Some more on ideas

As I said in the introductory chapter; “Some books for writers merely say: “Ideas are all around you.” Whilst that is true, it is foolish just to leave it hanging there. There are ways that you can find ideas and even generate ideas with a little hard work and application of effort.”

So, then, how do we find ideas or generate ideas? If there is this goldmine of ideas out there, how do we start digging for nuggets?

In every case, the basic idea that is the kernel at the heart of each and every article ever written was inspired by something. There are a number of tricks, schemes or methods that can be employed to help us find an idea for an article. The following exercises are only some of them. Explore them, see what you ca do with them.

Listen to a talk radio station for 60 minutes. Record  it, if you want, but certainly make notes on every aspect of the hour-long segment of programming that you listened to.

Was it entertaining? Informative? Did any of the calls or the presenter say anything to you? Give you any ideas for future articles? Don’t forget the adverts. If the programming was broadcast on a commercial radio station, did any of the adverts give you ideas for future articles?

Look through the news pages of a daily or a weekly newspaper.

Study the stories.  Do any of them strike up the spark of an idea in your mind for future articles?

Here are three headlines taken from a British daily newspaper:

“Too Much TV can damage Bone.”

“Fresh Alert Over Irradiated Food”

“300 Million Year-old Forest.”

Let’s take a closer look at the first of those headlines, shall we?

Can watching too much TV damage bones? If so, how? And how would a person guard against this? Watch less TV? Take food supplements? If you did watch less TV, could you create your own entertainment? Would you need to ensure that whatever you replaced TV watching with did not have a potentially equally damaging effect upon the bones?

Sometimes we might see an article in a magazine or a newspaper that sparks off an idea.  It might be at total odds with the point of view expressed in the article. If so, that’s all to the good.

Ask other, perhaps older, members of your family if they have an interesting story, or if there is an interesting story to the family history.

In all likelihood they will say: “no” but that might not be quite true. For example I was told: “Nothing ever happens in our family!” I was told.. But a little gentle questioning revealed a tale of International espionage, the witnessing of a cold-blooded assassination on the crowded streets of Barcelona and a “skin-of-the-teeth” escape from the thugs of Franco’s Gestapo-trained secret police.

Not bad, for a family in which “nothing ever happens!”

The Edward De Bono method for generating ideas.

Edward De Bono is one of the world’s foremost experts on thinking and especially the field of lateral thinking.  He has devised a system for generating new ideas. The original concept featured a simple mechanical device which had two lists of words that could be combined randomly.

Professor De Bono explained that this could help to generate new ideas. In the interview which mentioned the concept the random selection of words presented “nude” and “chocolate.” Immediately Professor De Bono said: “Perhaps there could be a market for chocolates that are sold “nude” i.e., with less wrappings to make them more environmentally friendly. This was some 20 or 30 years ago before the concept of “environmentally friendly” products and wrappings became such a large issue and important issue.

Could such a concept help a journalist to create ideas for new stories?

Here are a list of randomly selected pairs of words, culled from a dictionary. Take a look at them. Could any of them be used to create a news story or a feature article?

OATH – LAVATORY

WET – FOOL

VISTA – PIECE

TREAD – ORANGE

LUGE – BRUNT

ONCE – KIDNEY

IT – GRADIENT

DOBRO® - EYELET

HOODWINK – DEMISE

DELIVER – BUSINESS

AGE - VISUAL

ACCEDE – UNBUTTON

Nonsense? Undoubtedly! However, allow them to get your creative juices flowing. Did the fact that someone was hoodwinked lead to their demise?  Can you get a  fool to come in form the rain?

Why not try experimenting with you own ideas? Your own random parings?

Claim and a challenge

In an Internet writing discussion group I once made the claim (perhaps rather foolishly!) that I could write an article on any given topic.

One person rose to the challenge. She asked me to write an article on her Brother-in-Law who, although an otherwise very sober, sensible and respectable businessman, always wears one red tennis shoe and one yellow tennis shoe. The last time that she could recall was to a wedding.

This is the article that I wrote and which she seemed reasonably pleased with.

Why would someone wear one red and one yellow tennis shoe to a wedding? Or even wear one red and one yellow tennis shoe at all?

It could be so that, should he be challenged, he could respond with the rather old an hoary joke: “Yes, and I have another pair just like it at home!”

Perhaps he feels the need to be noticed or to be different, but does not feel inclined or motivated  to make a real statement of being “different?” Wearing a red  and a yellow tennis shoe as an unmatched pair could be a safe way of proving his individuality. His own statement of uniqueness in a world bedeviled by uniformity and sameness.

Unless, of course, there is another reason that he chooses to wear such footwear? Perhaps he made a bet that he would wear one red and one yellow tennis shoe for a specific time? An unlikely idea? True. But more likely, it can be said, than the true story of the man who took a bet –and won it!- to walk around the world by himself wearing a heavy iron mask whilst he was pushing a pram with his belongings in it. So, taking a bet on wearing an unmatched pair of shoes would be a modest bet, when compared to a wager of such magnitude.

What makes the story of the man in the iron mask even more interesting is that, although he was a very wealthy young man, the terms of the bet forbade him from carrying more than one US Dollar on his person and he supported himself by selling postcards, one of which was bought by the then Prince of Wales. His weary trudge around the world was only interspersed with a “break” to volunteer to serve in the US Army during World War 1.

And tennisshoes –or the older tennis sneakers- featured in the fascinating life story of Dr Timothy Leary. Apparently two well-respected and well-known English philosophers wanted a psychologist in America to work with them to study the psychoactive drugs Mescaline and LSD with a view to having them used to help people.

They had been recommended to talk with Dr. Leary. Yet they were initially disappointed, put off by the fact that they needed someone who would  be a freethinker and capable of being radical, but Dr. Leary –at that time- wore a typically conservative business suit and sported a crew-cut hairstyle, much beloved of every conventional American male at that time, in the 1950s.

They were about to reject Dr. Leary as unsuitable, when they noticed that he was wearing a pair  of white tennis sneakers. They concluded that, although Dr. Leary seemed on the face of it to be conventional, that his footwear showed him to be capable of being different. Or what today would be called: “thinking outside the box.”

Incidentally their plans to have a properly controlled research programme into the possible use of mescaline and LSD to help humanity were thwarted, because one of Dr. Leary’s colleagues at the University Psychology Department was conducting secret tests on the possible use of LSD as a weapon under the control of the CIA.

These secret trials of LSD eventually lead to the deaths of a top American scientist and several US servicemen, all who had been given LSD without their knowledge or approval. 

But of course, you must understand that these illegal trials –arguably amounting to homicide, one might suggest- were perpetrated by people who wore sensible brogues or smart leather shoes. I doubt if they would have even dreamt  of wearing tennis sneakers with a business suit or wearing one red and one yellow tennis shoe to a wedding.

Perhaps we need more people to wear tennis sneakers with business suits? Or willing to wear un-matching tennis shoes?

Although the premise of that story was rather slight, a person who always wears un-matched tennis shoes, I was able to touch on such subjects as a rich man who took an improbable bet and won, the guru of the counter-culture Dr. Timothy Leary and dangerous CIA experiments that lead to the deaths of innocent, unwitting test subjects.

Writing. Is it what we do, or what we are?

I would have to argue that writing is what we are, more than what we do. Fish swim. Writers write, perhaps?

As One of the best Irish writers of the last century, George Bernard Shaw, said on writing: "Writing was as natural to me as the taste of water in my mouth."

A question that I have been asked several times is: "How do you find so many things to write about?"

There are many ways to find ideas for articles. In my articles that I will publish here over the next weeks, months and years, it will be my aim to share some of these ideas with you. Please refer back to the article on Be That Writer listing a variety of ideas for article. I do not intend for you to slavishly copy these. I hope they will act as a catalyst for dozens of different ideas of your own.

I will also share new developments with you and websites that I feel will be of interest and of use to you in your future writing.

Incidentally, should we write about things we care about? Of course! Else why would we want to write?

But how should we write about things we care about deeply, are very passionate about? As dispassionately as possible.

Why? Because of we care so very passionately about something, we must not risk wrecking our chance to communicate what we care deeply about.

Some years ago, there was a film maker / director. A writer in a film magazine praised the director because he was so committed and involved in the subjects that he was filming.

How could this author tell? Because he used a small, hand-held camera and, when he was filming something that especially  upset him, the audience could tell. How so? Because his hands shook so much that sometimes it was not really possible to see what he was filming, properly.

Let's pause at that point and analyse what was written.

The author of the article thought that the shaking camera showed how committed the film maker had been to his subjects.

My view of this is radically different. It is my belief  the film maker actually showed scant regard for the subjects and the people he was filming.

If he was shaking so much that he could not control the camera, how was that showing regard for the subject matter?

His shaking detracted from the subject, although it did make some people hold him in higher regard. "Look at me! Look at how passionate I am. Am I not wonderful?"

In a word, No. He was not.

Why am I mentioning this? Because it is easy to fall into the writers version of this trap. Tendency to overwrite, to try to build something up that does not need building up, to exploit the story of someone for the greater good, whatever that might be!

We need to be dispassionate in our final copy. Why? Because if we are not, we risk allowing our passion for the subject to destroy it.

And if we do not make our writing readable, we run the very real risk of being self-serving, writing for our own selves. This might make us feel better but does little or nothing to help anyone else.

Idea generator

Some ideas for writers:

1. Is global warming really harming our weather? If so, what (if anything) can be done about it? Recently the UK government had to call out the army to help evacuate the victims of the worst floods in 350 years.
2. Are our roads really is safe as they could be? What can be done?
3. In Britain every October and November hundreds of people are injured by backyard firework displays. Some people are killed. Should a civilised country allow this?
4. In many countries elections do not attract many voters. Why? What can be done to alleviate this problem?
5. Unsung heroes. There are many unsung heroes in your area. Should their songs be sung? What can be done to ensure that what they do does not go unmarked or unreported on?
6. Some people say religion causes all the problems in the world. Others say it is Satan. Others say human nature.
7. Anglers use all sorts of bait. Some soak their bat in whiskey, for example.
8. Why do some people like to be involved in amateur theatricals.
9. Another child in America is injured with a handgun. What can parents do to protect THEIR children?
10. Local councils often complain that only a minority of people bother to go out to vote. What are the councils doing to change this situation? Apart from complaining, that is?
11. Why are some of our communities so run down?
12. Is recycling really taken seriously by the public or by the government?
13. How can scientists make science more interesting to ordinary people?
14. A nutritionist recently described vegetarianism as “unnatural and unhealthy? Can he be right? If so, why? If you think he is wrong, why do you think he is wrong?
15. Should we be on the dawn of the year 2001 and still be using landfill sites? What alternatives are there?
16. The recent fuel protests started in France, spread to Britain and the rest of Europe, Israel and Australia. What can be done to protect the interests of road users and of the environment at the same time?
17. Should arts and crafts be promoted to help bring some beauty into people’s lives?
18. Is body piercing becoming passé?
19. Should reading be promoted by the government and industry?
20. Should GM crops be banned? Not until proven safe, but for good?
21. Motor bikers are often prejudiced against. Why is this?
22. Irn Bru is a quirky Scottish soda drink with a real taste of iron in it. Recently the company that makes it, Barrs, have launched it in the USA and Russia. In its home territory, Scotland, Irn Bru outsells Pepsi and Coca Cola, one of the few nations where Pepsi and Coca Cola are not the highest selling soda drink. Look for quirky stories like this. Is there something unique that YOU know about?
23. It has been reported that several International car manufacturers have failed to report faults in their vehicles. Some of them potentially life-threatening. Is this so? What can be done to counter this trend? Why is it happening?
24. With E-commerce becoming more and more important to the global economy, why are the nations of the world insisting on sticking to 19^th century tax rules? Isn’t it time some form of International E-commerce tax regimen was created?
25. Hit and run accidents are nothing new. In 1900 a cyclist fell from his bike and was trampled and run over by a horse and cart. The driver of the cart drove off without even stopping, even though the wheels had gone over the neck of the cyclist. Are there any other “new” phenomena that is really very old?
26. Death from drugs? What can be done? Who should be doing it?
27. Global poverty. Who is to blame? Who can fix it? If it can be fixed?
28. Are there any uplifting movies these days? Come to think of it – were there EVER any uplifting movies?
29. The Reliant car company recently announced the end of the road for the three-wheeled cars that the company has made for 65 years. They were known as “plastic pigs” as they were the first fibreglass bodied cars in production. Have you ever seen one?
30. Are there any great men and women left? Or are they as great as they ever were, but ruthlessly chopped down by elements of a baying wolf pack from the media?
31. Mrs Margaret Thatcher, whilst she was Prime Minister of Great Britain, said: “There is no such thing as community.” Is she right? Or was it a wicked thing to say that set community back by 100 years?
32. The Olympics. Should they be scrapped?
33. People need to eat. So why are farmers the world over seemingly given such a raw deal?
34. Should youngsters who live in deprived communities be encouraged to take up music and the arts? How many talents are being wasted?
35. There are some people who are pathologically anti-social. (I.E., live in apartment blocks and play very loud music to the distress of neighbours, etc.) Isn’t it time that society started doing something to stop them from damaging their neighbours?
36. 30 years ago, some people say, the criminal was punished. Now the victim is punished, instead. Is there ANY truth in this? If so, how can the balance be redressed?
37. Is there anything that YOU care about? If so, what is it?
38. Do some parents spend all their time reading books on how to be good parents? At the risk of not really doing much in the way of practical parenting?
39. Do some left wing writers believe that the police can do no right?
40. Why?
41. Do you like gardening? Or hate it? Either way, are you any good at it?
42. Some people get all the luck. Do they? And is it good or bad luck?
43. Should our courts be harsher on people convicted of minor offences? 25 to 30 years ago, if a man urinated in public he would be given a jail sentence of several months in length. Now he might not even be cautioned, yet along arrested. Has this approach to “minor” offences helped make Britain a better or a worse place in which to live?
44. Is there a place for humour in the workplace?
45. Do parents spend enough time playing with their children?
46. Many of the lefties of the early 1970s have become pillars of the establishment by the 1990s. Does this always happen? Can you think of any examples of this type of behaviour?
47. Chinese Traditional Medicine should it be available on the National Health Service?
48. Within the next ten years, will there be a large group of people who have had their hearing damaged by the very high-power sound systems that they are using in their cars? If so, should they be allowed to receive treatment?
49. Should there be a legal limit on the power output of in car sound systems?
50. What can be done to make our communities better places for all to live in?
51. In some of our major cities, noisy nightclub and live music venues are literally next door to developments of houses and apartments. Should there be strict “zoning” laws to ensure that this does not happen?
52. Where are you now, in your life? Are you where you think you should be? Can you do anything to get to where you believe you should be?
53. Why does the traditional British Pantomime feature such blatant examples of cross-dressing?
54. Does every language have its own clichés?
55. An actor fell into working in the scrap industry be accident. -It had been his “in-between roles job. What other strange or dangerous jobs have actors had to take to keep an income coming in, whilst “resting”?
56. Should we be willing to try your hand at anything?
57. Should we know your limitations and work within them?
58. Have you had any unusual or strange accident whilst doing your domestic chores?
59. What can you remember from your past?
60. Free. Can anything ever be truly “free”?
61. Who are you?
62. Is there something that you would like to change about yourself? If so, what is it? How would you change it?
63. Is there something that you would like to change about someone else? Why?
64. Should we try to change other people?
65. Do you know anyone with an allergy to an unusual substance? Some allergies –such as to water- can have disastrous consequences for the sufferer.
66. How well do we really know our friends and family?
67. How well do we really know ourselves?
68. Do we complain too much?
69. Do we resist complaining too much?
70. God is love. So why is their so much hate in the world?
71. A group of squatters were thrown out of a mansion that had remained empty for 15 years and is owned by a property company. Should they have been thrown out? Should a property company be allowed to own houses and keep them empty whilst there are people who are homeless or in sub-standard housing?
72. Are older people given the respect they should be by society in general and the authorities?
73. Why do tobacco firms sponsor sporting events?
74. Should smoking be banned? Or could that bring about a prohibition style era of cigarettes being supplied by “tobacco barons”?
75. Should church and state be separate, as the US Constitution says? Or doesn’t it really matter?
76. If at first you don’t succeed – give up. Yes, or no?
77. Is gossip really dangerous? Years ago, gossip could be considered a criminal offence. Should it be a criminal offence again?
78. The Beatles, contrary to the belief of some commentators, are not given the respect that they deserve. Os this true? If so, what should be done about it to redress this?
79. Many local councils seem to think they are above the law. How can this problem be addressed?
80. Should stun guns be used by the police forces in Britain?
81. “Never attribute to malice anything that can be adequately explained by stupidity.” Is this true?
82. People who drive badly should be re-tested. And banned if they fail.
83. Who can you trust?
84. After decades of closure programmes, there should be a major resurgence in youth club provision all over the country.
85. There should be a Young Volunteer Programme operated all over the UK. Well, should there? Would an element of coercion be unwise?
86. People who live in glass houses should throw stones
87. Why bother doing anything? What causes apathy? Can the causes be addressed? Can it be a form of illness?
88. Wake up England! Is it asleep?
89. The low esteem that many people hold journalists in. Is it deserved?
90. “You should always let your own house hold you.” Is this true? If not, why not?
91. “If music be the food of love…” what type of music or particular tune/artiste would give you indigestion?
92. Is satire dead?
93. A proper concern for our health –or health fascists?
94. Has enough attention been paid to the history of the ordinary man and woman in Britain?
95. Should rural businesses (pubs, garages, shops, etc.) receive special tax breaks?
96. British farmers should be encouraged –with grants if required- to develop and introduce “environmentally-friendly” agriculture.
97. Access to the Internet should be 100% free. 100% of the time. For everyone who wants it. Would that be possible? Should it be possible?
98. There should be less traditional sports in schools and more keep-fit.
99. Should organ donation be encouraged for ever, or until new types of medical procedures are developed that would do away with the need for transplants whenever possible.
100. What is the real history of the area in which you live?
101. Have you ever met a hero and been bitterly disappointed by them?
102. Have you ever met a hero and been impressed by them ?
103. What is your favourite shop?
104. What is your favourite shop?
105. Why do people steal pets?
106. We are now in the 21^st century. Shouldn’t we be beyond using animals in scientific research by now? Or is it still necessary?
107. What are the top scientific discoveries of the last 100 years?
108. Why are cases of food poisoning increasing? What can be done to address this problem?
109. Have you ever made a serious mistake? If so, what were the consequences?
110. Some people say that lies are never justifiable, no matter what the consequences. Is this true? Are there any circumstances were a lie could be justified?
111. “Never attribute to malice anything that can be adequately explained by stupidity.” This would, of course, explain the actions of many councillors and local and national government officials. Why, then, do councils and national government seem to employ so many stupid people?
112. Some young men such as Casius Clay (Later Mohamed Alli) decided they did not believe in the Vietnam War and stayed in the USA and faced the possibility of jail for their firmly held beliefs. Others moved to Canada, Australia, Britain, etc., to dodge the draft into the US Armed forces. Which of these groups were more dedicated to the anti-Vietnam War movement?
113. Why are carers treated so shabbily in Britain?
114. Should drug and alcohol testing be introduced for employees? If so, should the board of directors be the first to be tested, to set an example?
115. Why do humans like a mystery, either fictional or real?
116. Where were you ten years ago? Where are you today? Are you where you expected to be? IF not, why is this?
117. Sometimes people say: “You haven’t got a clue.” What do they mean? Shouldn’t they give you a clue?
118. What was your favourite TV Show of yesteryear?
119. It has been said that radio is preferable to TV, “because the pictures are better.” Use this as the basis for an analysis of the difference between TV And radio.
120. By coincidence, some tittle-tattle about a very popular star falls into your lap. It is something from their past, which is not, in the scheme of things, very important. Though the tabloids would make a meal of it. What should you do with this information?
121. Do you have alternative uses for junk mail?
122. “The British Honours system is probably about the best way to mark the lives of people form all walks of society.” Write an essay or article in support of this premise.
123. The parents of vandals should be held responsible for 100% of the damage their children cause. With jail the ultimate sanction for both parent and child if they fail to fulfil this obligation.
124. Arranged marriages are not necessarily a bad idea. Discuss.
125. Is stupidity hereditary?
126. Is it your business?
127. All councillors have their nose in the trough. Really?
128. If a council has enough money to buy “top of the range” lap top computers for every member of the council, can afford expensive jaunts to exotic locations for councillors and their senior staff members, and can afford meals at every council meeting – why can’t they afford to pay for proper care for the elderly? Or does this question contain it’s own answer?
129. Is it important to know the history of your family?
130. Should sleeping dogs be woken, ever? If not, why not?
131. Is atheism a religious belief?
132. The Internet. 100 million voice, all babbling nonsense? Yes, or no?
133. Why give an idiot a piece of your mind?
134. If illegal drugs were legalised, what would criminal gangs turn to next?
135. An American once said: “We have 90 channels, but there is nothing ever worth watching.” Is that happening in the UK with satellite, cable and digital TV?
136. Have there been too many “survival” type programmes?
137. So-called reality TV shows are lazy and cheap programming. True, or false?
138. We all know talented people. Why don’t they seem to get the break they deserve?
139. Why can’t some people ever tell the truth?
140. Where would you like to live, if not where you currently live?
141. Are there any real deserving cases?
142. “There is no need for anyone to have to beg.” Really? Doesn’t this rather depend on every social security officer and social worker doing their job properly 100% of the time? And doesn’t this negate the basic right of freedom of choice? What if someone would prefer to beg on the streets rather than “sponge” off the state?
143. Should there be legal restrictions on the names that parents can give their children? (Previous examples of odd names include “Murder” and “Lettuce”)
144. Helpful people often cause more problems than they solve. True, or false?
145. There is virtually no news in many newspapers. Should there be a code of practice to ensure that there is more news in the papers? Or is there enough news, anyway?
146. Local papers should get tax breaks in order to ensure that there is a good supply of local news for people.
147. Do you have any hidden talents?
148. Should there be more opportunities for people to do voluntary work? Should there be increased publicity given for already existing opportunities for voluntary work? Should there be a government minister for the voluntary sector and voluntary workers?
149. How safe is your home?
150. Is your workplace a safe workplace?
151. Is your town, village or suburb a safe environment? If not, why?
152. Should there be harsher penalties for those who abuse or harm animals?
153. Should profiteering by –for example- oil companies be a crime?
154. Has media coverage of so-called road rage incidents been a cause of some of these incidents?
155. Do you have some letters in your family that would be better off in the local history archives?
156. Apparently we spend, on average, the equivalent of two full days every year waiting for deliveries that do not arrive and repair technicians that never turn up. Should there be some kind of easy legal redress?
157. Should there be male cheerleaders?
158. Is there too much bureaucracy in the NHS? Often if a medically qualified person wishes to obtain a better position within the NHS, they need to leave their medical career behind and go into management. Can this problem be addressed? IF so, how?
159. It often seems that firms sack people just before a period of holidays. Either summer or Christmas. Is this so? IF it is, why?
160. Why doesn’t society have more respect for the elderly? Does this disrespect stem from the government and local authorities?
161. Look out for unusual or oddball stories in the local press. For example a Midland family returned home form holiday, only to be told that their piano had been destroyed in a fire.
162. Vandals delay hundreds of trains every week. Should the size and budget of the British Transport Police be doubled to help deal with this problem?
163. Do you work too hard? Do you know someone who works too hard?
164. Someone put on a musical about Stalin. Is this in bad taste? If not, what other figures from history would be unlikely candidates to have a musical based on their life?
165. Is their too much emphasis on sport, but especially football, in our newspapers and on local radio stations?
166. When DID our local environment become so nasty and squalid? What should be done about it?
167. In Australia, the very popular Cracker Night (the equivalent to Bonfire Night) was abolished and the only fireworks now available in Australia are those at licensed displays. With the damage caused to property and the injures and deaths to pets and people, isn’t it time that Britain followed suit? Or do you think that the risks are outweighed by the benefits?
168. Some people say that charity begins at home. Or do they mean: “charity never leaves my pocket?”
169. Religion is a private thing. Preaching door-to-door should be made illegal an is unfair on churches that don’t preach door-to-door.
170. Staid churches who do not preach door-to-door have only themselves to blame for falling numbers. They need to get out and preach themselves, instead of criticising others who do preach door-to-door!
171. Pensioners should be encouraged NOT to keep money at home, to decrease their potential as the victims of muggings. Should there be special tax benefits available to encourage pensioners to keep their money in bank accounts?
172. There is no need for public toilets to be filthy, dirty as many of them are.
173. When did our councils give up caring for the environment?
174. The refurbishment of the British canal network should be accelerated and expanded.
175. Toys. What were your favourite childhood toys?
176. What do you think about the fact that some of the toys you played with as a child are now collectables?
177. Should the laws regarding how employees are treated in Britain be toughened up and improved in the favour of the employee?
178. What was or is your favourite band or musical act of all times?
179. Have you thought about going to a junk shop and looking through the postcards for potential stories contained in the messages on the cards?
180. Modern architects betray the environment in which their designs exist. But then, as they probably never use the buildings they design, or do not live in the homes they create, why should they care?
181. “No matter who you vote for, the government always gets in.” This is an old and cynical saying. But does it contain a grain of truth?
182. Are children kept in cotton wool?
183. If parents cannot or will not look after their children properly, should they be sterilised? If not, why not? And what would the alternatives be?
184. Councils are treating hospitals as dumping grounds for the elderly infirm. How should this problem be addressed?
185. Why is it that the more rules and regulations a company or an organisation has to ensure that they function properly, the less likely they are to follow them? Are these rules and regulations counterproductive?
186. Should there be less MPs? Or more?
187. “Councils are merely opportunities for councillors to have junkets. Councils cause more problems than they solve. They should be replaced by administration from Whitehall”. True or false? If not, how can they be improved?
188. Democracy is a good idea. When do you think we will get some?
189. Why do some people in authority seem to have made incompetence their religion?
190. Constant re-skilling of our workforce means that there are many people who have a large number of redundant skills. Should this problem be addressed? If so, how?