Sun Storms intensify to reveal more Northern Lights in two weeks

More Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) are on the way, as huge sunspot cluster that hurled energy and gas towards Earth will rotate back towards us in around two weeks. The Sun has continued since last Saturday, pumping out increased radiation – a huge solar flare on Tuesday disrupted high-frequency radio communications globally the Sun is approaching “ Solar Maximum” a point during an 11-year cycle when its activity is intense, when the Sun’s magnetic poles flip –  a process that creates sunspots that fire out material, generating space weather.  This solar cycle is the 25th since humans started systematically observing … Continue reading Sun Storms intensify to reveal more Northern Lights in two weeks

Short Story: The Octopus Curry

The Octopus Curry  – A Short Story by Penny Nair Price Liz and Roger worked together and were great comrades in the office – Roger had had his eye on her for some time but he was strapped for cash and when  Friday evening came,  another colleague – Chris invited him to eat locally to the office as a treat. Liz said her goodbyes and went on her way for the weekend.  The chosen restaurant was on the first floor.  Roger took his rucksack with him, found a space for it,  and the two colleagues sat down to a wonderful … Continue reading Short Story: The Octopus Curry

Death by reckless cycling is to become an offence

Cycling death or serious injury by dangerous or careless cycling is set to become an offence, after the British government agreed to a change in the law. Under the change, dangerous cyclists could face up to 14 years in prison. Rigorous campaigning by Tory MP and former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith had proposed an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill, which is currently going through Parliament. Speaking in the House of Commons, Sir iain  Duncan Smith said his proposal was not anti-cycling, it is about making sure this takes place in a safe and reasonable manner, but cyclists … Continue reading Death by reckless cycling is to become an offence

Alice Munro, master of short story and Nobel Prize winner dies aged 92

Alice Munro known for mastery of short stories and depictions of womanhood in rural settings, has died in Ontario, Canada aged 92. Born in 1931 in Wingham, Ontario, Munro grew up in a fox and mink farm, in the most disreputable part of the town. Munro found an escape in reading as a child and her favourite writers like Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, and Lucy Maud Montgomery guided her in appreciating literature beyond her age. “Books seem to me to be magic, and I wanted to be part of the magic, Books are far more important to me than life”  … Continue reading Alice Munro, master of short story and Nobel Prize winner dies aged 92

Agony and ecstasy engulfed by desire

Provoking offbeat sexual acts, challenges the binary of marriage and explores sexuality in perimenopause.  All Fours is tender, hilarious and sexy. A semi-famous artist announces her  pan to drive cross-country, from LA  to New York. Twenty minutes after leaving her husband and child at home, she spontaneously exits the freeway, beds down in a nondescript motel, and immerses herself in a temporary reinvention that turns out to be the start of an entirely different journey. Miranda July in All Fours, a 45-year-old “semi-famous” artist who remains unnamed locks eyes with the young man who’s squeegeeing her . Their intense but … Continue reading Agony and ecstasy engulfed by desire

On the Brink of fear & disaster

Philip Notman, an acclaimed medieval history professor whose fondness for Emerson’s scariest quote “ I  am glad to be on the brink of fear”, attends a conference in Bergen, Norway. On his return to London, and to his wife and son, something unexpected and inexplicable happens to him, and he is unable to settle back into his normal life. Seeking answers, he flies to Cadiz to see Inés, a Spanish academic, with whom he shared a connection at the conference, but his journey doesn’t end there. A chance encounter with a wealthy, elderly couple sends him to a house on … Continue reading On the Brink of fear & disaster

Snakes

Snakes symbolise life, rebirth, resurrection, destruction and play a significant part in many mythologies and cultures. Lord Shiva and his connection with the Spectacled Cobras in Indian mythology is famous as three snakes symbolise time frames of past, present, and the future. The first known fossil of four legged snake, from Brazil dates back 110 million years ago, making it the oldest definitive snake, described in the Journal science, the evolutionary process by which some reptiles became serpentine during the dinosaur era. “It is generally accepted that snakes evolved from lizards at some point in the distant past” according to … Continue reading Snakes

Spectacular Northern Lights seen in UK

The Aurora borealis, (Northern Lights) could be seen across the country thanks to one of the strongest geomagnetic storms in years. The extreme geomagnetic storm that happened on Fridays  was categorised as the highest strength known as G5. Storms of this scale can potentially affect infrastructure, including satellites and the power grid. Aurora activity is expected again on Saturday. Continue reading Spectacular Northern Lights seen in UK

Past pains follow present pleasures: Tangled-colonial roots

Do you cherish British countryside, the moors and lochs, valleys and mountains, cottages and country houses. Historian and professor of colonialism and heritage at the University of Leicester, Corrine Fowler brings rural life and colonial rule together with transformative results, through ten country walks, roaming the island with varied companions. She connects the Cotswolds to Calcutta. Dolgellau to Virginia and Grasmere to Canton. Empire transformed rural lives for better and for worse, whether in Welsh sheep farms or Cornish copper mines, it offer both opportunity and exploitation. Flower shows how the booming profits of overseas colonial activities, and the select … Continue reading Past pains follow present pleasures: Tangled-colonial roots

Spectacular Opal’s Gene operation begins a new era for deaf

In another trial at Addenbrooke’s NHS hospital, (Cambridge), Opal Sandy (18months) from Oxfordshire,  a girl completely deaf, after she was diagnosed with auditory neuropathy caused by disruption of nerve impulses going from her inner ear to the brain,  can now hear after having world-leading gene therapy.   A working copy of the fault gene that caused it  was delivered by infusion through a tube into her right ear during surgery last September. Within three months, her mum Joy 33, realised Opal could hear clapping. “ I thought it was a fluke, or something caught her eye, but I repeated it … Continue reading Spectacular Opal’s Gene operation begins a new era for deaf