Like everyone else I know in the tribe of working journalists, I think being sceptical is a useful, if not indispensable tool of the trade, and tend to dispute being a cynic. But I’m beginning to think both journalists and news consumers have reason and need to embrace the two philosophies.… Read the rest
Approaching the end of my annual sojourn of immersing myself more in Nature than the “real world”, I thought I’d learned quite a lot about both. An encounter with a loon, an advert, a gadget and bedroom slippers put a kink in my confidence-cum-conceit.… Read the rest
Autumn this year isn’t exactly what the poet John Keats described as : “Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,/Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun . . “. But it does, I think, provide a good metaphor for looking at the world in what one global affairs writer characterised as “the most dangerous period internationally since the end of the Cold War.”.… Read the rest
To safeguard his job, the foreign editor in Evelyn Waugh’s “Scoop” parries his proprietor’s patently idiotic ideas by replying: “Up to a point, Lord Copper.”… Read the rest
In keeping with website’s claim of “Welcome to an Atypical Perspective”, I’m requesting a favour from readers.
Larry Doyle, a friend, former colleague and avid “Perch” reader is a member of a discussion group that encompasses the spectrum of American political opinions, persuasions and arguments.
He’s seeking insight from “perch” readers outside the U.S.… Read the rest
The only drawback to opting out of the news, as I’ve just done for three weeks, is that dropping back in again has prompted a worrying sense of futility about my life-long obsession with it.… Read the rest
As I write this, I’m looking out across a (thankfully) gently rolling gray expanse of the North Atlantic. It’s strange to see an unbroken horizon after a week of cruising among the icebergs and daunting cliffs of islands in the Canadian High Arctic.… Read the rest
“Greenland is Nature’s reminder of its utter indifference to humankind”. I have no idea of who said that, but a week of cruising and visiting small villages along a coastline that truly merits the much overworked adjective “awesome” has given me reason to celebrate it.… Read the rest
The subtle ways Nature signals the inexorable reality of change, are useful lessons for anyone trying to sort out, or at least cope with the messy world of humanity before it’s too late.… Read the rest
A few days ago, I pointed my kayak into a gusting north wind kicking up a lot of chop. I can’t put a dollar sign on what the effort was worth to me, which makes me wonder how monetary values are assigned to things with no quantifiable or practical value.… Read the rest