How Puny Are You
"Many people believe they are so puny they can't affect the climate or the degradation of the earth,'' writes Val Yule.
Home | Useful And Fantastic
October 23, 2013
October 16, 2013
Our Age Of Paradoxes
"At present, our scientists are on the brink of discovering all the secrets of life, at the same time that we face innumerable problems that threaten us, many of our own making,'' writes Val Yule.
October 09, 2013
Old People Contribute To Society
"Most old people contribute to the community and the economy in inestimable voluntary work in every area,'' writes Val Yule.
October 02, 2013
Free Trade And Fair Trade
"Many people believe that they are helping the third world develop when they buy overseas goods. However, each purchase should be scrutinised and determined whether it actually does help the citizens of these countries. Sometimes commodities produced in developing countries are controlled by multi-nationals at the price of those countries' own self-sustainability,'' writes Val Yule.
September 25, 2013
The Curse Of The McMansion
Val Yule protests at the building of a huge new house in her et Australian quiet suburban street.
September 18, 2013
Best Possible Education
September 11, 2013
Violent Video Games
"People whose environment has no terror in it, do not copy the violence in terror-filled games, but people who live amid violence can learn to copy the violence they see in games which have a similar context to their own lives,'' declares Val Yule.
September 04, 2013
Rapid Obsolescence A Form Of Waste
"I have a fantasy that Stonehenge is all that remains today of an electronic civilisation. The rest is lost,'' writes Val Yule.
August 28, 2013
Australian Wildfires
Val Yule is opposed to controlled burning as a means of protecting Australia from wildfires.
August 21, 2013
Producing A Clever Country
"How do we produce a clever country?'' asks Val Yule.
August 14, 2013
Social Reasons For Legalising Gay Marriage
Val Yule gives reasons for legalising gay marriage.
Continue reading "Social Reasons For Legalising Gay Marriage" »
August 07, 2013
Excess Is Followed By Collapse
"Excess generally has been followed by social collapse – as in 5th century Athens and before the French Revolution. It is a
characteristic of the fall of empires and nations,'' writes Val Yule.
July 31, 2013
For Want Of A Nail...The Kingdom Was Lost
"We talk of Big Things, but so many little things cause a great difference,'' writes Val Yule.
Continue reading "For Want Of A Nail...The Kingdom Was Lost" »
July 24, 2013
Fantasy Economics
"What some first imagine, others are liable to do,## writes Val Yule.
July 17, 2013
Beyond Tygers
Val Yule wrote this poem, a take on William Blake, during the Vietnam war.
July 10, 2013
Multiculturalism And Segregation
Val Yule says that Australia is becoming increasingly segregated through its schools and education system.
July 03, 2013
Doing Something To Stop Roadkill
Val Yule is concerned about the slaughter of animals by speeding vehicles.
June 26, 2013
Learning From The Paralympics
"From the Paralympics we are all learning to respect the courage and the abilities of those afflicted. We can also learn about the causes of their affliction,'' writes Val Yule.
June 19, 2013
The Little Things
...Another small thing causes injustice and huge waste of talent, when the disadvantaged, dislexic and forin-born face barriers that need not be...
Val Yule calls for spelling reform.
June 12, 2013
Protecting The Predators
Val Yule says we are making the world safe for predators.
May 29, 2013
A Female History Of Sex
"Nature made food and sex pleasurable, to ensure eating and reproduction,'' declares Val Yule.
May 22, 2013
Fairy Floss And The Eiffel Tower
...“Yuck!” I said, as loudly as I could, and I pushed it back at her. I thought she was a horrible little girl for making me eat the stuff. I might have pushed her harder than I meant to, because she fell off her chair and she started crying...
Val Yule tells of a child who did not behave as well as she was expected to behave.
May 15, 2013
Are We Being Dumbed Down - 4
Our responses to being dumbed down are often paradoxically stupid, writes Val Yule.
May 08, 2013
Are We Being Dumbed Down? - 3
"We are letting ourselves to be made more stupid,'' declares Val Yule.
May 01, 2013
Are We Being Dumbed Down - 2
"We are allowing ourselves to be made more stupid.'' declares Val Yule.
April 24, 2013
Are We Being Dumbed Down? - 1
"People have always been stupid,'' declares Val Yule.
March 27, 2013
Jonathan Swift's 20th Century Journal
Val Yule presents a distopian view of present-day human affairs.
March 20, 2013
Inventing Alternatives
Val Yule advocates new thinking to solve the probelms we have created.
March 13, 2013
Play The Wishing Game
Val Yule suggests that the wishing game can be played to keep your mind occupied during boring meetings or when you are finding it difficult to fall asleep. It can be played individually or in a group.
March 06, 2013
Gardens Of The Future
" In the garden of the future some unpleasant facts may sprout,'' writes Val Yule.
February 27, 2013
Gardens Of The Past
Val Yule imaginesgardens of the past - "little paradises on Earth''.
February 20, 2013
Lawns For The Future
"Small suburban lawns can be mowed quickly with a light modern hand-mower that improves the waistline and cuts obesity, greenhouse gases and fuel bills,'' declares Val Yule.
February 13, 2013
The Past Alive
Val Yule brings a poem which reminds us of the temporary nature of human existence.
February 06, 2013
Gardens Are Good For Your Health And Weakth
Val Yule extols the virtues of gardening.
Continue reading "Gardens Are Good For Your Health And Weakth" »
January 30, 2013
My Life As A Garden
Val Yule muses on her life spent in gardens.
January 23, 2013
Waste No Anger – Use It Profitably
".What can we do with all our anger?'' asks Val Yule.
January 16, 2013
History In The Garden
Val Yule suggests there's much more than meets the eye in many a garden.
January 09, 2013
The Garden Cook
"Use what you can and can what you can’t. There are many garden cook books, so here are just a few ideas that don’t make it into most books, using the easier plants to grow,'' writes Val Yule.
January 02, 2013
Wanted Babies
"But thousands of babies across the world are born to people who don’t want them,'' writes Val Yule.
December 26, 2012
Hoarding
"Hoarding is popularly said to be a problem of our age, but it may turn out to be tomorrow's salvation. And it isn't the problem of our age - which is acquiring what you do not need,'' writes Val Yule.
December 19, 2012
Saving The Little Birds
"Surely small birds have enough predators with cats, foxes and cars. Surely there is no need to protect all of the growing hordes of native crows or Australian ravens,'' writes Val Yule.
December 12, 2012
Noise In The Garden
"The noises of children in a garden are lovely - I am fortunate that there is a well-behaved school over my back fence, and as I enjoy the garden, I hear the laughter of children at play,'' writes Val Yule.
December 05, 2012
Too Wild Life
"Gardens are wonderful places in which to be one with Nature, and also to be fed up with Nature,'' writes Val Yule.
November 28, 2012
The No-Mo Nature Strip
Val Yule suggests that Nature should be allowed to take its course on strips of land at the roadside.
November 21, 2012
Flower Sharing To Ease Depression
Val Yule proposes a great idea to help cheer up those in need of good cheer.
November 14, 2012
Legalising Gay Marriage
Val Yule suggests social reasons for the legalisation of gay marriage.
October 31, 2012
Waste Of Millionaires
Val Yule expresses strong views on how great wealth could be used to best effect.
October 24, 2012
Don’t Waste Our Work
Val Yule wants someone willing to carry forward her work and research into literacy innovations.
October 17, 2012
Flower Sharing
Flowers can be better than pills in cheering up those who are depressed, suggests Val Yule.
October 10, 2012
The Experimental Garden
"You too may help to save the world with an experimental garden!'' writes Val Yule.
October 03, 2012
Nature Green In Leaf And Bud
...The place is like Andrew Marvell’s poem about a garden, with everything that’s made turned to green in a green shade, and different flowers throughout the year.,,
Val Yule describes her garden.
September 26, 2012
Gullible's Travels
Australian Val Yule brings a cautionary tale which applies to every nation.
September 19, 2012
Garden Wildlife
Val Yule tells tales about the wildlife in her garden.
September 12, 2012
A Hospital Garden
Val Yule tells of a hospital garden for children.
September 05, 2012
Gardens For Children
Val Yule gives suggestions on how to make a garden child-friendly.
August 29, 2012
Purposes Of A Wild Cottage Garden
Val Yule has a theory that plants flourish from being looked at.
August 22, 2012
Back Yards – A Precious Resource
...I have cooked eggs and toast on a tin tray in the yard, and water for washing-up will heat in buckets. Simple solar...
Val Yule reveals how to best use back yards.
August 08, 2012
A Surprise Wild Romantic Cottage Garden - Introduction
Val Yule introduces a book about her garden - a garden which combines delight and thoughtful ecology.
Continue reading "A Surprise Wild Romantic Cottage Garden - Introduction" »
August 01, 2012
A Stitch In Time...
"Much of what the West throws out into landfill only needs mending - and what a lot of carbon emissions and non-renewable resources could then be saved. Many forests might not need to be cut down,'' writes Val Yule.
July 25, 2012
Multiculturalism And Segregation
"Children can have pride in their Australian culture and pride in their origins too,'' declares Val Yule whose extended family includes nine races and 21 nationalities.
July 18, 2012
The Effects Of Violent Video Games
People whose environment has no terror in it, do not copy the violence in terror-filled games, but people who live amid violence can learn to copy the violence they see in games which have a similar context to their own lives, writes Val Yule.
July 11, 2012
Rapid Obsolescence Is A Waste
Customers deserve some idea of how long a product is expected to be repairable or parts available,'' derclares Val Yule.
July 04, 2012
How Do We Produce A Clever Country?
Val Yule calls for a simplified spelling system.
June 27, 2012
Co-operation And Competition
"Competition has caused more disasters in the world than it has stimulated progress,'' declares Val Yule.
June 20, 2012
A Surprise Romantic Cottage Garden - 1
Val Yule begins a series of articles on the delights of her cottage garden, and the creative imagination that has gone into the making of it.
June 13, 2012
Adult Arithmetic
"So much sorrow, strife and stupidity could be avoided if everyone understood simple addition, percentages, and how to imagine numbers,'' writes Val Yule.
June 06, 2012
The Unwake Dirge
Val Yule's poem brings no coimfort for the greedy and wasetful.
May 30, 2012
Postcessional
Val Yule's poem demands that humanity should remember past misdeeds.
May 23, 2012
Postcessional
Val Yule pleads that we should not forget our past military wrongs.
May 16, 2012
Matriotism - Love Of All My Countries
Val Yule's poem reminds us that the whole Earth is our "country''.
May 09, 2012
Peace Will
Val Yule finds hope in the midst of destruction.
May 02, 2012
Hobbes Leviathan
Val Yule's poem suggests that we cheer like children as we rush towards the abyss.
April 25, 2012
Star Wars, Star Peace
Val Yule's poem reflects on the consequences of a nuclear war.
April 18, 2012
Playworld
Val Yule's poem reminds us that play war can become real war.
April 11, 2012
countdown
Val Yule wrote this poem after reading a news item which announced that Britain was reducing its spending on missiles.
April 04, 2012
Sent To The War
Val Yule brings a powerful anti-war poem, a poem more useful than a million tanks.
March 28, 2012
Beyond Tigers
Val Yule brings a powerful protest against those who make evil weapons of war.
March 21, 2012
Family Connections And Religions
People on the whole believe what their family belive says Val Yule.
March 14, 2012
Facing The Mirror
Val Yule highlights the flaw of seeing evil in others, but not oneself.
March 07, 2012
History's Bicycle Syndrome
Val Yule looks at the follies of human history from a new angle.
February 29, 2012
Make The Best Of Yourself
Val Yule suggests ideas to help you make the best use of your life.
February 22, 2012
Clutter
Val Yule longs for rooms as bare as a haiku.
February 15, 2012
Ten Little Country Boys
Val Yule invites us to see where we stand on the ten steps to climate changes.
February 14, 2012
Love Is Our Only Hope
Val Yule brings us a poem for this particular day.
February 08, 2012
facing the mirror
Val Yule's poem forces us to face our own nature.
February 01, 2012
Batten Down The Earth
Val Yule wrote this poem after hearing of a bunker in Scotland in which "important'' people could shelter in the event of a nuclear war.
January 25, 2012
For Whom The Bells Ring
Val Yule's poem begs for a more thoughtful, peacable world.
January 18, 2012
Jerusalem, Australia
Val Yule brings an updated version of William Blake's famous poem.
January 11, 2012
The Fiery Moon
Val Yule presents a doom-filled poem.
December 28, 2011
The Bird Is In The Egg
Val Yule offers an apocalyptic vision - and a hint of hope.
December 21, 2011
Batten Down This Earth
Val Yule was prompted to write this poem after reading about a conference which discussed the provision of nuclear bunkers for "essential'' people.
December 07, 2011
Matriotism
Val Yule's poem emnphasises the dangers of patriotism.
November 30, 2011
Star Wars - Star Peace
Val Yule brings us a sombre poem of warning.
November 23, 2011
Waste Of Effort
"How did the Victorians of the 19th century manage to get so much done? Because they did. So many of them had the energy to fill every minute of every day with what they believed were 'Good Works' - and often they were,'' writes Val Yule.
November 16, 2011
A Highly-Coloured Boy
In this three-verse poem Val Yule says a whole volume about the idiocy of colour prejudice.
November 09, 2011
J Did Not Know
Val Yule tellingly reminds us that we only have ourselves to blame for the ruination of our world.
J Did Not Know
Val Yule tellingly reminds us that we only have ourselves to blame for the ruination of our world.
October 26, 2011
The self-Awarded Emoluments Of Directors
Val Yule's reflects on the fate the greediest of the greedy in this mercenary age.
Continue reading "The self-Awarded Emoluments Of Directors" »
October 19, 2011
Museum Of The Future
Val Yule suggests a travelling mueum to feature our possible futures.
September 28, 2011
Help For The “Have-Nots’’
Val Yule suggests ideas to help the have-nots towards a life thought to be worth living.
September 21, 2011
Cutting Waste
A Nobel Prize must go to whoever resolves the fatal contradiction between the economic need to increase consumption to save jobs (and profits) and the environmental need to cut consumption to save the environment and resources for our future, writes Val Yule.
September 14, 2011
Waste Of Growth
...'There's no point saving the planet if it wrecks the economy' said former New South Wales premier Maurice Iemma. But there's no point saving the economy if it wrecks the planet...
Valerie Yule considers the big ussue of the 21st Century.
September 07, 2011
Shopping For Furnishings
"When you buy furnishings and furniture, ask questions,''says Val Yule. "Are you wanting something stylish, or to show-off, or are you wanting a home?''
August 24, 2011
Restful Nights
Val Yule brings excellent advice on how to obtain and enjoy a good night's sleep.
August 17, 2011
Ageing Populations
Val Yule calls for more thought to be given to making life easier for older people.
August 10, 2011
Ageing Populations - Not A Problem
"Most old people contribute to the community and the economy in inestimable voluntary work in every area, including as grandparents, who provided 68% of all informal child care in Australia in 1997,'' says Val Yule.
July 27, 2011
Fashion Innovations
Val Yule offers some thoughts on sensible planet-saving clothing.
July 13, 2011
Look Behind You When You Leave
"When I was a child thinking that the bushland and the seascapes were infinite, we used to go with our buckets and bring home what we found in the rock pools, and collect all the wildflowers we could pick from the bush'' recalls Val Yule.
"Now the fish and other creatures and the living shellfish are gone from the pools.''
July 06, 2011
Worm Farms
Valerie Yule suggests that householders should establish their own worm farm.
June 29, 2011
The Waste Of Waste
Humans are no longer part of Nature’s food chain, returning waste to the Earth, declares Val Yule.
June 22, 2011
Applied Imagination – 10
Val Yule concludes her series of articles on how we can make best use of imagination.
June 15, 2011
Applied Imagination - 9
Val Yule challenges a "widespread distaste for thinking''.
June 08, 2011
Applied Imagination - 8
"When imagination becomes inured to blockbusters, explicit gore, constant novelties, explosions of information, or the ear becomes used to decibels that verge on damage to the eardrums, then softer music, finer emotions and feelings such as sentiment, gentleness, subtlety, appear blanched and insipid,'' says Val Yule.
June 01, 2011
Applied Imagination – 7
"The stories that we all tell ourselves influence our own lives, as our imagination weaves interpretations and expectations,'' says Val Yule.
May 25, 2011
Applied Imagination - 6
Val Yule tells of the educational and cathartic effects of children's stories.
May 18, 2011
Applied Imagination - 5
May 11, 2011
Applied Imagination - 4
We can learn from the vicarious experiences provided by stories says Val Yule.
May 04, 2011
Applied Imagination - 3
April 27, 2011
Applied Imagination - 2
Val Yule indicates that we regularly use imagination to guide our lives.
April 20, 2011
Applied Imagination - 1
Imagination is the ability to see what is not in front of your eyes. It is the most exciting faculty you have, declares Val Yule.
April 13, 2011
Waste No History
Val Yule encourages us to preserve the best of the past.
April 06, 2011
Waste No Anger
Val Yule suggests that if we must be angry we should direct our anger towards towards demanding solutions to social problems.
March 30, 2011
Waste No Pleasures
"Great things in life are mostly free,'' says Val Yule. "Life is meant to be happy, even if life is not easy.''
March 23, 2011
Wasteful Products – And Customer Power
Val Yule urges us to go to war against wasteful and poorly-designed products.
March 16, 2011
Waste No Wood
"About half the timber that is grown is wasted,'' declares Val Yule, putting in a passionate plea for a more sensible use of one of our most valuable natural assets.
March 09, 2011
Korea As It Used To Be – 6
...We left in the early morning, when the country-side was fresh and beautiful with dew. It was Chosen, the Land of the Morning Calm, before the wind rises, - with the delicate poplars and quaint bent pines and patterned terraces and tidy clusters of villages and blue lakes edged with white sand. There were the herons and the fishermen; the back of a bullock harrowing among the green barley by the yellow road; the black goats being driven over a graceful stone bridge...
Val Yule concludes her account of the time she spent in Korea some 60 years ago before the country was riven in two by war.
March 02, 2011
Korea As It Was - 5
...Their dancing enthralled me. I have seen Australian toddlers bouncing around to music. These children, boys and girls, moved like entranced ballet-dancers; they pretended to be birds with such grace that I held my breath. It was perfectly spontaneous, free movement that they made up to the music...
Val Yule continues her account of life in Korea before a fierce war tore the country apart.
February 23, 2011
Korea As It Was - 4
...Sometimes school children were excursioning on the hills, vivid dots among banks of azaleas. Or a couple of old gentlemen would be sitting in a little pagoda of a play-house, half-way up with a good view reserved for such old gentlemen to enjoy. Usually on a hill-side somewhere, were round green knolls, the graves of ancestors, set among a few crooked pine-trees...
Val Yule travelled by train from Seoul to Pusan in the days before Korea was torn apart by war.
February 16, 2011
Korea As It Once Was - 3
...There were also spavined, sway-backed horses looking as if they were slung on stilts, and tiny, miserable furry donkeys, half-buried under their loads of pine-brushwood, the universal fuel. Bicycles dodged in and out, - and what bicycles. They had heavy, crude, solid frames, always going back to the welders, but at night they looked rather beautiful, as each carried a low-slung, flickering carbide lamp, with flames that seemed to lick the rider’s feet every time the pedals came around...
Val Yule describes the Korea of long ago, before the country was torn apart by war.
February 09, 2011
Korea As It Once Was - 2
Val Yule continues her account of life in Korea before the outbreak of war in the early 1950s.
February 02, 2011
Korea As It Once Was -1
Val Yule tells of arriving in Korea before the 1951-52 war as a 21-year-old with her husband who was going to teach at Seoul University. This is the first of a six-part account of life in the Korea of that era.
January 26, 2011
Don’t Waste The Murray River
Val Yule calls for a more sensible use of the waters of Australia's great river, the Murray.
January 19, 2011
Regional Currency
...Local economics is possible, while a community is at the same time also participating in national economics, with banks, supermarkets and imports of what cannot reasonably be supplied in the region...
Val Yule suggests a novel way of keeping small communities ticking in hard economic times.
January 12, 2011
Lovely Lawns
Val Yule is no friend of power lawn mowers.
January 05, 2011
Peace Museums
Val Yule calls for the establishing of museums to glorify peace.
December 29, 2010
Great-Grandmas
Val Yule says great-grandmas are a bridge to another world and should be treasured.
December 22, 2010
No Waste Of Babies
Every baby should be wanted, declares Val Yule.
December 15, 2010
Hoarding
Hoarding may turn out to be our future salvation, says Val Yule.
December 08, 2010
The Value Of The Elderly
Val Yule thinks a proper assessment should be made of the value of the elderly to society.
December 01, 2010
Wasteful Wars
Val Yule believes we should all combine to fight the common foe - the devastation of our planet.
November 24, 2010
Spelling Revolution
Val Yule calls for revolutionary changes in English spelling.
November 17, 2010
Learn From The Past
Val Yule advises us to explore the past and learn the lessons it has to offer.
November 10, 2010
Why Not Re-Use Envelopes?
"Millions of envelopes are thrown away daily,'' says Val Yule, going on to outline a number of brilliant tree-saving ideas.
November 03, 2010
Worm Farm
Val Yule suggests a novel way of dealing with kitchen waste.
October 27, 2010
Festivals Of Sport
Val Yule suggests that the time has come for a really modern Olympic Games.
October 20, 2010
Nineteen Re-using Tips
Re-using saves more money than recycling, declares Val Yule.
October 13, 2010
Memoirs Of A Community Psychologist
Val Yule tells of working with children thought to be dyslexic.
October 06, 2010
Literacy Videos
Val Yule prepared these short cartoon literacy videos to assist failing learners who were not helped by conventional methods.
September 29, 2010
Don't Waste The Past
...we are busy trashing. We are the biggest trashers in history. Buildings survived unvandalised for hundreds of years, and then our vandals or our developers trashed them...
Val Yule puts in a plea to preserve the good and valuable things which human beings have created.
September 22, 2010
Can You Affect The Climate?
Val Yule highlights the biggest challenge facing human beings.
September 15, 2010
Waste No Animals
Val Yule says that we humans waste animals. In this regard we are different to all other animals.
September 08, 2010
The Da Vinci Sock Mystery - 5
Val Yule concludes her surrealistic tale concerning a great man’s missing sock.
September 01, 2010
The Da Vinci Sock Mystery - 4
Val Yule continues her surreal tale.
To read earlier episodes and other articles by Val please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/useful_and_fantastic/
August 25, 2010
The Da Vinci Sock Mystery- 3
Val Yule continues her imaginative a surrealistic tale of the missing sock of a very famous man.
August 18, 2010
The Da Vinci Sock Mystery – 2
Val Yule continues her surrealistic mind-bending tale.
August 11, 2010
The Da Vinci Sock Mystery - 1
Why was the great Da Vinci wearing only one sock? Val Yule begins a five-part story which touches on the Secret of the Universe.
August 04, 2010
A Waste Of Fish
Val Yule demands more thought and responsibility in the ways we harvest the oceans' limited numbers of fish.
July 28, 2010
Waste No Abilities
...Most people do not exercise half the abilities that are latent within them. They may even realize that they are not fully living, not being fully what they could be...
Valerie Yule offers practical advice on fending off senility.
July 21, 2010
War As Waste
Val Yule suggests antidotes to war.
July 14, 2010
Childcare In A Box
Val Yule's thoughtful tale will make you think hard about how we bring up children.
July 07, 2010
Waste No Brains
Val Yule says that our brains are our greatest resource and we should make the very best use of them.
June 30, 2010
Street Scavenging
Val Yule voices a vigorous plea for the re-using and repairing of household goods rather than treating them as throwaway landfill rubbish.
June 23, 2010
Immigrant Children
Val Yule suggests the stories made up and told by immigrant children can help us to understand their thought, feelings and attitudes.
June 16, 2010
The Wonderful Lawns Of The Future
…Lawns reflect a 200-year-old Romantic dream of fusing ourselves with nature. Yet that very dream now poses a major threat to the nature it so lovingly celebrates. Everyone with a pocket-handkerchief of a lawn thinks they need their own several-hundred-dollar noise-making polluting neighbor-annoying petrol-mower. Why? MOST suburban lawns do not need the great enormous waste of power mowers…
Val Yule expresses radical planet-saving views on the care of lawns.
June 09, 2010
Human Rights
Val Yule summarises the rights which make civilised living possible and worthwhile.
June 02, 2010
Mark Twain - Social Reformer
...Twain, with his sharp eye for nonsense, was an energetic campaigner for spelling reform. Lacking modern knowledge of linguistics and cognitive psychology, he was a ‘spell-as-you-speak’ Pitman’s shorthand man, and like Shaw, wrote in a new shorthand himself, but he was very aware of the problems of both the old spelling and the new, and of the reactions of the public...
Val Yule, along with Twain and other celebrated figures, is an enthusiastic supporter of a more logical form of spelling.
May 26, 2010
Goldfield Teacher - 5
…The goldfields teacher represented the Victorian pedagogue at his most enlightened. He was so enthusiastic about his belief that education could produce a civilised society, and that knowledge distinguished civilisation from the savage…
VaL Yule concludes her account of a remarkable man who taught at a school in the New South Wales goldfields in the 19th Century.
May 19, 2010
A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 4
Val Yule continues her account of one of the mosty gifted teachers in Nineteenth Century Australia.
May 12, 2010
A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 3
...“Thirty years ago there was a strong prejudice extant against educating the poor children, lest their enlightenment should produce discontent but this benighted fallacy has exploded and vanished into thin air. Education does not promote discontent, but on the contrary, lightens labor and conduces to happiness.”...
Val Yule continues her account of a highly gifted school master who taught in a rural part of New South Wales in the early years of the Nineteenth Century.
May 05, 2010
A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 2
Inspectors who visited the school run by Mr McCombe in Australia in the early years of the 19th Century were astonished by what they discovered there.
Val Yule continues the story of a schoolmaster with very special talents.
April 28, 2010
A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 1
Val Yule investigates the truth concerning a "paragon pedagog'' who allegedly taught in a school in the New South Wales goldfields in the 1880s.
April 21, 2010
Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopedia
Val Yule is eager to hear from anyone who has been influenced by Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopedia
Music As Noise - Part 5
Val Yule concludes her series on the effects of loud music.
April 14, 2010
Music As Noise – Part 4
Val Yule organised a survey which confirmed that the vast majority of youngsters like loud music.
April 07, 2010
Music As Noise - Part 3
Val Yule suggests that muh more research work is required on the effects of loud music on the human brain and body.
March 31, 2010
Music As Noise - Part 2
...At a time when we need brains that can work at capacity, is there any evidence that long term exposure to very loud music might affect abilities such as thinking of more than one thing at a time, connecting ideas, reasoning, concentration, intellectual curiosity, ability to face the problems of our time or mental stamina itself?...
Val Yule presents the results of a survey which asked young people why they like loud music.
March 27, 2010
People They Laughed At – 18
Val Yule concludes her series of articles which emphasise the need to encourage new thinking and give every new idea a chance to prove itself.
March 24, 2010
Music As Noise - Part 1
"Almost anything we make can be used. Everything we make can be abused,'' says Val Yule, going on to consider whether the flood of loud music which assaults our lives may have a long-term damaging effect on our lives.
March 20, 2010
People They Laughed At - 17
Val Yule says that much human progress has relied on the efficiency of co-operation, even more than the spur of competition.
March 17, 2010
Reading Help
Val Yule offers practical help to those who are having difficulties in learning to read.
March 14, 2010
The Child Migrant
...We were alarmed about the farm orphanage he had come to in Australia. Although the boy’s report of it was ‘OK’ and he had fun with the other boys, it was noticeable that when he came down to us for holidays he improved rapidly in reading and behaviour, and the gains were lost by the next holiday. The orphanage also took no interest in the boys once they had left. They were out in the world alone. When it closed, they had no links left...
Val Yule brings a first-hand account of children who were give no reason for hope - an account which is distressing yet at the same time inspirational.
March 13, 2010
People They Laughed At - 16
Val Yule suggests areas where new thinking and new inventions are needed.
March 10, 2010
The Decision
Val Yule tells of a sombre and sad ending.
March 06, 2010
People They Laughed At - 15
Val Yule, a great encourager of new ideas and inventions, suggests a way of developing creative thought.
March 03, 2010
We've Never Had It So Good
"No previous time, no previous place, has ever had it as good as the average Australian has now,'' declares Val Yule.
February 27, 2010
People They Laughed At - 14
Val Yule reveals that she comes from a family of inventors.
February 24, 2010
Fine Words - Butter, But No Parsnips
It's amazing when young eyes see and young ears hear when they go on a shopping trip with mother.
Val Yule tells an enticing tale.
February 20, 2010
People They Laughed At - 13
Val Yule recommends that we should try to make a habit of thinking up solutions to problems, rather than having a good whinge.
February 17, 2010
Bedrock - Part One
Val Yule begins a vividly engaging account of her stay in the Manchester Fever Hospital in 1953.
February 13, 2010
People They Laughed At - 12
People who have ideas are never bored, says Val Yule, continuing her series of articles which call for a fair trial for every new concept.
February 10, 2010
Rimes With Reason
Come on now! Flex your spelling muscles on these rhymes presented by Val Yule.
February 03, 2010
Care Of The Elderly
Of all the nursing homes I have visited, the ones where residents live longest and healthiest and happiest are those where the staff say straight out, ‘We don’t bother with trying to cure, or even forcing them to keep fit. We just want them to have fun.’
Val Yule brings a host of practical suggestions to improve the lives of older folk who need full-time care.
January 30, 2010
People They Laughed At - 10
Val Yule lists invenions which are needed to cut waste.
January 23, 2010
People They Laughed At - 9
Val Yule, a person who welcomes innovation, emphases that new ideas should be carefully tested before being greedily rushed into production.
January 20, 2010
The Dream Of H G Wells
Val Yule’s imaginative tale takes us 2,000 years into the future.
January 16, 2010
People They Laughed At - 8
Val Yule, who believes that every inventive idea should be given a chance, lists some of the many thousands of concepts patented in Britain in the first five years of the Twentieth Century.
January 13, 2010
Sir Lancelot Encounters A Woman Driver
Poor Sir Lancelot. Hit by two cars…
Val Yule tells a modern tale.
January 09, 2010
People They Laughed At - 7
Australians have had a reputation for enterprise, initiative and problem-solving yet as Val Yule reveals more than a quarter of the great achievers were ridiculed for their ideas.
January 06, 2010
The Wish Olympics
Val Yule tells a magical story for children of all ages about a great wish contest organised by three wish-granters.
January 02, 2010
People They Laughed At - 6
Val Yule, firmly committed to the belief that new ideas should be tried out rather than being laughed at, continues her list of inventions and organisations which were at first scorned.
December 30, 2009
A Card Was Born
Joyncie zipped in among the guests at a Greek Orthodox wedding offering them packets of SunWhite rice from his mother’s shop, so all could join in the general throwing. He transcended the linguistic barrier with a most effective sign-language of gambols and gesticulation, interrupted with giggles, but his round eyes alone would have been sufficient.
Val Yule tells of a most remarkable boy.
December 26, 2009
People They Laughed At - 5
…For ten years from 1834 on, Charles Goodyear was laughed at for trying to solve the problems of how rubber could be produced as a useful product. He suffered one fiasco after another, and he was often in jail for debt…
Val Yule lists more people and ideas which attracted derision when they came to the attention of the public.
December 19, 2009
People They Laughed At - 4
Val Yule, who firmly believes that new ideas should be given a chance to prove their worth, tells of some concepts which were at first laughed to scorn.
December 16, 2009
Animal Circus
Things are not going well on the farm run by animals, as Val Yule reveals in this bedtime story for children of all ages.
December 12, 2009
People They Laughed At - 3
Val Yule, who believes that new ideas should be given a chance, even if at first they seem strange and laughable, tells of some new thoughts and suggestions that were greeted with derision.
December 09, 2009
Jobs That Are Needed
Val Yule outlnes dozens of ideas that would provide work, improve the environment and add considerably to human happiness.
December 05, 2009
People They Laughed At -2
...Marathon runners and Everest climbers have it easy compared with the heroes who developed the blessings of tinned food and zip-fasteners...
Here is the second episode of Val Yule's book which encourages us to appreciate people who come up with new ideas, no matter how fantastic those ideas may seem at first glance.
December 02, 2009
The Story Of The Little Green Girl
Val Yule tells a most remarkable and memorable sxtory concerning a silent little girl.
November 28, 2009
People They Laughed At - 1
Today we begin the serialisation of a book by Val Yule which sets out to discourage the ridiculing of ideas which may turn out to be benificial.
"It would be good for everyone to learn at school to hold back from ridicule, persecution and perverse obstruction of ‘ratbags’ enough to give them a chance.'' says Val.
Writing with wit and style Val defends all those who brought benefits to mankind by dari8ng to come up with new ideas.
Further episodes of the book will run in Open Writing on forthcoming Fridays.
November 25, 2009
The Qcumber Shop
...One morning, as Jenni was putting change in the till, she saw a little drawer underneath the cash drawer that she had never seen before.
She pulled it open, and in the drawer lay a little posy of spring flowers, all pretty and pink...
Val Yule tells a wonderful, magical life-enhancing story for childen aged fom 2 to 92.
November 18, 2009
Innovative Daydreams
Here's a huge welcome to a new Open Writing columnist Val Yule.
Today Val gives some guidance on how to use your daydreams constructively.
Watch our for Val every Wednesday in Open Writing.
Categories
- A Clutch Of Pearlies
- A Court Of Fowls
- A Diary of Innocence
- A Fistful Of Stars
- A Geordie All-Rounder
- A Life Less Lost
- A Lovely Shade Of Blue
- A Potter's Moll
- A Shout From The Attic
- A Spitfire Pilot Remembers
- A Tale Of The Unexpected
- A Writer On Writing
- About A Week
- About Our Words
- After Work
- Alaskan Range
- All That Was
- All This Jazz
- American Pie
- An Englishman In New York
- Ancient Feet
- And Another Thing...
- Animal Stories
- Anna And Rosie
- Arabian Autographs
- Arkell's Ark
- Around The Sun
- As Time Goes By
- Away With Worry
- Backwords
- Beijing 2008 Olympics
- Black Ice
- Blue, Green, Red and Purple
- Bonzer Words!
- Book Bounty
- Born With a Rusty Spoon
- Bradford Lad
- Christmas Every Week
- Classical Composers A-Z
- Clement's Corner
- Consequences
- Darkly Watching
- David Marsh Cartoons
- Day After Day
- Delanceyplace
- Denizens
- Diamonds And Dust
- Donkin's World
- Double Cream
- Down The Holler
- Dr Ron's Laughter Clinic
- Dusk To Dusk
- Ee By Gum Lord!
- Eric Shackle Writes
- Facets Of India
- Family Of Four
- Fast Fiction
- Feather's Miscellany
- Fishcake Words
- Flood
- Footprints
- Got The T-Shirt
- Harry's Tales
- Here Comes Treble
- Here In Africa
- Here's Alison
- Highlights In The Shadows
- I Didn't Belong
- I Only Came For The Music
- Illegal Entry
- Illingworth House
- In Good Company
- In The Small Hours
- Interludes
- It's A Great Life
- Jambo Paulo - Jambo Mykoli
- Jo'Burg Days
- Kiwi Konexions
- Lansdowne Crescent
- Laugh With Lisa
- Lest It Be Forgotten After I Am Gone
- Letter From America
- Letter From The Other Side
- Life Is Too Short To Drink Bad Wine
- Living On Three Continents
- London 2012 Olympics
- London Letter
- Luddite Spring
- Man Bites Talking Dog
- McCaffrey On Fishing
- Mullin' It Over
- My Week
- National Trust News
- North American Dreaming
- Olga's Daughter
- On The Gold Coast
- Open Features
- Opinion And World View
- Over Here
- Oz Musings
- Pamy's Place
- Pins And Needles
- Poetry Pleases
- Rainbow's End
- Ratcatcher
- Rodney's Ramblings
- Roses Aren't Everything
- Sam Pepys – His Diary
- Sandy's Say
- Shalom and Sheiks
- She's Back Again
- Shooting the Breeze
- Simply Sue
- Skidmore's Island
- Smallville
- Spanish Secrets
- Tales from Tawa
- Tasmanian Words
- Thai Girl Tattle
- The Day Before Yesterday
- The First Seventy Years
- The Fourth Wish
- The Great Cley Floods
- The Kingdom Of The Blind
- The Last Star Trek
- The Limit
- The Melody Lingers On
- The Museum Mystery
- The Reyrolle Story
- The Scrivener
- The Shepherdsville Times
- This and That
- Thoughts From The Coast
- Through Lattice Windows
- Time Witnesses
- To War With The Bays
- Two Rooms And A View
- U3A Writing
- Useful And Fantastic
- Views And Reviews
- Visions Of Hope
- Visions of Glory
- Walking the Tightrope
- Walnut Wisdom
- Western Oz Words
- Western Walkabout
- When The Crocodile Smiles
- Word Acts
- Words From Adelaide
- Words In History
- Yorkshire Dialect
- Yorkshire Lad
