Tag: oxford

William Whiston (1667 – 1752), holding his drawing of the solar system.

UK: I Once Ran a Half-Marathon over 1 Hr 40 Mins [13.25 Miles] in Hereford During the 1980s – and Neither of My Legs Were Broken! (8.8.2026)

I was born in Oxford (Hitler bombed my mother’s family out of working-class Lewisham in 1940) – and I love the history and “learning” associated with the place (I can walk around with a book about Marx on open display and no one bats an eyelid). I did attend Oxford – but I paid to do so – as I could not attain a place due to my own limitations when I was young. It just so happened that my intellectual abilities matured at the same time when I experienced a decade of wealth. Although Oxford does discriminate, I “paid” to access a “Philosophy of Mind” course – which I passed despite not fitting-in (I was in my late 30s at the time and was surrounded by BBC executives, Guardian Reporters, and UN employees – but my family was proud). However, I was told a story of a young woman who was born into a poor working-class family and brought-up on a housing estate.

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Early on Friday morning, 28 July 1944, a passenger on the 89 bus on Belmont Hill watched as a V1 flying bomb fell to earth behind the Lewisham Clock Tower.

UK: Lewisham WWII Nazi German “VI Bomb” Plaque to be Replaced! (30.7.2026)

My mother’s family were bombed-out of Lewisham in the Nazi German blanket-bombing of Lewisham in September, 1940. Tens of thousands had to fircibly relocate to the Chislehurst Caves (then situated in Kent). They went on foot – walking miles to gain safety as the UK government had nowhere to put them. Eventually, the owner of the caves agreed to this – and the government assisted the people to establish an underground town which lasted until 1948 – when the Labour Party finished building new Council Houses. As for my mother’s family – they were relocated to Oxford on the grounds that one of their relatives already lived there (I think a cousin had moved there at some point before this). Obviously, Lewisham still possessed a working-class population – as the plaque discussed in this article commemorates the 51 people killed when a VI hit the Market Area during 1944. By this time, my family had established themselves in Oxford (the men joining the military) – and a large part of the Lewisham population was now living in the Chislehurst Caves.

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Surrey: WWII Anderson Shelter – Rural Life Living Museum! (29.5.2026)

The fact that thousands of working-class people in London took to the Tube tunnels for safety demonstrates just how few people possessed these shelters. My mother’s family – which lived in Lewisham – did possess one of these “Anderson Shelters” – and it saved their lives when Hitler’s bombers finally came! During September, 1941, Hitler targetted the working-class areas of London with the intention of either wiping-out the working-class (and preventing them joining the British Armed Forces) or scaring them so much that they would not volunteer to fight Hitler. Hitler destroyed large parts of Lewisham – which included my mother’s family home. They had took cover in the shelter and as my grandfather was piling-up the sand-bags around the door – when the bombs fell that destotyed their house and street!

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WWII Home Guard Emplacement - Waverly Abbey - Farnham

UK: WWII Home Guard Fort Revisit – Waverly Abbey – Farnham! (23.5.2026)

Perhaps a platoon (30-men), or a “section” (10-men) would have manned this small fort. There was a small artillary gun at the front together with a machine-gun – whilst others defended the walls via “murder-holes” in the centre of the walls or high-up from the Parapet (Merlons) and Battlement. A team would man the front gun(s) – whilst the other soldiers would be positioned on the outside and inside of the “zig-zag” structure. The enemy would have to advance past Embrasures blasting with vicious fire-power. When entering the interior (over the dead bodies of the exterior guard) the enemy would be met with sharply changing brick structures all defended round blind-corners. The interior guard would fall back to the rear of the front-gun to make a final stand. The heavy guns would be destroyed to prevent capture. These young and old men (and some women) formed static infantry formations designed to stand their ground and buy time for the regular army to reach the location.

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My Musings On An Important Topic - FULL ARTICLE HERE!

BMA (UK): On Why The Communist Party Should Recognise the Revolutionary Nature of Genuine Buddhism! (16.2.2026)

The point is that even if the brutal capitalists take everything away from the workers (even their clothes) and lock each individual in a cell – this is the ideal conditions for in-depth meditation practice. Nothing can stop a Buddhist so committed – and it is time that the Communist Parties of the world acknowledge the importance of the Buddhist Revolutionary Method! Finally, when studying “Philosophy of Mind” I was introduced to the Western idea that the “mind” does “not exist”. Due to thousands of years of theistic theology – the West was deluded into thinking that the mind equals the disembodied spirit – and that both were “separate” from the body.

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A device called a cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) pacemaker, can switch the heart’s fuel from sugar to fat after only two minutes, a study has found.

Oxford: CTC Pacemaker Could Help Reverse Heart Failure Symptoms by Switching Heart’s Fuel from Sugar to Fat! (21.1.2026)

Professor Neil Herring, Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Oxford, said: “The size of the improvement we’ve seen in the hearts in our study in response to CRT is remarkable. The slowing down of electrical signals in the heart, in some people who have heart failure, may mean the signal for the heart to use fat for fuel is lost, and their heart switches to using glucose instead. A pacemaker restores the “use fat for fuel” message through fixing the signalling problem as it regulates the heart. This then helps the heart to start to recover. 

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