Did you know that you may legally access only 3% of England’s rivers? The remaining 97% are privately owned. How did that come about? Should England’s citizens be restricted in this way? What is the history behind our segregation from our own land and what are the consequences? Nick Hayes’ explores these issues – and […]
As a parent / guardian, you want your children to be happy. More than that, you want them to be able to create their own secure, inner happiness that isn’t dependent upon treats and toys – lovely though a well-timed ice cream can be! How can we do this? The authors believe they have some […]
‘We are more alike than different.’ This is the essence of Dr Adshead’s argument: that while it is easier to write off certain criminals as monsters, it is essential to admit their humanity and recognise the value of rehabilitation over our instinctive desire for vengeance. Of course, this is easier said than done, but Dr […]
Would you visit a human safari park? My guess is that you would be revolted by the terminology, but whether or not you actually visited the ‘park’ would partly depend on how you perceive ancient tribes. Are they human beings – or entertainment for more ‘civilised’ beings? My belief is that you would feel – […]
“Mum, I’m bored. What can I do?” As a parent, I have found this persistent cry deeply irritating – and genuinely confusing. My children are surrounded by toys, books, opportunities and activity books. They have access to a garden and to art materials, to siblings, cuddly toys and bicycles. How, I wonder, can they possibly […]
We’re all familiar with the notion of a placebo. We all know how powerful placebos can be, but it’s perhaps rarer to recognise the power of noceboes. In ‘Humankind’, Rutger Bregman is determined to disabuse us of one particularly devastating nocebo, ‘veneer theory’. This is the widely accepted idea that our civil natures are only […]
So it turns out Neo was right; we are living in a matrix. Or, more accurately, reality is not ‘real’ but the constant creation of our ever-busy brains, which are significantly more powerful than any man-made computer, constantly interpreting the world around us to create the perception of a rich sensory environment. Did you know […]
So this is 2020. I think most of us may be in need of a little light relief by now. This being the case, I should like to draw your attention towards the latest (highly entertaining) book from cartoonist and habitually overwhelmed mum of three boys, Katie Kirby. What’s it about? I am definitely going […]
Once upon a time I thought I was tired. I worked hard. I worked long hours, during term time at least. I loved my job and, as a teacher, I worked daily with groups of up to 31 children, who mostly did what I asked them to do. Then I had children of my own […]
I am always intrigued by books about books. What could possibly be better than, when closing the final pages of a book, discovering it has led you to create a list of twenty or so other books you really want to read? I also really liked the premise of this particular book, a memoir by […]