Category Archives: My own

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Mermaids and the price of tails

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be a mermaid? To have all the oceans as your playground?

I’ve been thinking about mermaids recently. The closer I get the more I wonder at them, and at how they have been part of our mythology for so long. Today’s discovery was about modern mermaids, and the eye trouble they’re having.

The idea of ‘real’ modern mermaids took me completely by surprise. I had no idea that there is an activity called mermaiding, where a swimmer puts on a large artificial fishtail (a monofin) and then enters the water as a mermaid. This has become so popular, that in 2020, after joining the United States Artistic Swimming Association, mermaiding was recognised as a sport, and now mermaid training is offered by PADI (the Professional Association of Diving Instructors) who provide certified courses to almost anyone aged 6 or older.

A warning though, apparently the sport is not as easy as the mermaids make it look. There can be eye problems for any who might want to perform in a tank to entertain the public, as the ideal is for mermaids to be open-eyed and goggleless regardless of how chlorinated the water might be. Another issue, according to one website I found, is blisters from the tail.

The good news however, is that the price of tails is dropping. You don’t have to spend a fortune to start, although if you want to go expensive, there are plenty of options for that too.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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Our relationship with fire

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“What I desire is man’s red fire to make my dream come true.”

Lyrics from Disney’s soundtrack of animated Jungle Book

There is such warming power and appeal about fire when it is under control, and such a terror to it when it breaks free and threatens to consume everything in its path.

This year has been a horrible year for fire around the world. The fire I remember most vividly was the one that destroyed Lahania on the Hawaiian island of Maui in early August. It was such a tragedy, and the worst wildfire in the United States for over a century.

In the same month there were wildfires in Greece, and other parts of Europe, and the fires in Canada continued to spread. In Canada they began in June, earlier than usual, and to date they’ve been the worst fires on record for Canada, with more than 100 000 square kilometres burned. The average is apparently around 27 000. I have read that the Canadian fire service believes that over 70% of this year’s fires were caused by lightning.

So I wonder what we’re going to do with this growing threat from ‘man’s red fire’?

Clean up earth’s atmosphere as fast as we can has to be one thing, and then, alongside that, there seems to be some hope that NASA’s Fire Events Data Suite (FEDS) might help provide accurate information about the fires as they spread, allowing those who fight them to target their responses with more effect, and to better understand the causes of the fires in the first place.

I just hope that our environmental efforts, together with FEDS, and the work of so many courageous firefighters, will make a real difference to the places facing fire around the world.

Here’s a link to more information about FEDS.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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The promise in a wedding

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“It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” Friedrich Nietzsche

I am sitting writing this in a cold London. It is not yet dark and already the temperature is below freezing, but there is a warmth in the air, and that is thanks to the sound of a wedding party gathering nearby.

What is it about a wedding that is so warming? So life-affirming?

For me it is not the clothes, the food, the venue, the wine, the speeches – it is that thing happening right at its core. The promise. Two people promising to do their best for each other, forever. Two people committing themselves to a daunting, difficult, deliberate partnership around which they promise to build their lives for as long they both shall live.

Then, promises made, off they go along the road of life together. What a moment.

The hard part of course, in any marriage, is keeping that flame, that campfire, burning brightly enough so that others can see it and feel its warmth. But it can happen and it does happen, and with every wedding there is the hope that it will happen again.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023