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“I can shake off everything if I write; my sorrows disappear; my courage is reborn.”……Anne Frank

Image of Fraser wearing shades to illustrate post.

Welcome to my website, which is essentially my home on the internet, and is also, in essence, a portfolio/archive site of my writing.

This is also essentially about sharing my retirement activities as I continue living day-by-day.

I was born in 1958 on the west coast of Scotland, and I have lived in Bristol, UK since 1987. I live alone, and I spend much of my time reading, writing and learning.

I am currently engaged in studying for an MA in Creative Writing and Wellbeing which, all being well, should be completed by November 2025.

My writing can also currently be found on  Medium, and there is a link to that platform on this page.

Very short pieces of writing on a very informal basis on occasional days can be found under ‘Notes’.

I also spend time going to the cinema with a group of friends, spending time with my family and hanging-out with my neighbours.

I additionally take an interest in ongoing current affairs.

My cinema attendances and corresponding score (compared to IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes scores) can be found on this page, too, with my reading also recorded here, which is very slow going, as I spend so much time reading newspapers, journals, news reports and Medium articles, too.

If you wish to offer support to me as a writer, you can do so by clicking here, or by clicking on the ‘Support’ link above.

If you wish to comment on writing, you can do so by completing the comment form on individual posts or notes. If you wish to contact me otherwise, please use the contact form below.

Thank-you for visiting.

Fraser

Notes - Latest 2 April 2025

2 April
Image of a book cover for Ocean Vuong's 'On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous', used to illustrate post

Ocean Vuong – On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous

I was first introduced to Ocean Vuong through his poetry.  As a Vietnamese American he is reflecting, in this somewhat autobiographical novel, on his heritage, family, relationships and queer identity whilst adapting to American life.

Given his beautiful, lyrical poetry publications, it came as no surprise that he was writing beautifully-described images, with a lyrical flow throughout.

This may not be for every taste, but I considered it to be exquisite, and I gave it a score of 9/10.

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Time Travel certainly was dangerous, or the watching of it was, anyway.  One person (not me) out of four of us on our regular Monday cinema trip thought this was very enjoyable, whilst the rest of us gave it a massive thumbs down.

I managed to give it a score of 1/10, but only because it was a film, and it did have a beginning, middle and end.

Hoping for better Luck in a fortnight’s time as two of the others are away next week.

 

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Image of Fraser wearing shades to illustrate post.
Photo by Fraser

Beautiful sunny day, and another day where I am being taken by Sandy to Cardiff to see our daughter.

As usual, that was a lovely thing to do, and enhanced by yet another Wetherspoons lunch, and great hugs from the daughter, and lots of good chat in the pub.

The great things in life.

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Image of tiger, used to illustrate post

Busy day, today.  First off to see the annual wildlife photography exhibition@ The Bristol Museum and Art Gallery with the cinema group.  We all enjoyed that very much in our own individual ways.

Afterwards, we crossed the road, and had lunch in The Berkeley, a large Wetherspoons pub, and that was lovely, too, as are already a group who converseds easily with one another.

 

Shortly after returning home, Sandy came back and we went shopping, so quite a tiring day for this old man, but one filled with pleasure in the company of others.

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Today, I went to see The Alto Knights.  Two of us liked it, whilst two of us did not.  I was one who liked it, but probably more because I am a sucker for a gangster movie, and a bit of history. 

Robert De Niro playing both of the lead roles was quite a major distraction, and it felt more like a documentary than a gangster film.  The classic cars were good and the music choices were good, and I am still glad I went to see it.

I had hoped to score this movie as an 8 or 9, but could only give it a 7, still generous when compared to IMDB’s 6 and RT’s somewhat shocking 3.7.

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This week at the cinema we saw Mickey 17, it was a clever satire, with plenty of special effects and many aliens.

It was a film that certainly had a number of messages to relay to the audience in its own unique way. It was also quite bonkers, mixed in with a lot of violence, and yet managed to be a lot of fun, too.

My Score was 7.

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Annie Lennox – Extraordinary Human Being

Earlier today, I watched nearly an hour of a programme recorded by the BBC sessions team of a concert by Annie Lennox and her band, and backed by an orchestra.

In her introduction, she refers to the experience of the recording, whilst showing humility and gratitude for the experience, and being greatly appreciative of both her band and the orchestra, and the tension created, with both contributing to the positive experience of the performance and, of course, her vocal performance, backed by great vocals from the 3 women she has right up-front with her on the stage.

A long string of hits from great song- writing talent is delivered to a very appreciative audience. And the power of her performance continues, even when she takes to the piano and delivers an outstanding delivery of “Sisters are doin’ it for themselves”.

And that very song is a reflection of Annie Lennox’s activism in promoting women’s rights throughout the world. 

For me, this video stands out as a great celebration of both a fantastic singer and musician, and a wonderful human being, utilising incredible energy, maturity and dignity as a middle-aged woman.

Wes Streeting Squirming

Following the abolition of NHS England, Wes Streeting, when questioned by Laura Kuenssberg, avoided stating what other Quangos were going to be abolished, despite earlier stating that many more would be going.  He suggested that we should all wait, instead, for the announcement by Liz Kendall later this week.

And on the rumours of reversals on “no freeze on PIP and other benefits”, that will have to wait for the Chancellor’s announcements later this month.

In the meantime, the unions, the disabled, members of the Labour Party and the general public will doubtless be giving voice to these possibilities, which is probably why such rumours have been leaked in the first place as the government seeks to know just exactly what they can get away with, following their reduction in overseas aid to fund increases in defence spending.

As always, we live in interesting times.

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Image of Georgia Meloni, Italian Prime Minister, used to illustrate post
Georgia Meloni, Prime Minister of Italy

I see Sir Keir Starmer was back in action today with a conference of the ‘Coalition of The Willing’, without the continued support of the Italian Prime Minister, Georgia Meloni, who doesn’t see the point of sending troops to police a cease-fire.

In the meantime, the Americans are desperate for peace, but it seems far off for the rest of the world, and a lot can happen in that time.

If one member of the coalition can become somewhat less willing in such a short space of time, what else might be declared by the remainder?

Speeding-up proceedings is unlikely to be the outcome, and when it comes to putting money where mouths are, in respect of increasing defence spending, that might be more difficult than first imagined, for some countries.

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Image of Fraser wearing shades to illustrate post.
Photo by Fraser

Today was Diabetic Retinopathy screening, and my eyes are always light-sensitive after that.  I seem to be in the middle of ‘health-check’ season as I had bowel screening last week, which involved sending poo through the post (Yipee!), today was as stated and next week is CPAP check.  Asthma check, six-month Diabetes check and Lymphoedema check all due soon, too.

It’s always good to be reminded of life’s challenges, and so long as all the treatments and lifestyle requirements are in place, I can then get on with life as best as I can.  Being able to write notes here is part of that for me. 

So, I will celebrate the little things, and keep on doing, whilst hoping that everyone else I know (and don’t know) are all able to do the same, regardless of their version of life’s challenges.

 

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Image of NHS England logo to illustrate post

Keir Starmer abolishes NHS England as one part of cutting expenditure, with many cuts planned for the civil servcie, and a part of his attempts to increase spending on security, to increase more AI into government departments and to create more efficiency

There are likely to be large job losses.  For example, there are now approximately 515,000 civil servants as opposed to approximately 385,000 before Brexit.  And there are likely to be more ‘efficiency’ savings as we go along, with another 300 or so Quangos being re-examined, despite the fact that this government has produced 27 of those since coming to power.

Just don’t expect too much talk about job losses or austerity.

Image of American dollar, used to illustrate post.

During his campaign, and ever since, President Trump has been threatening tariffs on steel and aluminium.

He has already been using individual tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China in an attempt to greatly reduce the flow of both drugs and illegal immigrants into the USA.

Today, however, he introduced a global tariff of 25% on steel and aluminium, as he seeks to increase production of both these items within the USA.

Mexico, Canada and China were already aiming to issue their own responses in what is likely to become a full-scale tariff war already, particularly as he increased the tariff to 50% on Canada.

As of today, others are also now lining-up to make their own responses, following the introduction of the global tariff, including EU countries and many others, but not the UK.  The UK are delaying their response as they continue to hope, somewhat desperately, for the promised magic trade deal from America, which may or may not come, according to the whim of the current USA administration.  Only the government is holding their breath for that, principally because, without it, the UK will be in a whole lot more trouble than they are in already, signified by the anxiously planned raid on the benefits system during the next budget statement later this month.

In the meantime, the Americans and Ukrainians made some progress in seeking a peaceful end to the Russia-Ukraine war by agreeing to an immediate 30-day ceasefire, subject to acceptance by the Russians.

Everyone really is holding their breath on this decision by them.

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Today’s trip to the cinema was to see ‘Bonhoeffer’.  This was not in pursuit of a blockbuster, but was instead a tribute to the story of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, famous as a hero and martyr during the second world war, and for his prolific writing, particularly ‘The Cost of Discipleship‘.

You can read more about him here, and he is remembered by the Anglican church as one of the 10 martyrs represented in statue form above the entrance to Westminster Abbey.

Image of the modern martyrs statues above the entrance to Westminster Abbey.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (7th from left)

Consensus amongst our cinema group was that this was a good film.  We had varying degrees of pre-knowledge about Bonhoeffer, but we all came away feeling that we had learned some more, and that he had been a great man.

On a minor note, we all liked the credits at the end which were overlaid in a flash manner with some of the writings of Bonhoeffer.  On that note, we liked his advocacy of “the teachings of Christianity without need of the religion that surrounds it”.

There was a definite sense amongst us of having come away with more than just the experience of having watched a good movie.

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The above silent video presentation was produced using AI to provide information on the broad brush-strokes of American isolation in the 1930’s.  

As with all AI, the information produced may not be 100% reliable.  Thus, you should check-out any information as per your own requirements.

Whilst circumstances were very different in the 1930’s from now, it is also true that some elements are the same, such as American unwillingness to involve themselves in overseas wars and the use of tariffs to regulate the economy.

Although the use of isolationist policies in the late 1930’s may not equate to the same usage today, it is interesting, nonetheless, to see how things played-out in the past to get some ideas of the risks being taken in adopting this stance, and to try to understand the current position of the USA.

Whilst most of us are not experts in the economy nor international politics, it is useful to see the similarities and differences from the American approach in the past to the one taken today which, in turn, can give us a better understanding of current events occurring on the international stage.

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Image of building site to illustrate post

The Labour Party plans to largely strip councillors of their powers to block planning applications and building schemes, according to The Times.

This is being done to enable more housebuilding and other large construction projects throughout the country.

It has been welcomed by developers, but criticised by local councils as “eroding democracy”.

The changes will come about by a planning and infrastructure bill, promised by the Labour Party in their election manifesto.

For young people struggling to find a home, this will be welcome news, whilst older people with more conservative leanings might find this news disappointing.

My heart is with the young people, and my politics is with the Labour Party, so I really welcome this news.

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Latest Post

Finally posted ‘Spirit – Fourth poem of the self’ on both Substack and Medium.

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Completed Reading

I finished reading / listening to ‘Kafka on The Shore’ on Audible.  I found it a bit frustrating, and not really my cup of tea, but I can see how it would be popular, especially given the ‘magic realism’ elements contained within it.

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Image of American Middle-East envoy, Steve Witkoff, used to illustrate post

Steve Witkoff, American Middle-East envoy, announces meeting in Saudi Arabia between Americans and Ukrainians next week to formulate a framework for a peace plan between Ukraine and Russia.

In the meantime, the UK Defence Secretary has flown to Washington to meet with his American counterpart to discuss further agreements on Defence between the USA and the UK, in the backdrop of the French President, Emanuel Macron, addressing the French people about future defence strategy, and a meeting of EU leaders with President Zelensky of Ukraine to discuss further support for Ukraine, and a greater investment in defence spending by EU leaders, 20 of whom have already expressed willingness to join Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘Coalition of The Willing’, defined at a meeting of European leaders on Sunday.

Mexico is negotiating on the tariffs imposed by the USA, the Chinese have declared that they are willing to engage in any kind of war (trade or otherwise) with the Americans, and Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, described his latest phone call with Donald Trump on the subject of Tariffs as “colourful”.

Significant changes are happening throughout the world as what is being described as a ‘new world order’ begins to take shape.  Just how that will affect the ordinary citizens of the UK, and other nations throughout the world, remains to be seen.

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I went to see ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy’ with my cinema group (myself and 3 friends of a similar age).  We broadly agreed that it was an all-round, feel-good movie, and a good conclusion to the Bridget Jones movies, rounding-up the storylines with some of the familiar characters appearing in supporting roles, contributing to the comedic content.

That, and the touching moments, such as the performance of the song by Billy, sung to him by his late father at an earlier stage in his childhood, and the cuteness of his sister, Mabel, all contributed to the movie’s success.

This movie was both a tribute to all predecessors whilst providing great entertainment in its own right.

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This morning, on the BBC with Laura Kuenssberg, Sir Keir Starmer outlined events following the breakdown of talks in the White House on Friday, as follows…

On Friday evening, the Prime Minister called President Trump  and President Zelensky to determine how to repair relations, and continue to move forward with a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia.

On Saturday, ahead of schedule, President Zelensky arrived in the UK to a very warm greeting from the Prime Minister, as shown in the video above.  Further calls took place between Sir Keir Starmer and President Macron of France, along with a call to President Trump and further discussion with President Zelensky to move things forward. 

On Sunday, on the BBC with Laura Kuenssberg, ahead of the summit of European nations and EU leaders at Lancaster House in London, the Prime Minister outlined the plan to date. 

Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer, along with a “coalition of the willing”, will work with President Zelensky to determine a possible peace process, including security guarantees, and will then feed this back to President Trump, in the hope of coming to some agreement for peace. 

All of this, and all other relevant discussions, will take place later at Lancaster House within the European leaders’ summit.

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This week, Sir Keir Starmer (UK Prime Minister) visited President Trump in the White House, and the meeting was described by the media as largely successful, with the notable exception of a military backstop in the event of a peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine.

He also arranged a second state visit, involving a meeting with King Charles and Queen Camilla, for President Trump and the First Lady, and was promised a quick trade deal.

In contrast, when President Volodymyr  Zelensky visited the White House, ostensibly to sign a trade agreement, expected to follow a peace negotiation, the meeting broke-down with arguments breaking-out between Zelensky and Trump, and between Zelensky and US Vice-president JD Vance, as depicted in the video above.

On Saturday, President Zelensky flew to the UK to meet with Sir Keir Starmer on Saturday afternoon,  with both attending a larger meeting of EU leaders on Sunday, to be hosted by Sir Keir Starmer.

President Zelensky is also set to meet with King Charles on Sunday.

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Reading

Current

Ian McEwan – The Innocent.

Ian Mortimer – The Outcasts of Time.

Ian Rankin – Knots and Crosses.

Completed

Ocean Vuong – On Earth, We Are Briefly Gorgeous. (My score: 9; Goodreads: 8.1) – see also ‘Notes’ for 2 April 2025.

Current

Ocean Vuong – On Earth, we are briefly gorgeous.

Mary Jean Chan and Andrew Macmillan (Editors) – 100 Queer Poems.

Ian McEwan – The Innocent.

Completed

Haruki Murakami – Kafka on The Shore. (My score: 6; Goodreads: 8.5).

Cinema

31 March

Time Travel Is Dangerous (My score: 1; IMDB: 6.7; RT Unscored: ) – see also ‘Notes’ for 31 March 2025

24 March

The Alto Knights (My score: 7; IMDB:6.0; RT: 3.7) – See also ‘Notes’ for 24 March 2025

17 March

Mickey 17 (My Score: 7; IMDB: 7.1; RT: 7.7) – see also ‘Notes’ for 17 March 2025

10 March

Bonhoeffer (My Score: 8; IMDB: 6.3; RT: 6.6) – see also ‘Notes’ for 10 March 2025.

3 March

Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy (My Score: 8; IMDB: 6.7; RT: 8.8) – see also ‘Notes’ for 3 March 2025.

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