sport

Against sport

August 12, 2022 8 Comments
Against sport

My title will offend, I know.  Almost as much as would a blog of 1800, if one existed, that carried the title ‘Against religion’.  But bear with me, even if sport is your religion.  I want to argue, why, contrary to a virtually unquestioned consensus, I think the current fetishisation of competitive sport is a […]

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Another day at the cricket

August 13, 2021 0 Comments
Another day at the cricket

This year there’s no county cricket at St Helen’s – dark rumours circulate that it may never return to Swansea – so C and I make the journey to Cardiff.  It’s my first time in Sophia Gardens since I lived in in the city in the 1980s.  At that time there was little more than […]

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The shock of the cold

January 2, 2021 1 Comment
The shock of the cold

The year of Covid has changed many social habits, for good and ill.  Some habits are quite new and unexpected.  One of the most recent in our area has been the rise of cold-water sea bathing. I tend to go running along the sea cliffs at roughly the same time – just after dawn at […]

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The destruction of culture: a plea to Swansea Council

March 13, 2016 7 Comments
The destruction of culture: a plea to Swansea Council

What makes a city a city?  I mean, in the sense of a particular, distinctive city.  Its people, certainly, its geography, landscape and architecture, also its economy and politics.  But what really sets a city apart from its neighbours is its culture – that network of traditions, customs, institutions and habits, most of them with […]

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Sport is not the answer

December 19, 2015 0 Comments
Sport is not the answer

According to the NHS Britain is the most obese nation in western Europe. A quarter of adults are obese. Levels of obesity have risen threefold on thirty years, and if trends continue half the population will be obese by 2050. Diabetes, heart disease and cancer are just a few of the diseases that can follow […]

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A day at the cricket

August 15, 2015 1 Comment
A day at the cricket

Friday morning. I get to St Helen’s at about ten past eleven. Play has already started: Glamorgan v Gloucestershire, County Championship, Division 2. Day two of a four day game. It’s £15 to get in. I say to the ticket man, ‘I don’t suppose there are concessions for older persons?’. He gives me a pitying […]

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