Ludwig Guttmann was born on July 3, 1899, in Tost, Germany (now Toszek, Poland), to a German-Jewish family. In 1917, while working as a volunteer at a hospital for coal miners, Guttmann encountered a patient with a spinal injury and paraplegia. At the time, paraplegia was effectively a death sentence; unfortunately this proved true for the young coal miner. However, the memory of this patient had a deep impact on Guttmann. Guttmann worked in the 30ies as a neurosurgeon at the

The Duchess is a lavish historical drama based on the true story of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire (1757 – 1806) who rumour has it, was distantly related to Princess Diana. Georgiana’s mother presents her beautiful 17-year-old daughter to the powerful William Cavendish (Ralph Fiennes) as his prize bride and the clouds darken. William’s face is like hewn stone with a heart to match. We learn his only motive for marriage was to produce a son. The contrast of the abusive Willi

Yesterday Latvia celebrated 30 years of freedom from occupation by Soviet communist forces. That seems like yesterday I hear some of you say. 1991 was the year Terminator 2 hit the screens; the Hubble telescope launched; John Grisham’s ‘The Firm’ published; Soviet forces stormed Vilnius in response to the Singing Revolution; and Latvians celebrated in the streets of Riga when the iron grip was finally broken. My first awareness of Latvia was a single stamp in an album given t

My parents were right! I can still hear them say, “reading comics is bad for you.” They allowed me one comic a month and my choice – ‘The Phantom’, the ghost who walks. Maybe that’s why my primary school days were spent immersed in Enid Blyton’s ‘The Secret Seven’ and ‘The Famous Five.’ ‘Biggles’, James Bigglesworth also captured my imagination with his dramatic missions as a British pilot. The digital age brings benefits and liabilities. Parents who fell in love with books,

click link https://youtu.be/b4BHeG0BCA0 If you missed the launch of Wall of Tears at Kiama library in July this 5-minute video will give you a glimpse of the action and a little of the story behind the story. Hear Tahlia Newland (Editor and Publisher) comment on the book; Nick Hartgerink (Master of Ceremonies) talk on the Novel, and my own reflections on the process. The audience can’t be viewed for privacy reasons, all masked-up. Time doesn’t allow space for the many questio

(Jerusalem Post August 15, 202) The US's withdrawal from Afghanistan parallels Israel's disengagements from Gaza and Lebanon - In these scenarios, a weaker force achieved victory against a more powerful one through attrition. Twenty years after September 11, the Taliban has blitzkrieged through Afghanistan over the last month, taking province after province as the United States was withdrawing its remaining troops. The US and NATO invaded the impoverished mountainous country

To help you stay within the law during Covid lockdown there's a handy tool on the government website to help you calculate the 5 km radius. Click on the link below. Scroll down to "viewing the map'. Enter your address in the dialogue box. ... and there you have it! Works fo any address in Australia. https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/rules/affected-area#map-local-government-areas-of-concern STAY SAFE - GET VACCINATED - WEAR A MASK WHEN REQUIRED - FOLLOW THE RULES

The title ‘One Night Markovitch’ defines a pivotal moment in the life of the protagonist. That event creates an epic tale, where the longings and passions of robust characters collide. My initial response to Ayelet Gunder – Goshen’s use of the Third-Person Omniscient POV, constant use of titles and full names of her characters was - irritation. However, the formal, detached style, with the constant repetition of names and behaviours slowly drew me into the narrative and creat