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Dietrich Bonhoffer
Educated, cultured, brothers became lawyers and engineers – perhaps as an act of rebellion studied theology! Thought about being a concert pianist but considered his fingers too fat. Saw a world “come of age”, like Nietzsche – no need for god anymore. And certainly not keen on religion as a crutch. Spent time in Harlem…
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Ravenscraig steelworks
Near Craigneuk in Lanarkshire. Was the largest hot strip steel mill in Western Europe until it closed in 1992. One of 4 in the UK. At its peak, steel production in the UK employed about 300 000 people. Iron ore was brought in to the Clyde at Kingston until 1978, when it moved to West…
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Moral duty to cover rota gaps
GMC good medical practice states that patient safety may be affected if we are not able to provide care, but beyond our contracted hours we also have a duty to ensure we have enough rest to avoid a negative impact on our judgment and performance, a duty to our family or those who depend on…
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Each stone might be a cist
“Each stone might be a cist where memory sleeps in dust And nothing tells more than the silent mist That smokes along the Heather blackened fells” [Andrew Young, Elgin born minister (went to C of E, hence “fells”?!)]
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Fastest bike in the world
1 hour cycling record just set by Filippo Ganna, 26yr old Italian – 56.7km – just a month after 31yr old Brit Dan Bigham, professional rider but also aerodynamics consultant to cycling teams, who was masterminding Ganna’s attempt. Used 3D printed Pinarello bike with tooth shaped tube profiles (newly allowed). 3D printing means quicker development.…
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The Knights Templar
Formed to protect visitors to holy land after first crusade, based at Al Aqsa mosque – hence “knights of the temple of Solomon”, then Templar. Warrior monks, with a code that shunned ostentation, vows of poverty and celibacy. Attracted funding from across Europe and candidates from the lower order of rich families’ sons. Over 200…
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Debating
Loved it when I was young – but certainly caused some tensions, and now perhaps seen as aggressive and overpowering. “In our age of polarisation we have lost the skills of thoughtful empathic argument – and the will to invest in them”. Debate encourages empathy, not polarisation, as you need to be able to see…
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On Queerness
A mean word when I was a kid, now reclaimed. “I think of Tim Dean‘s work on being queer, and queer not as being about who you’re having sex with – that can be a dimension of it – but queer as being about the self that is at odds with everything around it and it…
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English is an African language
A post I came across which Languagehat enjoyed too when I sent it on to him, it concerns the debate about African writers writing in English, and whether this is an unwanted remnant of colonialism. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is the writer who has really backed this argument. But Biodun Jeyifo, a scholar of African studies and…