Category: Fixed Abode

On May 4th Adam Sky, a well known DJ, died after falling through a glass door and severing an artery in his arm. We don’t know the circumstances of this tragic incident but it does raise important questions for us all particularly those many people who own or stay in properties with full pane glass […]

If ever there was an invention that made life more comfortable it must be that contraption we all use every day and is widely attributed to Yorkshireman Thomas Crapper. In fact it was Sir John Harrington who invented the first flush toilet way back in 1596, he built one for Queen Elizabeth 1 (thronemakers to […]

Those immortal words from Coleridge’s “Rime of the Ancient Mariner” come back to me quite often these days. “Water, water everywhere and not a drop to drink.” He was, of course, talking about being surrounded by sea water, a fate being suffered by more and more houses in Bali. Make no mistake we are facing […]

In the island of the Gods the never ending cycle of regeneration continues unabated. “I have just moved to Bali now what should I do? I know, I’ll raise sheep, nothing like a woolly jumper to keep you warm on a winter’s night…….. Maybe not.” “I could start a mini market, not a lot of […]

How safe is the water in Bali? I recently met a couple visiting Bali. The man was not happy, “I’ve got Bali belly” he said. “It must have been that warung we went to last night”. “It’s usually the water that gets you” I replied. Years ago I had learned the hard way. When I […]

Electricity takes it’s name from the Latin “electrum” which in turn comes from the Greek “elektron” which, as we all know, means “amber”. “Amber?” I hear you think. Yes amber. You see the ancient Greeks had a habit of rubbing things and they noticed that if you rubbed amber with something furry (such as a […]

Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against water, in fact I quite like it. But it is sneaky. We would be a bit stuffed without water wouldn’t we? For I start we would all be a bit smaller, about 90% smaller in fact. We’d be a bit dirty as well without a shower every […]

A scream rent the air. “Wayaaaaaaaan” Wayan quietly carried on clipping some hibiscus in the nether regions of the garden hoping against hope that the sound was some cerebral aberration that had intruded itself into the serenity of his afternoon. “Wayan” the voice came again “where are you you useless piece of bile laiden nasal […]

Ever had a fridge you daren’t open? It hasn’t been cleaned out for a while and you can’t face those jars with the fetid contents you really don’t want to see, you shuffle around avoiding nasty things but then you open a mysterious plastic container to find a blue stilton that’s been there for two […]