05 Aug The best of what we read, watched and listened to this week
Image by jorono from Pixabay
The phenomenon that we know as globalisation has brought both benefits and problems to the world. Yet, as this article suggests, despite the efforts of campaigners against it and those who predict its end, we can probably look forward to more of the same as it’s one of those things which is just unstoppable unless everyone collectively decides that its drawbacks outweigh its advantages. [4 min read]
One of the consequences of improved living standards and medical advances is an increase in life expectancy. However, even as we are living longer, it doesn’t follow that we are doing so in good health. The good news is that a respectable number of the factors that affect our health are determined by our lifestyle, so we can influence it by making modest changes. [5 min read]
Once every reasonably-sized settlement had a general store; the sort of place where after a bit of rummaging you can find pretty well anything you might need. Changing consumer patterns are gradually reducing their numbers and Alfie’s in Cullompton is one of the latest as its owner retires after 47 years of serving the local community. [3 min read]
Pigeons are famous for their ability to navigate back home but even so, they are not infallible. Meet Bob, who managed to make the trip from Guernsey to Tyneside via Alabama, using his wings, a jet airliner and possibly a ship. [2 min read]
This week saw the death of Nichelle Nicholls, most famous for playing communications officer Lt Uhura in Star Trek, a role she only took as a step on the way to Broadway but which ended up leading to working on a recruitment project for NASA. One of the revelations in this obituary is that she could even have ended up as science officer Spock, if only Nimoy hadn’t already signed up for that role. [5 min read]
There was a football match last weekend which was considered by those with an interest in the subject to be quite important. Although we perhaps shouldn’t be too surprised that some in the losing country felt that they were robbed, commentator Gabby Logan has attracted praise for her inspiring sign-off to the broadcast. [5 min read and 0:00:24 video]
We hope you have a great weekend.
Rob and Charles