Hear of the dog

Dogs can discern their names in a crowd better  than a young child , according to researchers in the  University of Maryland. Canines can also hear their name when spoken by  an unfamiliar person. 

Service and working dogs  responded better to the caller’s voice in the study, probably due to the fact that they were not given nick names  as well.

Hide and Seek

At Skylar’s party just last week 

We played  game of hide and seek;

A hid so well, without a sound,

That in five days I’ve not been found.

(Skylar’s sister  had been chiding

Johnpa for his hopeless hiding,

So I’m trying hard to please her

But it’s cold here in the freezer.)

Inner Wheel Club of South Wairarapa

We were pleased to be part of the Featherston Expo where we waved our banner beyond Greytown. We found two possible new members from being there, and of course, raised our profile a little bit more. Our October meeting was fellowship focussed with some members relaying stories about special times or things in their lives, in other words, a “show’n’tell” evening. 

We saw a potpourri of items including jewellery, two Persian watercolours, a pincushion, a carved emu egg, a hand embroidered tablecloth, a black flappers dress, and a prize winning floral art accessory. The stories were poignant, funny, and in each case personal. We are lucky and privileged to belong to a group where such sharing is possible and in a warm and comfortable environment. … Continue Reading

Is democracy dying?

In his most recent book How Democracy Ends Cambridge politics professor David Runcimargues that democracy is alive, if not altogether well.

Trump, Brexit and the creeping pall of fascism that’s descended on large swathes of Europe and America are not symptoms of democracy’s death, but a crisis — a midlife crisis, according to Runciman.

The established democracies are old, tired and groaning with the existential angst of middle age. This doesn’t mean the crisis faced by democracies isn’t serious, it is, but it’s probably not the end.

“When a miserable middle-aged man buys a motorbike on impulse, it can be dangerous. If he’s really unlucky it all ends in a fireball,” Runciman writes. “American democracy is in middle age. Donald Trump is its motorcycle”.

Trump, he tells me, is not the symbol of democracy’s end, but rather evidence of the electorate’s enduring faith in democratic institutions.

 “I do feel that part of the reason people voted for Trump was not because they believed him when he said America was broken but because they didn’t believe him.

“They actually believe that American democracy and politics was robust enough that they could voice their anger, their deep frustration, their desire for something radically new without having to face the consequences of the risk of the collapse of democracy”. … Continue Reading