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Articles by J S Bird

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About J S Bird

A retired academic, Jeremy will contribute article on subjects that attract his interest. More Posts

England women qualify for football World Cup

Last night by chance I found myself watching the first half of the women’s international football match broadcast on BBC2 between Wales and England played at the Rodney Parade ground in Newport that was broadcast on BBC2 from 7.00pm onwards. This was a World Cup group match which would [...]

September 1, 2018 // 0 Comments

The beginning of a bright new dawn

I don’t know about you, but I have spent the past couple of days thinking through the implications of recent media reports referenced by Rust columnists suggesting that the recent spate of forest wildfires in Portugal and California and the current all-out drought destroying the farming industry [...]

August 11, 2018 // 0 Comments

Perhaps a case of not what you do, but what you are

My text for today is a piece by David Barnett upon the process of writing (and specifically ‘writing advice’) that appeared recently – see here for the link – upon the website of – THE INDEPENDENT It’s a worthy read because it has plenty to say, it’s humble and honest and it details [...]

August 8, 2018 // 0 Comments

Chains and lycra

The world of professional road race cycling has a mixed public image. Its century-long historical connection with performance enhancing substances and innumerable clashes with those authorities tasked with attempting to deal with such issues in which legal threats, actual (or attempted) subterfuge [...]

August 7, 2018 // 0 Comments

Phew – what inequality!

It is the case that I rarely venture onto the sports pages of the Rust. The subject is neither my specialty nor within my remit – one might even be justified in stating that it ranks above my pay grade, were it but for the fact that I don’t get paid – but today I feel moved to do so after [...]

July 14, 2018 // 0 Comments

What it’s all about (again)

The other night I met up with a busy professional now in his mid-fifties, who has worked with my family for many years, to discuss ‘stuff’. The subject of mortality came up and it led to a fascinating passage of conversation. You know the sort of thing. We began with the randomness of life [...]

June 30, 2018 // 0 Comments

Disappearing in the rear-view mirror maybe, but still here

[WARNING: THOSE OF A DELICATE PC-CONSCIOUS SENSIBILITY MAY BE OFFENDED IF THEY READ THIS POST BECAUSE IT CONTAINS OPINIONS THAT MAY SEEM REACTIONARY, SEXIST, OLD-FASHIONED AND OUT OF TUNE WITH MODERN MOB ‘HOLIER THAN THOU’ ORTHODOXIES.] Here on the Rust, where free-thinking and free speech are [...]

June 26, 2018 // 0 Comments

What goes around sometimes bites back

It’s the nature of capitalism and life after all. You invent or find some item – whether at home or abroad – at a Cost A to you, prepare it for your intended customer market at a Cost B, and then ‘add a little something to the price for yourself’ (Cost C) – and bingo! – the [...]

June 13, 2018 // 0 Comments

A Night At The Trough

This is … er … only a true-ish story, this because some significant details have been altered in order to protect the exact location of the venue concerned and indeed my own identity. Yesterday I entertained a party of five at what could be described as one as a chain of high-end restaurants [...]

June 3, 2018 // 0 Comments

Sometimes it’s enough to drive you mad

As I begin today’s post I feel I need to declare the warning/caveat or interest that I’m not quite sure where it’s going to be going. Actually no – let me put that another way: I know roughly where I’m starting from but at this stage have no idea where I’m going to end up. I guess [...]

May 22, 2018 // 0 Comments

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