Category: writing

January Diets Are Not For Me

flat lay photography of vegetable salad on plate
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Come January and a plethora of dietary advice hits us like an Alpine avalanche.

You know the score, you’ve overeaten for a week or more and you dread getting on the scales each morning, right?

Well, I for one don’t really believe in diets. I think you have to mindful all year round, including Christmas. Sure you can eat a bit more, but I often skip breakfast, or have something really light at that time, if I know I’ll be partaking in a feast at night. I might drink more water too.

A week or ten day’s overindulgence could take weeks to put right in terms of losing that weight you’ve rapidly put on. So I simply don’t do it. I am not perfect by any stretch, I just say no to that extra drink, I don’t get drunk and I rarely overeat – even at Christmas.

Ultimately, prevention is so much better than cure. A ‘diet’ for me is for life, not just for January.

copyright Francis Barker 2020

UFOs Or Satellites? Take Out The Trash!

yellow flag on boat
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Mystery objects in the sky have tantalised humanity for longer than we think.

Even some Renaissance paintings have strange looking craft depicted in the sky, which bear a remarkable likeness to descriptions of present day UFOs. Such phenomena back then would probably have been put down to the work of the devil.

Today, however, we might have more ‘logical’, even rather prosaic explanations, like space rockets and the launching of thousands of satellites.

One thing is for sure – if we are to believe the number of satellites now orbiting the earth, – the skies are certainly getting a little crowded up there. After all, we have all seen the news telling us about satellite launches since 1957, Sputnik et al.

There is much justified criticism of the amount of junk, particularly plastic, in our oceans which threaten wildlife, yet not many give a thought for the vast amount of rubbish seemingly spinning around us, which could either fall on our heads at any time, or represent a hazard for other potential rockets carrying humans into the mysterious realms of space.

Logic would imply that at some stage, someone, or some authority, is going to have to deal with this ‘trash’ in the sky. I can’t wait.

copyright Francis Barker 2020

Lincolnshire Places and People

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Lincolnshire churches are quite stunning and varied.

Lincolnshire people are indeed unique – I should know, being one of them!

I sometimes think we do suffer from being ‘in-betweenies’, that is neither northern or southern. Well, the simple answer to that is that we are East Midlanders, of course.

I certainly don’t mind being called a ‘yellowbelly’ and, in all honesty, my part of the county in the south is admittedly extremely flat.

That said, I am very fond of the north of Lincolnshire; the Wolds are gorgeous, reaching as high as 500 feet around Normanby le Wold, and the coast has some of the finest beaches you will ever see.

But perhaps one of the greatest glories of Lincolnshire as a whole, is the quality and diversity of our ecclesiastical heritage. The range of churches is stunning and the county town of Lincoln has, in my opinion, the best cathedral in the whole of England.

copyright Francis Barker 2019

The VAR Soccer Controversy – It isn’t ‘Cricket’!

action activity balls day
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VAR (Video Assistant Referee) is at times making more headlines than the football (soccer) action these days.

The latest controversies, decisions which have swung on measurements of no more than a few millimetres, plus perhaps inconsistent interpretations of the offside rule, have affected the course of games and perhaps even decided the results of some.

For years there was a clamour for the use of such technology, now it seems many can’t wait to get rid of it. I also detect that there is a sense among some that the technology somehow favours the ‘bigger’ clubs, although I don’t think this is true.

However, when you examine the great majority of incidents, even if the decisions are minimal, they are invariably correct. Yet, as in some cases, a player is adjudged to be a few millimetres offside after the referee initially gave the goal, there is no leeway, no place for ‘commonsense’ or the application of the spirit rather than the rule of ‘law’.

My own opinion is that VAR should only be used sparingly, and, if an attacking player is only the merest snip offside through VAR but looks onside by the naked eye, then the referee’s original decision should stand and the benefit should go to that attacker, otherwise I believe the whole nature of the game (and it is a game) is surely in doubt in the long term.

copyright Francis Barker 2019

Rudyard Kipling Born Today 1865

www.reddit.com/r/FreeEBOOKS/comments/ehka7k/happy_birthday_rudyard_kipling/

He was a man of his time, born in India to British parents, into a culture which was to inspire his output: ‘The Jungle Book’ and ‘Kim’ being two of his more famous works.