David & Me.
This blog sounds arrogant but my aim is to celebrate David Attenborough through some memories and meetings. I was 10 years old when I watched Zoo Quest on a tiny black and white TV but it is etched on my
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04, 2026
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02, 2026
Chinese New Year: My fiery reflections
When I was researching for Brushstrokes in Time which is set in the USA and China, I attended a year’s course in Chinese philosophy. I was attracted by the words of Lao Tzu, the founder of Daoism. In 2026, these
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09, 2025
Ai Weiwei and the Stars Art Movement
https://howtoacademy.com/events/ai-weiwei-on-censorship/ Ai Weiwei began his career with the Stars artists (Beijing 1979 ) In the UK, we don’t expect an art exhibition to be closed by the police but that is what happened to the Stars unofficial exhibition in Beijing.
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08, 2025
Why was India’s greatest ruler & the destruction of the great library at Nalanda forgotten for 1000 years ?
I wrote this blog in 2020 but am returning to it because, in 2025, the world needs GOOD GOVERNANCE and hope that change, in the interests of humanity, is possible. Today the Madras Courier published an opinion piece by me
25
06, 2025
The Rise and Rise of Oxford Indie Book Fair. Why? Is it tapping into a need?
(See the programme at the bottom of the blog) I’m one if the organisers of the Oxford Indie Book Fair. Our fairs are in Oxford in the University Examinations Halls and, on July 13, as the last event of the
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06, 2025
Come Together – Flow Together: the only way to solve the world’s problems.
We need hope in these dark times and Confluence Collective founded by Malcolm Atkins and friends never fails. I wrote a poem celebrating how the group bring creative people from every community together, from India and Pakistan from Ethiopia and
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06, 2025
I’m impressed: is this really my book?
I've drafted this to pitch for a translation into French . Even I'm impressed. Is this really my novel? I have the Stars Artists to thank . This novel is about them. Not only are they incredibly talented but they
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05, 2025
The British Empire: a force for good or Colonial Holocaust?
My reaction to Keir Starmer stating ( as a response to a question by Douglas Alexander) that the British Empire was a "force for good in the world", is the same as my reaction to him supporting Israel when it began to
10
03, 2025
Peggy Seeger and Ruth Crawford Seeger
Today, March 19.2025, the composer of the day on BBC Radio 3 was the first celebrated female American composer, Ruth Crawford Seeger, the mother of Mike and Peggy and stepmother of Pete, who sang at Obama's inauguration. I had the
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02, 2025
Politics, Lives, Page Turners: The Courage of Claret Press publishing Sylvia Vetta and Pen Farthing
Politics, Lives, Page Turners: The Courage of Claret Press publishing Sylvia Vetta and Pen Farthing I first made this blog before Pen Farthing and I talked at the Oxford Indie Book Fair . Today's Guardian feature warrants re-posting it.