Left On The Shelf
It was my last lesson with the year 10s (15-year olds) and I’d invited them each to get up and tell me and the class about their favourite book. Public speaking being a [...]
Articles by AM Poppy
About AM Poppy
The pedant’s triumph
This month I’ve discovered an advantage to being this advanced in years. Such positives are rare; too often age confers unhappy corollaries. (Tried doing a full back bend [...]
Neuroscience re-examined
Caring involves a lot of waiting. Silver lining: it affords time to read. When a copy of Robert Newman’s Neuropolis fell into my lap, I was pleased. I fell under Newman’s [...]
Role reversal
I’m back! I’ve come home to look after my mum. You may remember her from previous columns – a venerable 90, she has lived a life of such unfailing generosity, toil, and [...]
In defence of Naked Attraction
What would you do if you were told of a dating show where candidates are revealed naked, very slowly from the feet up? [...]
Shopping at 90
At about 50 I gave up acquiring clothes. I was unwrapping a late Christmas gift, and there was yet another damned top. I felt a slight nausea. Ungrateful me. [...]
Where’s my cheque?
Should I get a cheque through the post every month as of right? Pensioners get an unconditional basic income (UBI), guaranteed by the embodiment of our collective will –our [...]
Death and Taxes
Would you like to be able to direct HMRC not to use your tax money on the apparatus of death, the military? A bill to that effect is being tabled in parliament in May, and it [...]
Discovering Greece’s Secrets
It’s what friends are for. I said I was looking for a new direction. My best friend Kate sent me a link. I received it one midnight just before heading for bed (checking my [...]