Wohlleben’s Wood Wide Web
Wohlleben’s ‘Wood-Wide-Web’ Tony Jolley 17/09/2022 Got to admit it! Great name for a natural scientist: Mr. Live-Well or Mr. Good-Life: A kind of Caer Caveral the Forestal [If you are Stephen Donaldson-inclined And love his meisterstück: The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant Unbeliever And IMHO, if you’re not, you should be!] Or an Ent or Huorn If you prefer your Lord of the Rings: Guardians of trees and forests Becoming trees and forests themselves. Mr. Good-Life ‘listens’ to tree language At such long wavelengths And low modulations Anyone else would figure they’re flat: Featureless; Soundless; Speechless; Meaningless; [But to him they’re anything but!] – They seem to represent More collectivity than individuality, More society even than family In temperate...
Not a Blank Piece of Paper
Not a Blank Piece of Paper Tony Jolley 17/09/2022 “Rest in Peace, Liz”. Would saying that get me arrested in the UK During period of the Lying-in-State Of Queen Elizabeth 2nd? The Police might read my ‘Liz’ As all too unacceptably familiar At a time when the vast majority Is looking for ultimate respect Of the recent Head of the Monarchy. In Oxford, one Symon Hill On his way home from the Sunday Service, Stopped to listen to King Charles III’s Accession Proclamation. At the point Charles was declared: “Our only lawful & rightful Liege Lord” Mr. Hill called out: “Who elected him!” Without much further ado He was handcuffed And bundled into a Police van. None...
« Wenn Du Mich Siehst »
“Wenn du mich siehst…” Tony Jolley 04/09/2022 Some people throw stones into rivers To see ripples upon the surface, Some engrave stones in river-bed rocks And cast them into the future As a prophetic warning And sign of human understanding: Empathy across the centuries. The summer of 2022 Has just been declared The hottest in Europe For some 500 years. Lakes shrank. Rivers deep enough to dive in Dropped to levels that Wouldn’t float a little’un’s lilo-bed Let alone a loaded barge. Then this August, On the almost dry bed of the Elbe On the Czech/German border A so-called ‘Hunger Stone’ was found With the chilling, chiselled legend: « Wenn du Mich Siehst, Dann Weiner ». « If you see...
Dirty Water
‘Dirty’ Water Tony Jolley 04/09/2022 Jackson, Mississippi. 180,000 people Blighted and benighted By the giver and sustainer of life: Water. We’re all used to Periods of drought And lack of water; But what about Floods where excess of it Means there is nothing to drink Or nothing one dare drink: The system’s shot. IF residents are ‘lucky’ enough To have a working tap, The water’s rust or dirt brown: Fit only for flushing, Or, for the foolhardy, For showering mouth firmly shut. Drink only bottled Is the mantra; Blame the name of the game: The water system overhaul Delayed and deferred over decades. General consensus is that places Like Jackson and Flint Have...
The Big Es
The Big Es Tony Jolley 20/08/2022 At the turn of the 18th-19th Century Malthus wrote his now famous ‘Essay on the Principle of Population’ Postulating that increasing numbers Must eventually produce pressures Upon available resources Such that the size of the population Would inevitably and naturally Fall back to a sustainable limit Perhaps because of: Disease, food shortage And the ultimate form Of aggressive competition: War. Some have sought to ‘debunk’ his concept; For example, on the basis that Human ingenuity and science Have always managed to enable humanity To become so much more Efficient, Effective And Economic [3 of the famous 4Es!] In food and production of necessities, That supply has always run ahead Of the population...
To Heat or to Eat
To Heat or To Eat? Tony Jolley 19/08/2022 If you’ve done a degree In Economics, Psychology Or Business Management, Mention Abraham Maslow And eyes will roll or glaze over. All too familiar territory: Done that. Been there. Bought the proverbial ‘T’ shirt. The base of the pyramid long forgotten As we’re all reaching for the stratosphere, Hunting the Higher Needs and ultimately The highest: ‘Self-Actualisation’. [I’ve often wondered about that – The idea that the apex Is individual not collective]. . BBC News and the ‘Today Programme’ [Today obviously!] And two articles grabbed my attention: . The one suggesting that in some places Money-grabbing, British landlords Are taking unfair advantage of market conditions: [Putting rents up dramatically In...
About Me
Here is the link to my professional site personal profile if you are that desperate to know a bit about me, my career and life and thoughts in general! Surprising how many actually read it!