I’m a New Zealand writer with over thirty years hands-on professional experience as a published author and in publishing. My main interests are in the sciences – physics, particularly, though I’m deeply curious about a lot of stuff, especially the human condition. I have qualifications in writing, music and anthropology among other fields, and hold multiple post-graduate degrees in history. I’m also a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society at University College, London. I write a lot. My published writing, sold on merit, includes over 550 articles, academic papers, reviews, novellas and short stories, and over 50 books on topics ranging from travel guides to biography, engineering, military and social history. I’ve been published principally by Penguin Random House.
This week’s obscure English word is fartlek. Well, when I say English I mean Swedish. It’s another word that English has abducted from another language – and relatively recently. What does it mean? To me it sounds a bit like a Dalek that’s just scoffed a large bowl of boiled cabbage and onion soup. Actually … More The obscure word of the week is fartlek
I keep seeing signs, these days, of corporate moral over-reach. Take direct debits, for example. Has anybody noticed lately how power suppliers, insurance companies, city councils – all of the organisations we have to deal with when paying for normal household services – have switched to direct debits? It’s an insidious shift which has happened … More Disturbing signs of the neo-liberal end game
This week’s obscure English word is fuddle. It means to take part in a bout of drinking, or to become drunk. It can also mean to be simply confused. The related word ‘befuddle’ means to become confused. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021
Back when I was at Napier’s Nelson Park School, a large-ish amount of time ago, I was always picked on by the teachers for writing with the wrong hand. The problem assumed crisis proportions in Standard 3, where kids had to write with fountain pens. Such pens were, of course, essential to a Proper Education … More A word about my handwriting, with apologies to Shakespeare
This week’s obscure English word is farkleberry. It is an – er – common name for Vaccinium arboreum, a small shrub; and an alternative to whortleberry. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2021
The problem I have with new year resolutions is that they usually run out of steam about half way through the first day. This new year 2021 I’ve managed to get to about 6.30 pm before the first signs of flagging have emerged. But that’s only because I slept in. What worries me about 2021 … More 2021? You ain’t seen nothing yet
It’s the festive season. Again. Where has 2020 gone? I say this rhetorically; it’s been a year of unprecedented dislocation – globally. I don’t think it’s over yet – not by a long shot. For now, though, I think it’s time for a brief pause. I hope the festive season brings you joy, time to … More A happy festive season everybody
I write this in December 2020, as one of the most difficult years in living memory draws to a close. Globally. It’s rare that virtually the whole planet shares a crisis. Usually it’s due to war. This time, it’s a pandemic, and the whole has been buoyed on an unprecedented swirl of social media. The … More Will things be better in 2021? Read on…
This week’s obscure English word is firnification. It refers to the process by which old snow (‘firn’) changes via partial re-melting to new, granular snow. Your challenge: write a sentence or two in the comments using this word. Copyright © Matthew Wright 2020
My recent biography of Bernard Freyberg – Freyberg: A Life’s Journey – was explicitly not a military story. His career was, of course, primarily defined by his army life, from First World War action-hero to Second World War commander. But I had already written a biography of his wars and what his field actions meant … More History is a discussion, not a final truth
