Welcome to The Ironist

ISSN 2817-7363

The Ironist is dedicated to exploring irony wherever it occurs. We have a range of articles, stories and even book reviews which cover historical and contemporary life and events. We welcome you comments, support and submissions.

Rules and Unwritten Rules

Rules and Unwritten Rules

Indifference is not a response in unsettled times   Love, not indifference, protects. Here is a Downy woodpecker by Maria Corcacas. This morning, as the ‘dim temple of the Dawn1’ paled the sky, our red-headed male downy woodpecker announced his return with his...

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Unique Places #1 – Windy Troy

Unique Places #1 – Windy Troy

I’ve walked many ancient sites, but Troy is different. Homer writes of ‘windy Troy’, and when I stood upon the ruined battlements, looking out toward the sapphire sea, it was constant and strong. I thought of exhausted sailors rowing past Cape Sigeion, and their...

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Forgotten Heroes #5 – Filippa the Flaxen

Forgotten Heroes #5 – Filippa the Flaxen

  Filippa the Flaxen, Queen of East Anglia, with hair like soft strands of warm gold, shimmering in sunlight, the colour of the muted sun, is seldom remembered these days. Once upon a time, though, her people, the Flax, were cultivated and eaten in much greater...

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Choices

Choices

Be skeptical, and think afresh... Flying Fish Services Ltd. The Editor of The Ironist has long asked me for my views on the war in Ukraine. For me it is a long way to Europe – let alone across the Atlantic – as I haven’t left the Black Sea. But sturgeons live longer...

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Ramblings #4 – Our Values

Ramblings #4 – Our Values

Enjoy life more with a little reflection. It’s almost November; a cool breeze blows. Frail, yellowing leaves flicker on branches; their brethren, dried and curled, toss aimlessly as they roll down the street. I need an escape from this coming cold…India! The red dust...

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Ramblings #5 – Miracles, Dreams and False Idols

Ramblings #5 – Miracles, Dreams and False Idols

"Granddad, granddad! Book, book!" Nothing matches a baby’s smile. Watch it slowly spread, then burst into a gurgling laugh! That laugh! It’s an infectious laugh that reaches deep into your soul and rips your heart open. Nothing in life prepares you for it. This last...

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AI Hasn’t Won Yet!

AI Hasn’t Won Yet!

I have been reading so much nonsense about the American election. The so-called ‘experts’ don’t get it. It is not so much about who is in power, or who is out of power, or what the consequences were, or are, or will be. It isn’t about who was or will be good or bad....

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Le Mot Juste : Words Matter

Le Mot Juste : Words Matter

The story is told by his son Dylan of a memorable exchange between Dylan’s father, the Canadian writer William Bell, famous for his novel Forbidden City, and Dylan’s sister Megan. Megan had been reprimanded for some unspecified childish misdemeanour or other, and had...

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