Left handed guitarists are often told- just reverse the chord shapes, string numbers, etc. But this puts them at a disadvantage. Why should they not have their own charts and diagrams? This article presents the fingerboard of the left handed guitar, to help players locate all the notes without fuss.
A pseudo-random selection of quotations from Jean-Jacques Rousseau with some supporting commentary by the author.
As responsible drinkers like to know what they are drinking, responsible homebrewers should be able to tell them. This article explains how to manage sugar content and alcohol production.
Is homemade wine safe to drink? It should be both safe and wholesome, but there are some dreadful recipes and methods out there on the Internet. Here's how to avoid the shockers.
A tongue in cheek but semi-serious walker's guide to coping with extreme heat and humidity. Includes photos and description of Doha, Qatar, as only seen on foot.
A quick, reliable way to make cider without specialist equipment, ingredients, or knowledge. An ideal summer drink.
The Bullnose Mercedes is a real truck. Powerful, noisy, smelly, rattly. It shakes the ground and carves up the roads. Best of all, it is bullnosed, with a big ugly vertical exhaust stack.
A collection of black and white photographs taken in Glasgow in 1979, mostly in and around the West end, University, Byres Road, Maryhill.
Tbilisi is an ancient city in an ancient country, with the pride of culture to match. This is no mere (ex) Soviet satellite. The culture is deep, unique and distinctive.
From the writer of Tess and Jude, one would not expect a lot of jollity or gaiety, and indeed Hardy's poems tend to be sombre in tone, though often leavened with surprising metrical patterns borrowed from his local folk and church music.
St Luke's angel did not bring to the shepherds 'Tidings of Comfort and Joy'. That phrase comes from a 15th Century Christmas carol. The angel spoke only of 'great joy'. Luke chose his words with care. Joy, and not comfort, is the angel's message.
I thought I'd mark the occasion with a collection of a few of my poems on a romantic theme. I hope you find something to enjoy in them. This first one, Travellers, is about a chance encounter in a commuter train...
"I'll say what I like. It's a free country". This has rather fallen out of fashion, to be replaced, in UK, with "I'm entitled to state my opinion", and in US, with "I'm only exercising my (Constitutional) right to free speech"
Bur Dubai Panorama Hotel is an unprepossessing building. Six residential floors in low quality concrete, clad in pink crud. But Jockey's Pub and the working girls are its real claim to fame.
The Cycle of Fifths unlocks Western music. It is beautiful in its symmetry, simplicity and fruitfulness. It explains harmony, transposition and accompaniment. Vital for guitarists and keyboards.
For many guitarists, locating the notes on the fingerboard can be difficult, especially in the higher positions. Here is a quick and reliable method for learning all the notes on the guitar neck.
Two weeks ago, I knew nothing about bed bugs; now I know more than I ever wanted to. This is my bed bug story. I sincerely hope it never becomes yours, but read on, and be prepared for the worst.
One of the pleasures of living in the Middle East is to pass an evening in congenial company while enjoying a shisha (hookah) of your preferred flavour. Shisha is the traditional Arab water pipe.
Scotland's Happy Family . . That Makes Every Family Happy. The Broons first appeared seventy years ago in the Scottish Sunday Post, published in Dundee by D.C. Thomson, and are still going strong.
Aging home made wine is important. But unless wine is aged in the right way, it might spoil. This article explains how to age homemade or commercial wine for best results.
Guitarists need to understand Equal Temperament, or at least the basis of it. Why? Because their instrument is fretted for Equal Temperament and the strings have to be tuned accordingly.
An introduction to the theory of generating electricity followed by a brief summary of some of the viable ways of generating electricity on a commercial scale.
Kipling, and IF, are not threatened by their critics or parodists. The poem was voted number one in the UK publication "The Nation's Favourite Poems". Kipling's IF has wide appeal. Like Burns before him, Kipling wrote masterful but accessible and genuinely popular poetry.
Ramadan this year began on April 24 (2020). It is the holiest month in the Islamic year (1441). This article is a guide to Ramadan for non-Muslims, especially those living in the Gulf States.
The trouble with wearing the tartan /is everyone thinks you're a Spartan /who relishes cold /in the goolies. (I'm told /the best way to heat 'em is fartan!) A limerick is a short verse in a well-defined form which...
Working in the Middle East. Jobs in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia. Jobs in Energy and Construction. Jobs in other fields. Live, work and stay safe in the Gulf States.
Imagine, by John Lennon, is a deceptively simple song. But behind the simplicity is an elegance of lyrical, melodic and harmonic structure that approaches genius. Please read my appreciation of this master's masterwork.
This hub explains home winemaking. When you understand the processes, you will be able to design your own 'recipes', (though, as we'll see, 'recipe' isn't really a word that applies to winemaking). If you...
Here's a simple and reliable method for making wholesome red and white table wine from supermarket grape juice, sugar, and yeast. No chemicals and no specialist equipment needed.