that the tolls on a major highway were being automated for those who purchased a transponder. �That�s great,� the person said. �Now we won�t have to interact with the toll collectors!�...

Columnist John Merchant thinks that the trend to seek isolation in American society is increasing.

Eee, By Gum

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 12:02:00 +0000

"When my 3-year-old daughter innocently came out with a good, strong, �Damn it!� after her doll fell out of its pram, I resolved to replace all swear words with other words that could, as easily, become habitual, but be totally harmless when uttered in public,'' writes Isabel Bradley.

National Trust's Best February Half-Term Events

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:44:00 +0000

Phil Harper invites you to enjoy getting out of the house after the long winter and discover family adventures throughout the first school holiday of 2012.

Ashes And The Earth

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 10:02:00 +0000

Hariharan Balakrishnan's poem emphasises the ephemeral nature of life.

Keith Richards Meets Mick Jagger

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:02:00 +0000

The letter below was written by eighteen-year-old Keith Richards to his Aunt Patty. It came to light in 2009 and had not been read by anyone outside the family prior to the recent release of his autobiography. In it, he describes meeting Mick Jagger in 1961. Almost immediately, they were regularly hanging out and "trying to learn how to do it." They went on to worldwide fame as the founding members of The Rolling Stones

facing the mirror

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:02:00 +0000

Val Yule's poem forces us to face our own nature.

Screen Reading v. Paper Surface Reading.

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:12:00 +0000

Dan Bloom brings news that MRI brain imaging lab is to study differences in screen-reading, paper-surface reading.

Dan is a freelance writer based in Taiwan. His hunch that reading on paper is superior in terms of brain chemistry to reading off screens has yet to be proven or dismissed, but he hopes future reserach using fMRi and PET scans
will help explain the differences in terms of neuroscience.

The Art Of Fielding

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 12:02:00 +0000

Columnist and librarian Greg Hill enjoys a new novel about a tremendously talented college baseball player who strives for perfection. The story weaves in Herman Melville, contemporary college life, and, according to the New York Times, �the Human Condition.�

World's Oldest Columnist

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:44:00 +0000

Eric Shackle introduces us to 99-year-old Harriette B. Leidich of North Bennington, Vermont, the world's oldest columnist.

The True Cost Of Fish

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:02:00 +0000

Dermott Ryder tells of a song commemorating a great sea disaster.

38 - Morning Prayer

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:02:00 +0000

"One of the first things I learned in school was the value that teachers obviously put on daily prayer. You could actually be asked to leave the room if you chose to cut-up during Morning Prayer. Had a boy committed such an offense twice, I rather imagined he might be asked to leave the planet!'' writes Ron Pataky, continuing his autobiography.

The Esm� Years - 6

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 09:02:00 +0000

...Family members in despair often relinquish interest in the stranger who no longer recognises them, and whose memory of their years of love, intimacy, and common pursuits has been plundered by unseen hands that erases the marks of their unique personalities just as completely as a teacher wipes clean a chalkboard at the end of the days lessons...

Ronnie Bray recalls working in a large psychiatric hospital.

The Diseases Of The Stone

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 08:02:00 +0000

If you think life proceeded at a more sedate pace 350 years ago read the great diarist Samuel Pepys - and be diasabused!

Ruffled Feathers

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 12:02:00 +0000

...Even today Watts has his admirers. I was surprised to discover that Barack Obama had declared Hope, a painting by Watts, his favourite work of art...

Author and journalist Richard Donkin has reservations about the newly refurbished Watts Gallery.