Lunatic fringe strikes back

On 5 December 2012 the House of Representatives passed legislation approved earlier by the Senate removing the word “lunatic” from all Federal laws in the USA. Not everyone is in agreement.

Now we are sixty

My friend, the artist Jeremy Dickinson, sent me a thoughtful and creative memento for my birthday. William Shakespeare, another compatriot, provided me with a Sonnet. Both appear below.

How to tame your strawberries

One can never have enough strawberries. They must be generously sprinkled with sugar and lavishly smothered in cream. Hopefully, as new research seems to promise, the strawberries themselves counterbalance any detrimental effects.

The Falklands: Making a mountain out of a molehill

The Falkland Islands (perdón – Las Malvinas) are not high on my list of places to visit. They might long ago have been exchanged for the Isle of Wight without much loss. But oil has now entered the picture and we can undoubtedly look forward to renewed political chicanery. As long as it doesn’t lead to another futile war.

Shakespeare’s herbal lore

In his plays and poems, Shakespeare shows a distinct familiarity with wildflowers and cultivated plants. Their medicinal properties apart, he also senses their psychological effects. But where did he acquire that knowledge?

Shakespeare’s Cardenio

Shakespeare’s company, the King’s Men, performed the play Cardenio for King James I in May 1613. It was written by Shakespeare and John Fletcher, his collaborator for Henry VIII and Two Noble Kinsmen, but the play itself is nowhere to be found.