Author Archives: odeboyz

Harry S Truman: War Criminal

Posted on June 9, 2016 by odeboyz

The American bombing of Tokyo (March 1945) and Hiroshima (August 1945) were war crimes (see addendum) promoted by President Truman. Both raids were criminal because the slaughter of civilians was intentional. Civilian deaths occur during bombing raids. They are unavoidable … Continue reading →

Posted in History, War | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Balzac’s Mother

Posted on June 7, 2016 by odeboyz

“We believed that she was mad and consulted a physician who had been on friendly terms with her for thirty-three years. But he said: ‘No! She is not mad. She is merely malicious….” Stefan Zweig Balzac pp10-11 (Chris)

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Farming: a wordless poem

Posted on June 7, 2016 by odeboyz

(Chris)

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The Worst of journeys -To a Nice Place.

Posted on June 3, 2016 by odeboyz

Last Friday, (May bank holiday weekend, 2016) Jan and I set off to see our friends Natasha and Darren, who live in the North at Lytham St Anne’s not far from Blackpool. The M25 was as usual packed with lorries, cars and … Continue reading →

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A Supermarket Conversation

Posted on May 31, 2016 by odeboyz

A woman in a supermarket is following a grandfather and his badly-behaved grandson. He has his hands full with the child screaming for sweets, biscuits, all sorts of things. The Grand-dad is saying in a controlled voice: “Easy, William, we … Continue reading →

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Should Governments Prevent Preventable Harm?

Posted on May 27, 2016 by odeboyz

Fluoridation of water is a cheap, effective and harmless mechanism for combating tooth decay. It’s pumped into the general water supply. Tooth decay is rarely life threatening but can be painful and disfiguring. The argument goes that as there is … Continue reading →

Posted in Health, Politics, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Cowardice: Was Shostakovich a coward?

Posted on May 24, 2016 by odeboyz

But it was not easy being a coward…. to be a coward was to embark on a career that lasted a lifetime. You couldn’t ever relax. You had to anticipate the next occasion when you would have to make excuses … Continue reading →

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Fame

Posted on May 24, 2016 by odeboyz

Gavrilo Princip famously assassinated Franz Joseph An action cascading down the ages. Creating war and mayhem all over Europe. He became the hottest of hot topics and Died a forgotten man without glory -a miserable coughing death of TB- (They … Continue reading →

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The Old Shove Halfpenny Board

Posted on May 20, 2016 by odeboyz

Years ago I didn’t know that most pubs kept a “shove halfpenny board” but when I was ten I had no idea what it was all about. So it was somewhat of a surprise when, one evening, Dad came home with a board … Continue reading →

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The saw mill and the saw fly

Posted on May 17, 2016 by odeboyz

I spent many years of my life as a carpenter in Essex. I often went to the Five Oaks Lane timber yards (Hog Hill, Collier Row) in the 80s and 90s. It specialised in softwood. I was buying some timber … Continue reading →

Posted in Autobiography, Entomology | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments