If you read my blog on Ronald Reagan you will have noticed that I admired him, even as a Brit in Southern Africa. I don’t think I went overboard—it was a simple eulogy—and I praised the old warrior for his achievements. I subscribe to the on-line editions of many newspapers, including the New York Times, so I felt my eulogy might find a place in that paper’s remembrance pages. I think there were 700 or so messages, at last count, but there may have been more. I logged on as usual yesterday...

Here is the question I have to research: Why do some people walk into a room/a shop/a meeting etc and command instant attention. Why do some people have a "force" that causes others to react positively and sometimes subserviently, and why are others bumped to the end of the queue/ignored/left out? What , in fact,constitutes the aura surrounding a popular person (the modern word nowadays is "charisma".)? Is this a magical force? Is it a result of a strong personality (bearing in mind that s...

I read and appreciate the scholarly search for meaning in the passages of the Bible but I seldom comment because I 'm a realist. and don't wish to be rude. One friend at JU suggested not so long ago that I was a "Darwinist" and I cannot disagree. I just wonder, while reading Richard Dawkins' book: "The God Delusion", what Joeuser Bible Scholars think of Dawkins' book, if they have read it. I have often felt that many Bible scholars find far too much meaning in the Scriptures because I , like ...

As I am a realist, and, a person who puts logical explanations above all else, I do not believe in the paranormal. Psychic phenomena, ouija boards and ghost-watching do not enter my world because I believe that there is an explanation for everything. I also think that the charlatans of the world have blown up the paranormal to the extent that it exists now. Members of spiritualist churches are chief amongst those who try to persuade us that Mom and Pop are a few steps away with messages of go...

I am doing some research on a book about the Soul. Unlike many other tomes on this subject I want to stay clear of making religion the defining or governing theme where the Soul is concerned. I say this because, although I am a Christian, I believe a) religion often clouds the issue and , there are many good people out there who will agree that you do not need a religion (or attend church), to have a Soul. (should I say a good Soul to make everyone comfortable? I think not). Obviously r...

I try to lead my life along certain guidelines. Not because I want to be perfect or have a clear conscience. The rules I live by have been formed by my life experience. It has taken almost sixty years to realise that I am basically a mammal with an advanced brain ---and I need to explore that brain to improve my life and that of those around me. I have sinned (if you can call it that), by hurting people, by being selfish and by being unfeeling. I have provoked turmoil, unhappiness and ins...