What book are you reading at the moment?

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 30 Dec 2014 15:56:16 GMT

The "Silver Spoon" by John Galsworthy. It contains a heart-breaking poem.

When to God's Fondouk the donkeys are taken,

Donkeys of Barbary, Sicily, Spain,

If peradventure the Deity waken

He shall not easily slumber again.

Where in the sweet of the straw they have laid them

Broken and dead of their burdens and sores,

He, for a change shall remember He made them,

(One of the best of His numerous chores)

Order from someone a sigh of repentance

Donkeys of Syria, Araby, Greece

Over the Fondouk distemper the sentence

"For God's own forsaken - the Stable of Peace"

That book was written over 80 years ago. The plight of donkeys in much of the world hasn't improved one iota.

What is wrong with humans?

Wynne

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Sun, 28 Dec 2014 10:10:25 GMT

I've read that - brilliant. I can also recomend her "Walking Home".

Wynne

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Derek Lyon — Sat, 27 Dec 2014 14:17:17 GMT

My Animals and Other Family by Clare Balding and when finished "Our Zoo" is next in line

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Anthony Dennison — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 15:35:48 GMT

[quote user="mariette asselbergs"]

Henry Marsh (Neurosurgeon) Do no Harm

Starting with:

"Every surgeon carries within himself a small cemetery, where from time to time he goes to pray - a place of bitterness and regret, where he must look for an explanation for his failures"

Rene Leriche La Philosphie de la Chirurgie, 1951

Who doesn't have this place, religious or not?

Mariette

[/quote]

My girlfriend is reading this at the moment. There's a queue of people waiting for her to finish it so they can read it

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 09:18:55 GMT

Too true - and not just where surgery is concerned

Wynne

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

mariette asselbergs — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 21:50:38 GMT

Henry Marsh (Neurosurgeon) Do no Harm

Starting with:

"Every surgeon carries within himself a small cemetery, where from time to time he goes to pray - a place of bitterness and regret, where he must look for an explanation for his failures"

Rene Leriche La Philosphie de la Chirurgie, 1951

Who doesn't have this place, religious or not?

Mariette

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Niall Taylor — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 22:12:18 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]alway assuming I can get hold of it.?[/quote]

http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/SearchResults?an=shute&sts=t&tn=Round+the+Bend

Niall

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 21:45:54 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]

Evelyn I've read a lot of Shute novels, but not "Round the Bend" Would you recomend it - alway assuming I can get hold of it.?

Wynne

[/quote]

Yes.

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 19:50:37 GMT

Evelyn I've read a lot of Shute novels, but not "Round the Bend" Would you recomend it - alway assuming I can get hold of it.?

Wynne

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Martin Atkinson — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 09:21:38 GMT

Liz: Don't thank me personally, shout it from the rooftops, on social media whatever. Everyone who has read it has said the same and I don't think they're all just being polite. We have no advertising budget, Waterstones are being anal about stocking it for some reason and I can't get the publisher to put it on hard copy at Amazon. The only way we can get it to the attention of Joe Public is by word of mouth. I'm glad you're pleased anyway - thank you.

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Liz w — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 20:50:41 GMT

Martin , I gave your book to my dad when he visited this week, and can happily say that he barely put it down, and started most conversations with " has ....... ever happened to you? Because this chap says ....." Many thanks.

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 23:34:18 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"] it will be organic agriculture or organic agriculture.[/quote]

I'm always puzzled when people speak of organic agriculture. The thought of inorganic agriculture is an intriguing one. What would they grow? There was a fad some years ago for rocks as pets, but as far as I recall you couldn't eat them.

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]Horses in this country will be as ill-treated as they were here in Victorian times[/quote]

They were? They will? How do you know?

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 19:40:06 GMT

I hope you're right, I sincerely hope you're right. If the price of animal based protein was sufficiently high, then the welfare standards of the much smaller flocks and herds could also be vastly improved.

Wynne

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:38:02 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]Firstly, that expansion is very often morally indefensible, since it is either at the expense of animal welfare (over-intensive systems) or the environment[/quote]This is based purely on economics. If we embraced genetic engineering of food crops and produced the majority of our protein from culture of algae for example with meat being a luxury treat even our tiny isle could be self sufficient with available farm land.

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]Secondly, that expansion is dependent on a chemical input, which is based on oil. In any case, I wouldn't want to be alive when oil runs out. Horses in this country will be as ill-treated as they were here in Victorian times, and as they still are in many areas of the world. I couldn't bear to see that.[/quote]In less than our lifetime we will have embraced clean energy from controlled fission and vehicles will be running on hydrogen produced from methods powered from this virtually infinite source so there'll be no need for horses.

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Hannah Wynne Richards — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:26:20 GMT

I'd intended getting this thread back to it's original theme, but Niall has forced me to reply to the population theme.

Martin. You say that so far we have increased agricultural production to feed an ever increasing population. I have several arguments:

Firstly, that expansion is very often morally indefensible, since it is either at the expense of animal welfare (over-intensive systems) or the environment (deforestation)

Secondly, that expansion is dependent on a chemical input, which is based on oil. Oil is a finite resource, which will run out. When it does, it will be organic agriculture or organic agriculture. The greater the human population at that time, then the longer, and more unpleasant will be the period of famine until the population falls (is starved) to a sustainable level.

In any case, I wouldn't want to be alive when oil runs out. Horses in this country will be as ill-treated as they were here in Victorian times, and as they still are in many areas of the world. I couldn't bear to see that.

Niall Yes, it's the same Wycliffe as the television series. I really enjoy the books.

Wynne

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 18:24:12 GMT

Here's something for you Wynne:

I needed to go to the local NHS hospital but not wanting to sit there for 4

hours, I put on my blue jacket and pinned on a plastic ID card that I had

made off the Internet onto the front. When I went into the hospital, I

noticed that 3/4 of the people got up and left. I guess they decided that

they weren't that sick after all. Cut at least 3 hours off my waiting time.

At the post office the queue of people waiting for their social security

suddenly vanished and I got straight to the front. Don't try it at

McDonald's though, the whole staff disappeared and I never got my

order. Also never wear it while trying to get a tax or in a hand car

wash or you'll be left waiting forever!


Here's the badge. Feel free to use it the next time you're in need 
of a quicker service.

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 13:26:19 GMT

[quote user="Niall Taylor"]So a council of ex-Kings and philosophers get together at the Council of Brissago and sort everything out, but only after defeating the scheming Slavic Fox.[/quote]

And there's your problem, squire.

Who exactly appoints this council of ex-Kings and philosophers? What happens to anyone who doesn't accept their benevolent dictates? Suppose the scheming Slavic Fox has nuclear weapons?

There's a parallel here with your [quote user="Niall Taylor"]As of course has the EU, by unifying the most aggressive, belligerent and murderous continent [/quote]. Ah, the dream of the benevolent dictatorship. Dream on.

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Niall Taylor — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 11:05:04 GMT

[quote user="Hannah Wynne Richards"]To get back to the original thread, Burley's "Wycliffe and the Cycle of Death"[/quote]

Is that the Wycliffe of TV-detective renown? I hope the book is better than the TV show.

Cheers,

Niall

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Niall Taylor — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 10:58:06 GMT

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]You're not a UKIP man then Niall?[/quote]

To be honest I have a lot in common with anti-EU folks. I agree that it is imperfect, expensive, possibly somewhat corrupt and the end result is likely, at some levels, to be boring uniformity. I'm certainly not happy about a common currency.

But when you consider the alternative, then give me boring uniformity every time. I have more faith that human nature will be able to preserve cultural richness and diversity within the EU than it will be able to avoid the inevitable slip into nationalist conflict outside it. Straight bananas and the like are a small price to pay.

The sad thing is, human nature is such that it will all fall apart eventually; sooner or later people will forget. UKIP-types shouldn't worry really, just give it a bit more time and we'll be at each others' throats once again.

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]I saw `a creative comment on UKIP thinking - somebody referred to "Schroedinger's Immigrant" - a foreigner that at the same time was taking our benefits AND stealing our jobs.[/quote]

Niall

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Martin Atkinson — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 09:52:18 GMT

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]You're not a UKIP man then Niall?[/quote]Did everyone read the newspaper report that Nigel Farage blamed the traffic queues that delayed him on the M4 on immigrants. Now I know all the jokes about the driving standards of certain ethnic groups but isn't that going a bit far?

I feel very sorry for anyone who takes this idiot and his party seriously. I will feel even sorrier for myself if they get into power.

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Malcolm Ness — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 08:43:27 GMT

[quote user="Niall Taylor"] the EU, by unifying the most aggressive, belligerent and murderous continent the World has known under a common parliament and currency[/quote]

You're not a UKIP man then Niall?

As an aside, I saw `a creative comment on UKIP thinking - somebody referred to "Schroedinger's Immigrant" - a foreigner that at the same time was taking our benefits AND stealing our jobs.

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Niall Taylor — Tue, 09 Dec 2014 08:34:01 GMT

[quote user="Evelyn Barbour-Hill"]Does it happen in the novels of H.G. Wells? As i recall, in those I've read, things always go a bit wrong......[/quote]

I was thinking of Wells's 1913 "The World Set Free". It's a while since I read it but on skimming my copy again I find it has many similarities to Hannah's vision.

Wells predicts a global conflict started by belligerents in the Balkans and the advent of aerial warfare; he forsees the development of atomic power and atomic bombs which create massive, semi-permanent fountains of radioactivity making surrounding areas (most of the European capitals) uninhabitable. Right at the start he argues "The history of mankind is the history of the attainment of external power" and takes the reader in a massive sweep from flint and fire to "... the snare that will some day catch the sun" in the first few pages.

By the time the war has ended the world is so horrified by the destructive power of atomic bombs, the great and the good decree the world order must be completely rewritten and a World Republic established with common goals and a common currency:

The old tendencies of human nature, suspicion, jealousy, particularism and belligerency, were incompatible with the monstrous destructive power of the new appliances the inhuman logic of science had produced. The equilibrium could be restored only by civillisation destroying itself down to a level at which modern apparatus could no longer be produced, or by human nature adapting itself in its intsitutions to the new conditions, it was for the later alternative that the assembly existed.

So a council of ex-Kings and philosophers get together at the Council of Brissago and sort everything out, but only after defeating the scheming Slavic Fox.

It is wonderful stuff, I must read it again. And it is incredible how many of Wells's predictions came true. But so far we've only had the bad ones - wars, atomic bombs - we're still waiting for the New World Order to come along, although the League of Nations and its successor the United Nations have had a stab at it. As of course has the EU, by unifying the most aggressive, belligerent and murderous continent the World has known under a common parliament and currency. If only we knew what Hannah's view on that was.

Cheers,

Niall

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 23:40:33 GMT

[quote user="Niall Taylor"]Your goals are wonderful Hannah, I would love to believe by simply reducing the world population to X billion, every inequality and hardship would be reduced proportionately, but it ain't going to happen. Apart from in HG Wells novels of course [/quote]

Does it happen in the novels of H.G. Wells? As i recall, in those I've read, things always go a bit wrong......

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 23:34:34 GMT

Well, as this is a literary thread:

[quote user="Martin Atkinson"]Mind you, just in case I'm wrong, I intend to keep renewing my firearms licence just in case I need to defend my allotment and last tin of Spam against the marauding hoards or end it all if things go truly tits up.[/quote]

Nah, the hoards are your cellars full of Spam. The hordes are what you need your AK47 for to keep at bay.

I rang me a fallout shelter bell

I leaned my head and gave a yell

'Gimme a string bean, I'm a hungry man'

A shotgun fired and away I ran.......

(Dylan, B., 1963, Talkin' World War Three Blues)

Re: What book are you reading at the moment?

mariette asselbergs — Mon, 08 Dec 2014 21:44:07 GMT

A bit related to the above: I have just read Down to the sea in ships by Horatio Clare who travelled and wrote about container ship transport around the world. If you worry about population problems, this gives insight in the complete madness of transport of goods from one end of the world to the other and back to serve the consumption of the minority world with money. It gives a wonderful insight in the lives of the people who quietly and completely out of sight keep our economies and societies going. Nothing would function without them, yet few people are aware of what they are doing.

Very nicely written too.

Mariette