Autumn Equinox - Sept 23rd 2015 - Daylight diminished.

September 23rd 2015 is the Autumn Equinox for those of us in the Northern hemisphere. It means shorter hours of daylight as we head towards the winter solstice in December. For the next few weeks of the year, we will lose appx 4mins of daylight per day (in UK). Our ancestors would have been acutely aware of exactly what this event meant to their everyday lives. Prepare for longer, colder nights and look out for celebrations such as Diwali, Halloween, American 'Thanksgiving' and Samhain, all of which are connected to the seasonal changes, harvest and winter

National Anthem - silly and irrelevant. Time for a new one.

"God save our gracious Queen..." - the opening line to the British national anthem. As a non-royalist and an atheist, singing these words at events such as the World Cup, Olympics or special, national occasions with passion and pride is next to impossible. I am proud to be English/British, we have a great country/nation that should represent fairness and equality, providing a beacon to emerging nations around the world, a modern and advanced society. Our national anthem should represent these nations and be uplifting and inspiring, with lyrics that fill people with pride and awe, not divide the nation along religious/royalist/nationalistic lines by banging on about gods, a ruling monarch and an historical, warring past.

The idea of singing about national pride at sporting events seems a little silly in the first place but, if we are going to do so, then we should at least be singing something that all involved can feel