Tree fells Corsham

My walk to the shops to stock up with paracetomol this afternoon was barred by a fallen tree in the Martingate shopping centre, Corsham, which had been cordoned off by the police. About 30 feet tall, the tree had been growing in a paved area and had fallen onto the edge of the roof of two shops.

By the time I arrived it had been largely chopped up. There were a lot of people there to deal with it. All three council wagons were present (to block pedestrians or possibly to remove the tree). There were three or more tree surgeons with chainsaws. There was a Fire Engine with it’s own private area cordoned off with pretty blue flashing lights on the ground. I’m not sure whether they were there in case of fire or a building collapse, or in case everyone else was not strong enough to move the pieces of tree trunk. It has been wet and windy here today, however this was a surprise.

I never got to the pharmacy, but I can feel a song coming on… “On the tenth day of Christmas…”

Flash Meditations

A new take on Flash Mobs, from Positive News – people in a crowd suddenly starting to meditate!

Passion pays

It pays to follow your passion – article and survey results from the UK Leadership Academy.

Wangari dies

Wangari, who challenged the Kenyan establishment and empowered women through the planting of trees – and won the Nobel Peace Prize for it – died on 25th September. I’m aware of her because one of the songs we sing in our community choir (“Sow the Seed” by Polly Bolton) commemorates her work. See this Daily Telegraph article to be impressed.

Religious scepticism or doubt?

Further to my article about what folly really is, here’s a fascinating article about the important difference between scepticism and doubt.

Olly Hicks survives kayaking from Holland

Saw Olly Hicks in the paper today. He met Prince Harry on completion of a kayaking expedition from Holland to the UK in memory of an escape from the Nazi’s 41 years ago. Olly was the only British member to complete the journey….

Folly – a definition by example

A discussion about why human beings do things they know will not work – folly – looking at the Eurozone Greece crisis. BBC article.

The British ‘Schindler’ who saved Austrian Jews

A British vicar saved hundreds of Jews from the Nazis by baptising them as Christians to help them escape Austria, BBC article.

Random postings

A collection of some interesting postings from sites I’m following…

Phil Simpson on the undefended leader (Simon Walker’s books).

Institute for the Study of Genocide. A crucial and harrowing resource. I was unaware how much genocide is going on. “In the 20th century, genocides and state mass murder have killed more people than have all wars.” The newsletters on this site are worth reading, including “Winter 2010” which includes an insightful piece on Islamic Extremism.

Dreaming of a Caliphate Interestingly this article also addresses Islamic hopes of Islamic rule, from an economic perspective rather than that of the Institute for the Study of Genocide.

Sustainability Toolkit

Here's an interesting link to a course put together by a friend of mine, Martin Sandbrook, at the Schumacher Intitute in Bristol. It's all about finding a more sustainable way of doing things and making use of Systems Thinking instead of just mechanistic approaches with a view to – amongst other things – living a more satisfying life. The Sustainability Toolkit: the first twelve-month course was launched in January 2011.