by Nigel Scotchmer | Essays
Indifference is not a response in unsettled times Love, not indifference, protects. Here is a Downy woodpecker by Maria Corcacas. This morning, as the ‘dim temple of the Dawn1’ paled the sky, our red-headed male downy woodpecker announced his return with his staccato...
by Nigel Scotchmer | Essays
Neolithic Man’s discovery, Rodin’s insight, and William of Occam’s wisdom Imagine Mankind’s awe, when, for the first time, he watched a rock melt in a fire, and out ran a liquid. When it cooled, he saw it was different, and he called it metal. It...
by Nigel Scotchmer | Essays
I’ve walked many ancient sites, but Troy is different. Homer writes of ‘windy Troy’, and when I stood upon the ruined battlements, looking out toward the sapphire sea, it was constant and strong. I thought of exhausted sailors rowing past Cape Sigeion, and their...
by Nigel Scotchmer | Essays
“Meet me at the gate to Yu Garden” – Anonymous My neighbour across the street ran the ‘Maple Leaf Express’, one of the exit routes from Hong Kong when the British returned it to China in 1997. He regaled with me stories of incompetent Canadian government officials...
by Nigel Scotchmer | Essays
The picture above has a touch of unexpected colour. A different angle and a picture can be transformed. Change a word and a poem will be remembered. We work for years at what is important to us, be it family, work, or, sadly, (for far too many people), starting wars....
by Zarinaya Hagana | Essays
Be skeptical, and think afresh… Flying Fish Services Ltd. The Editor of The Ironist has long asked me for my views on the war in Ukraine. For me it is a long way to Europe – let alone across the Atlantic – as I haven’t left the Black Sea. But sturgeons live...
