Blog: Mel's Muse

Vandalism! Is it fun? Well, it would appear to be so.

Strolling through the parks, on our usual daily walk, I pointed out to my husband a young tree that had been damaged.

'Could that have been caused by the strong winds we've had recently?' I asked, doubtfully.

We then saw two more....

Posted at 11:57am on 10th July 2024

Are you as fed up with the negative concept of society as I am? Every day we’re bombarded with news about failing governments, education, health and housing services, marriages, families and kids – and that’s without all the heartbreak of drug and alcohol abuse, and 3 million children starving to...

Posted at 12:44pm on 31st May 2023

In these times of Coronavirus, many of us are suffering the death of a loved one. I wrote last time about Looking After Yourself following bereavement, and pointed out - from my own experience - the trauma of having to break the news of that loss to another family member....

Posted at 07:14am on 17th May 2020

Quotes from the book are in italics.

Never, before, have I made so many highlights in a book! As my Book Club members said when we met yesterday evening, this was certainly a narrative that opened up debate, on a subject not often discussed. With so much material to...

Posted at 10:20am on 13th July 2019

2 Comments

'What I love about Book Club, is that it makes me read books I might never, otherwise, have chosen.'

So said one member of our group when we met, yesterday, to discuss our take on Bodacious, The Shepherd Cat. How right she was! A book, supposedly written by a...

Posted at 09:43am on 16th May 2019

One of the things my Book Club loved about this book, was the way humour was used to hammer home the truths we all need to know. With the enormous pressure upon her, newly elected Archbishop Vicky is all too aware of how little time...

Posted at 04:03am on 12th January 2018

God gave me an apple tree in the Garden of Eden.
• It will provide shelter for my family
• It will feed my family
• Fallen branches will cook my food and heat my home
• I shall work hard and create an orchard

• Dad passed his...

Posted at 06:02am on 6th May 2017

2 Comments

I came across this old post, Modern Morality: What is its Place in Contemporary Fiction, by chance and wondered if it had any relevance to the recent discussion on BBC Newsnight about the influence that the book, 50 Shades of Grey, might have in 'normalising' abusive sexual relationships.  While Friedman's...

Posted at 04:26am on 11th February 2015

Are you in favour of assisted dying?  Would you like British law to be amended to allow euthanasia?  Or is the risk of abuse to the elderly, disabled and infirm too great a concern?

Most of my real-time Book Club members admitted, when we met on 28th July, 2011, that they'd...

Posted at 11:00am on 3rd August 2011

I'm delighted, today, to include an article by Angela Hoy, on the topic of price-fixing the unit cost of e-books - a practice which will, ultimately, lead to a monopoly and, therefore, destroy choice for the end-user - readers!

Do let me know what your views are. Comments are moderated, and your contact details will...

Posted at 17:32pm on 18th February 2010

I wrote, last week, about the sad story of Kate Walsh who, at the tender age of sixteen, became a heroin addict and died, alone in a dirty squat. Her parents had asked, repeatedly, for help from various authorities and received none. They had, as the Coroner described it at Kate’s Inquest, fallen...

Posted at 12:27pm on 10th November 2009

“Do cats get married, Daddy?”

The question came from my four-year old granddaughter. She’s one of twins, and is obsessed by cats.

“Nope,” Daddy replied.

“Then how do they have babies?” asked Millie.

With the news of a thirteen year-old fathering a child fresh in his mind, and wanting to foster a sense of relationship, my son-in-law...

Posted at 19:07pm on 15th February 2009

2 Comments

There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life. So says the 800 or so advertisements that now adorn London’s bendy-buses, as the result of a campaign by The British Humanist Society (BHA), funded by Prof. Richard Dawkins.

Really? Now what do you say to that?

Much has been made of that word ‘probably’....

Posted at 12:44pm on 11th January 2009

2 Comments

This surely has to be the stuff of comedy? I mean I know we, in Britain, are a nation of animal lovers, but do we need a whacking great document telling us how we should look after them, with a threat of a £20,000 fine if we stray from the guidelines? What are these people...

Posted at 15:40pm on 8th November 2008

The Good News is that we have a National Health Service at all! Even better are the advances made in medical science, which mean that conditions like Age Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) can be treated. Best of all is that there are courageous people out there who fight unfair decisions by NICE (a...

Posted at 18:17pm on 28th September 2008

Mr Eric Daniels,
Lloyds TSB Chief

Dear Mr Daniels,

I see, from my Daily Telegraph today (and trust that this is accurate) that subsequent to your takeover of the failed bank HBOS, you are planning to give Mr Andy Hornby, the failed CEO of...

Posted at 14:26pm on 19th September 2008

2 Comments

I thought that in memory of all who lost their lives, and those who lost loved ones, I would reproduce the comment I left on The New York Times online.

I expect, like me, you've been thinking about the terrible events of seven years ago. But can you remember...

Posted at 22:52pm on 11th September 2008

Paedophiles are to be offered a chemical castration following completion of their sentence, in order to prevent re-offending, so we’re told. The report reminded me of a story I heard recently, when we were dining with friends. Ted (not his real name) is a retired Headmaster and a Lay...

Posted at 22:59pm on 27th August 2008

Did anybody watch the UK’s Channel 4’s Can’t Read, Can’t Write series? It focused on people from different backgrounds and ages: the young mother who was unable to help with her children’s homework, the labourer who longed to improve his job prospects,...

Posted at 14:41pm on 15th August 2008

I wonder how this generation of policy-makers will go down in history? Human Rights, it seems, is the god of the era. It certainly takes precedence over any sort of morality. And common sense? Well that's out of the window.

I refer to...

Posted at 10:23am on 1st August 2008