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We are a team family Lewis Hamilton - and, yes, ipso facto - Mercedes, have dominated all 3 practice sessions for tomorrow's British Formula 1 Grand Prix as Silvestone. And, to cap it, so far, Lewis has taken Pole position for the race. Congratulations, Lewis, and Mercedes, since, both go together and is reflective of a team working in unison, playing different roles and parts, and with neither being capable of realising their full potential, separately; the one without the other. I say this in the context of a good or excellent Formula 1 team needing a good or excellent Formula 1 driver to win races. It might be that, in some cases, though not many, an exceptional driver can win some races with a mediocre car, but, only exceptionally. It was pleasing to see Nico Rosberg congratulating Lewis on his pole position, and to hear both men committing themselves to conduct themselves during future races, including tomorrow's, like true professionals and, I take

On a lovely sunny day we can feel elevated and full of cheer; infused with the thought, that ergo sumness, of life being great and it is good to be alive today. This is a brief video of moments in time and space on such a day. Have a look and see what it does for you.

Childhood needs to be a place where children feel secure and can imagine dream which they can and will realise in their adulthood. And so it seems to me, that a child spends the first 18 years of their lives acquiring the knowledge and learning the skill required to become an adult. Foregoing, or, if you wish, being denied the autonomy and right to do and know of  'adult's things' until the become legal adults. And even then, at times, having to show an identification to prove that you are how old you said your are, or be 21 or 25 to be able to enjoy some of the 'privileges' of adulthood. And now that you, a former child, now an adult with the freedom to, among other things, buy and drink alcohol, use certain 'recreational' drugs, smoke, have sex with a person of your choosing - all subject to religious, cultural and legal requirements of your country - and relate hypocritically towards children as yo were being related to before, what do you

Avoid using others to get 'your star to shine brighter than the others. We often hear politicians, including the leaders of countries, boldly, if glibly declare, 'I take responsibility for ..' But, what does it mean to 'take responsibility' for ones decision and/or the actions involved in implementing it? Does it mean that you accept that what has been done has been done at your behest and that you do accept both the intended and unintended consequences for the decision you took? That you accept that you are liable for both the foreseen and the unforeseen consequences of your decision? And what about the consequences for you, of you declaring that you do take 'full responsibility' for 'the decision' or 'the action'?  Is there really any point to 'taking responsibility' for something, if there are no consequences for you? Take the case of Tony Blair, the former British Prime Minister who, along with the former America

Time to take the straight path?! Some people will be minded to take the murder of 5 police officers in Dallas as a justification to argue that the American police is under attack and should be supported, but it would be wrong to do so. The murder of the officers, it would appear, was part of the consequences of  various police forces oppressively 'policing'  African American citizens, including murdering some of them. The call should not be about supporting the police, but changing the law enforcement system to make it impartial in its implementation. This is the final part of this post. It was in that context of the police callous murdering of Althon Sterling and Philando Castile, and many other innocent African Americans before them, that the murderous attack on the police in Dallas claimed the lives of 5 innocent officers, and the injuring of at least 6 others.  Of course this attack is not and cannot be 'justified' - unless the perpetrato

America has to find an acceptable and mutually beneficial criminal justice system to bridge the chasm between them and its African American citizens. Yesterday 11 police officers were shot in Dallas, resulting in 5 of them dying. These 11 officers were innocent people carrying out their police duties. Dallas, incidentally, was also the place where John F Kennedy was assassinated so many decades ago, and here we have, in July 2016, only 3 days after America celebrated her Independence Day, another even greater tragedy, resulting in the loss of 5 lives, occurred. John F Kennedy was the US President who, doubtlessly reflecting his speech writer's words, became known for the dictum, "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." It is time for all progressive and prudent Americans, of all ethnic groups, to come together to advocate and effect positive changes. The tragedies of recent days and the past should not be used as fuel to

Aspiring to get to the top. The Welsh Football team has, it would appear, wrought somewhat of a miracle, in their apparently relentless progress towards making football history, in endeavouring to win the European Football Championship.  This was until they came up against Portugal, last night.  It was probably unfortunate that the Welsh Team seemed bereft of the skills, tactics, strategies and fire which has been their hallmark, until now, or, at least, last night. The little Welsh Dragon had the unlikely challenge of not only fending off but beating the dragon slayer of Saint Porto, and found that they simply ran out of fire, and, for all the goodwill and hope of fans and others who willed them to win, it was the Portuguese Team which, playing the better football, which prevailed. The Welsh Team would have probably not made much more of it, if they had had more luck, because they simply did not seemed to be upto the job of taking themselves into the next round, by s

Women and should have parity with men, as they lives have been made more onerous than men, by men and nature, resulting in their span of the bridge being more critical. In my relationships and association with women, one of the things I have been struck by most, is that it appears that many, if not most women, would like to be men; at least, if they could be born again. At the same time I cannot ever recall thinking that I would like to be a woman, or recall any man - excluding transgenders - voicing a preference for being a woman, as opposed to the man they are. All of this is despite the fact that I love the company and attention of women, and would be so much less of a rounded human without benefiting from the role of women - as mother, grandmother, wife, companion, daughter, sisters, relatives, work colleagues, et al - in my life. So, why is it that men, while professing our dying love for our women, in the past, making wars because of them, in the present c

The people of Iraq needs help to build a bridge of unity and peace, to check their descent into and recovery from the abyss. The extremely long awaited - for 7 or so years - report into the Iraq invasion debacle had finally been delivered to a world which has, as far as responsibility for the war and whether or not it was illegal and resulted in war crimes is concerned, moved on and is probably rather indifferent to.  This, at least, might be so for people who are not subjected to the daily struggles of trying to stay alive and to get food, water and medical care, which is the reality for millions of people in Iraq, Syria, Syria and Yemen.  For these many millions of people who continue to suffer from the hell which has been unleashed upon them by Britain and America's invasion of Iraq, to, if we are to believe them - which we definitely should not do - to protect the western world from 'weapons of mass destruction' and bring the Iraqi people the benefits of &#

This is another video of our garden, and the bit of 'urban woods' overlooking it. I find that the gentle and forceful shaking of the leaves on the trees, by the spasmodic breeze can, if I focus on it, have a bit of contemplative impact on me, especially if I were to imagine myself being rocked by the breeze. See if it does anything positive for you.

Caring for older people might not be a bed of roses, but can be rewarding With people's life expectancy, especially in the western world, increasing significantly, and with nation's healthcare systems coming under immense pressures, growing old can be a very worrying stage of living for millions of people. Growing old in a non-patriarchal or matriarchal society presents new challenges for older people. This is especially so for those who are in their more senior ages, are disabled, or are losing their intellectual efficiency. As they get older, frailer and more dependent on others, be they relatives or professional carers, older people lose their independence and their confidence.  Although they might be very dissatisfied with the arrangements which have been made for them or how those arrangements are being carried out, older people might show a marked reluctance to challenge what they are unhappy about. This can be due to their fear of retribution against

No help is coming from the heavens for the desperate people of Iraq, so, to whom and/or what can they turn? Oh desperate and despairing people of Iraq, how the rest of the more peaceful world are shocked by new outrages which have been perpetuated upon you even as you desperately try to navigate your way to an oasis of peace, and continue to find only mirages which are used as cover by the deadly forces of terrorism and sectarian conflict.   Is there to be no end to this madness, you and the rest of the world ask?  Only to be answered by another outrage from the forces of possibly Sunni supported extremists who occupation of to kill your sons and daughters, your mothers and fathers, and to destroy what diminished infra-structure you cling to, in your constant struggle to achieve peace and rebuild your devastated nation. And what have ordinary Iraqis done to deserve this cruel fate, where ordinary people are looking for safety and security as they try to survive each day for

How lovely it is to have a view like this, with all things which should be green looking as verdant as ever? I know that, like all things other than time, it will not last, so let us enjoy it which it is with us and we are with it. Have a look and see if you agree and find this  video supportive of your contemplative desires.

What is she doing up there, you might ask? My partner and me made one of our regular sojourns to see my dear mother, who, with her increasing years, continue to be physically diminished by the impact of time and space. Sad as this state of affairs is, it is also one which humans must expect and accept, as we have no control over the process of ageing, beyond that of deliberately calling time on ourselves. On today's visit we found Mum to be reasonably well, all things considered. She continues to look frail, and losing her body tone, as her muscles weaken. Notwithstanding this, she still ambles about  her immaculately kept apartment, doing bits and pieces, as it were, such as a little laundering, hanging out and putting away what she has washed.  Having her own home, Mum is able to maintain as much of her independence as her body, mobility and health will allow her to exercise, with her main discomfort coming from her arthritic pains and longstanding problematic, and