Suddenly, I noticed a rather ramshackle entrance to a small park and decided to have a look. The park wasn’t very well kept, lots of graffiti, only one park bench and a small playground for children at the far end.

It was; however, full of trees and it was this that really drew my attention. There was no wind, the air was completely still and yet thousands of leaves were falling like a shower of snow. It was amazing to just stand there and listen to the ‘clicks’ as leaf after leaf released itself and fell gently to the ground.

This set me wondering. It has always amazed me how leaves could hold on no matter how strong the storm and yet when autumn came they just fell gently to the ground. I assumed, as I suspect most people do, that decay was the reason but now I’m not so sure.

Listening to all those ‘clicks’ I now think that there is a locking mechanism built into each leaf that is unbreakable but which, when the time is right, opens to allow the leaf fall away.

Three of my favourite options are - The sea walk along the impressive new Five Foot Way which is usually very busy with fellow walkers. The tranquil walk along the Lower Road or the return via the leafy but vehicle busy High Road.

Whichever route is chosen, the most prominent structure visible is the new Garda station. Built in the shape of a ship complete with crows nest, funnel and portholes , it must be the most imaginative design for a Garda station in Ireland and of course totally appropriate given Cobh’s long and illustrious maritime history.

It is also a very large building, perhaps in recognition of the two most famous ships associated with Cobh, Titanic and Lusitania? Another unique feature of the building is a roof covered in grass – no, not that type of grass! – a grass lawn.

Recently, the Gardai were busy on the High Road operating a checkpoint. I knew there was a checkpoint before I actually saw the Gardai involved because a motorist was flashing a warning to oncoming cars.

I witnessed a similar incident recently where a motorist was flashing to warn other drivers of the presence of a Garda speed checkpoint. The following is a reasonable interpretation of what the driver was thinking.

“Watch out, fellow motorists, the ‘boys’ are up ahead. We road users must back each other up against the tyranny of the law.”

However, the cold hard reality of such behaviour can be more accurately summed up as follows.

“Watch out fellow motorists in case there is one among you who is a totally irresponsible and highly dangerous speedster. I want to warn you so that you can slow down and give the impression that you are a responsible motorist.

My warning will ensure you are not caught, that you will not suffer any financial or social embarrassment resulting from the consequences of your idiotic actions. By warning you I am prepared to risk serious injury or death on all other road users, including my family and friends.

I sincerely hope that if I ever find myself heading towards your recklessly driven, death dealing vehicle – you will remember that it was me who warned you.”

No ranting or raving, no foul language, no obscene hand gestures, just a brief ice-cold silence before the atmosphere in the car returns to its natural warmth.

Her method of dealing with road rage is controlled and reasonable. Unfortunately, there are many motorists who are unable to control their anger and consequently become aggressors or victims of this modern phenomenon.

But why is road rage such a unique form of anger in the modern world? The answer can be found in the nature of the beast and the radically changed environment he has recently been forced to inhabit.

I say recently because cars as a means of mass travel have only been around for about sixty years. Humans, on the other hand, have been around for about three or four million years during which time they have developed a highly complex system of signals based on the five senses of sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing

The crucial condition for human interaction through the senses is a degree of personal contact. Whether looking for a sexual partner or avoiding someone whom you sense is potentially dangerous, it is the conscious and unconscious signals received and processed in the brain that are your guide.

Take a simple example - You’re walking down a crowded street and accidentally bump into a total stranger. On the surface, the following exchange usually occurs. “Oops, sorry!” “That’s ok”, incident over, both move on.

Subconsciously, however, there is much more to this encounter. When you bumped into the person, you immediately knew you were to blame and instantly began to put things right by apologising. The ‘victim’, startled and perhaps, fleetingly angry, instantly assessed the situation and concluded that it was unintentional.

Such instant assessment and understanding is only possible because each individual has the subconscious ability to immediately use some or all of the senses that have evolved over millions of years. This natural ability to interact with our fellow humans is a crucial element in our evolutionary make-up necessary for the interpretation and resolution of potential conflict.

Now take this human animal, who has been evolving and interacting in this way for millions of years and suddenly strap him into a one-ton metal and glass machine capable of travelling at great speed.

In addition, severely restrict his freedom of movement by imposing thousands of strict rules and regulations which, if broken, can have serious consequences for him and other road users. Add to this controlled and stressful environment the usual human life stresses such as money, work and relationship worries and it is easy to see how an innocent mistake or an aggressive action by another motorist can quickly develop into an explosive road rage incident.

Isolated inside this mobile machine, the natural human communications system is dramatically curtailed. Sight, and to a much lesser degree, sound are the only senses utilised and even these are principally employed in the safe manoeuvring of the vehicle rather that any natural interaction with fellow humans.

Neither is this phenomenon unique to any particular section of society such as testosterone-filled young men. All drivers, male and female, young and old, are equally open to getting caught up in a spiral of anger.

Women, for example, who would instinctively react with caution in a one to one confrontation with a man, can, when deprived of the full use of the natural senses, find themselves in a potentially dangerous situation.

Similarly, when two males confront each other face to face, there is a constant and urgent exchange of sense signals utilised to decide on fight or flight. Invariably, this natural assessment system results in a non-violent resolution.

If, however, because of machine isolation these men are unable to assess and resolve their dispute naturally, by the time they come face to face outside their vehicles, it may be too late. It is this situation, where the various stages of anger and frustration are built up without resolution that can sometimes lead to violence and even murder.

Road rage is a global problem that has reached epidemic proportions in many countries and while law enforcement can do a lot to control the phenomenon there is also an urgent need for an educational programme.

The central focus of any such programme would have to be the reconciliation of the primeval instincts of the human animal with 21^st century technology.

The man was pushing a trolley but shopping was the furthest thing from his mind as he continuously tripped over his drooling tongue, totally captivated by her beauty and potent sexuality.

Shopping was also the furthest thing from her mind as she reveled in her power, she was a sexual predator who had made a killing and she was extracting the full price that was due to her.

My arrival broke the spell, the man returned to his shopping after calling to his child, who had wandered off to inspect a delectable display of cream cakes. She immediately turned her attention to me.

It didn’t matter that I was at least 38 older than her. It wasn’t about age; it wasn’t about hunting for a mate, it wasn’t even about sexual attraction. It was simply about a ravishingly beautiful creature that had only recently blossomed into womanhood, a creature that was testing her new found powers, a creature who was beginning to realise the full extent of the potent powers she possessed.

She was a Gothic Goddess – a perfect body mounted on high heeled shoes, jeans so tight that they could have been painted onto her. Jet black shoulder length hair that just fell short of her beautiful but skimpy top, a top that only partly covered her black lace, red trimmed bra. Pale, flawless skin, dark eye makeup and exquisite bright red lips that were just beginning to pout in my direction.

I quickly realised that I had to act immediately. She was purposefully heading in my direction, determined to ensnare the intruder whose intervention had allowed her previous victim to escape. I instinctively knew that if I wanted to win the coming battle I had, at all costs, to avoid looking at her, I had to behave as if she didn’t exist.

For her, it was simply unacceptable that a male of the species who had drifted within her sphere of influence could ignore her presence. It was critical for the continued confirmation of her newly discovered womanhood that all males should pay homage to her beauty and power.

The battle lines were drawn.

I immediately took evasive action and headed for the apple tart display. She paused only for a moment before following, stopping close by to poke around at some doughnuts.

I steadfastly focused on the tarts and cheered inwardly when she moved away – I had won. But my victory was short lived. As I turned I realised that her move away was not surrender but merely to set up an ambush.

As I stood, helpless, she approached with one of those yellow warning signs used by supermarkets to alert customers that the floor has just been mopped - Now, I was about to be mopped.

She very deliberately bent over and placed the sign on the floor and in the process allowed me a clear view down her top. Like a rabbit caught in the full glare of headlights, I stared transfixed at the perfect shape of her exquisite breasts as they firmly supported her lace bra. My stare lasted about two seconds; believe me, that’s a long time for a 56 year old man to be looking down the top of a woman aged about 18.

I had won at the tart display encounter but she had most definitely routed me in the wet floor sign ambush – The score was even.

After collecting my thoughts I changed tactics by moving out of the bakery area and over to the pizza counter – an organised and honourable retreat, so to speak.

I knew she was following, not by direct sight but by observing her reflection in the chrome counter. In an instant she was standing so close to me that an observer could be forgiven for assuming that we were a father/daughter couple out enjoying a bit of shopping.

She made no attempt to order, she was only interested in extracting her due homage.

I ordered a pizza from the shop assistant and despite my senses being enveloped by her alluring perfume I continued to act as if she wasn’t there. I looked up, down, to the right, but never for a moment turned my head to the left where she waited patiently to receive my surrender.

She knew that within moments my pizza would be ready, that I would be walking away, leaving her defeated. I smiled inwardly as the shop assistant placed my pizza on the weighing scales, the last act before the deal was done - I was confident of victory.

But, once again, I was ambushed. The goddess leaned right over, looked directly into my eyes and asked the most ridiculous question – How much do you think your pizza will cost?

There was no avoiding such a direct approach; I was forced to look at her, to acknowledge her presence. But my response was calm and measured, I showed her the price on the pizza that the assistant had just handed to me and remarked that it was good value.

The score was still even.

Walking away, I was acutely aware that I could still lose. I instinctively knew she was still standing there, waiting for me to look back.

This guy went out on the street and handed out postcards with his name and address. The card invited people to write down their secrets and post them to him. It was an amazing success; he’s still getting thousands of replies every week. He only gave out a limited number of cards and only in the American city in which he lives but he’s now getting replies from all over the world.

It’s a really good idea and seems to have helped an awful lot of people. Have a look here to see a Utube clip of the man behind the idea and read some secrets. I found this one the most intriguing.

“Everybody that knew me before 9/11 thinks I’m dead.”

The trial was interrupted from time to time to show us a group of modern day tourists visiting the death camp site. The tourist group included young and old and, I think, a survivor of Auschwitz.

Although, as I say, the drama was interesting and God was found guilty in the end, it really was nothing more than a propaganda piece in favour of the hypocrisy and stark contradictions present in all religions.

For example; one God defender, when asked why the horror was allowed argued that it was a plan by God, that it was a punishment for human wrongdoing. It was even suggested that Hitler and his Nazis were created by God to carry out his plan, that they were his tools.

Later, a prosecution witness asked if God was all powerful why did he allow such horror to occur. Effectively, the same question as above but this time there was a completely different and contradictory answer.

Free Will; He gave us free will to make our own choices and we choose to do evil. In this case it wasn’t God’s plan; it was simply bad human behaviour over which God had no control.

This is completely illogical. Apparently, we are to accept that God made humans in such a way that they were unable to stop themselves from doing wrong and then devised a plan designed to punish them for doing wrong. Even worse, he ruthlessly punished and destroyed those who had committed minor or no crimes at all, like small children.

Towards the end, when the Nazis came to take the men away to die, we saw the most anti God character break down and plead for help – he was told by the (serene) pro God side to pray.

The impression given was that those who challenge God are only confident in their beliefs when they are safe from the immediate fear of death. This is a dishonest portrayal. Many humans who have no belief whatsoever face torture and death with great courage.

On several occasions throughout the drama the pro God side stated that Hitler would die, the war would end but that the Torah, God and his chosen people would live on. This, I believe, was the central message the writer of the drama wanted to convey.

No matter what happened here on earth, no matter how mysterious and unjust God’s actions seemed to be, no matter what suffering the innocent were forced to endure – All would be well in the end so long as humans retained their blind faith in God.

There’s no mystery about the first Cold War, it was clearly a stand off between two different political systems - Communism and Democracy. The Soviet Union lost that war and has since enthusiastically adopted Western democracy and the previously much hated capitalist system.

So why the stand off? I think it can be put down to the age old problem of human tribal conflict. Effectively, the Russians do not yet feel they are a part of the ‘Western tribe’. They still see themselves, with much justification in my opinion, as a tribe that is still under serious threat from the Western tribe.

A couple of years ago I wrote an article about such tribal conflicts and the urgent necessity for global unity, in other words the evolvement of just one global (human) tribe, as a means of avoiding such conflicts.

The manner in which humans have conducted political and military affairs throughout history changed forever at 5:30 a.m. local time on 16th July, 1945 near Alamogordo, New Mexico, USA.

This was the historic moment when the first nuclear device was exploded. The event marked the single most important development in the history of human endeavour. For the first time, man had devised a weapon that had the power to annihilate the human species.

Over the ages, war has played an integral part in human activity. It has been used as a mechanism to resolve territorial, religious, political and dynastic disputes. Indeed, since the beginning of recorded history only 268 years have been free of war.

From earliest times, when tribe butchered tribe using spear and club, to modern times, when tribe threatens tribe with nuclear holocaust, the basic principle remains the same – to protect tribal interests principally through maintaining dominance over opposing tribes. It is this primitive instinct of using power and violence to protect tribal interests that is the wellspring of all human conflict.

To illustrate how this principle is continuously repeated in history, we need only analyse the short period, historically speaking, from the beginning of World War One in 1914 to the end of the Cold War in 1989.

Imperialist ambitions coupled with intense nationalism set the stage for the 1914-18 war. The realignment of the Balkan territories caused by the gradual decay of the Ottoman Empire was the spark that lit the fuse. The carnage of this war, made possible by modern technology, should have alerted Europeans to the need for a new way to resolve tribal differences.

Instead, the unfortunate but understandable human predisposition for revenge resulted in the imposition of a harsh treaty on Germany that sowed the seeds for further tribal conflict twenty years later.

The trauma of this war did spark some awareness of the dangers inherent in the link between primeval tribal instincts and the rapidly growing killing efficiency of modern technology. This resulted in the establishment of the League of Nations, with the aim of promoting international co-operation to achieve global peace and security.

However, the organization was treated with contempt and proved totally ineffective in controlling the continuing development of military technology or the age old habits of tribal warfare. The twenty year pause between 1919 and 1939 was used to make new alliances, re-arm and stoke up aggressive nationalism in preparation for the next round of fighting between old tribal enemies.

But even World War Two did not threaten global catastrophe despite massive structural damage, fifty million dead and the dropping of nuclear bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Indeed, it is likely that the two bombs dropped on Japan were the only nuclear bombs in existence at the time.

It was only in the following decades, with the spread of nuclear weapons and in particular the development of efficient long range delivery systems that the very existence of humanity was put in peril.

The human approach to resolving differences, however, has barely changed at all since our ancestors butchered each other. The primitive instinct that motivated ancient man to protect tribal interests or seek dominance over other tribes is still with us in the 21st century. While the technology of warfare has rapidly advanced, especially since the Industrial Revolution, the human psyche has hardly altered at all.

Modern humans, just like their ancestors, spend a vast amount of time, effort and money in defending or conquering as opportunity and resources allow. This explains why the arms trade is one of the most lucrative businesses on earth. This imbalance between the rapid evolution and development of modern war technology, and the almost total failure of humans to understand the need for a radical change of mind-set, poses the greatest danger to our future.

The establishment of the United Nations in the aftermath of WWII provided another opportunity for humans to make the necessary radical change. Writing as far back as 1951, Albert Einstein warned;

“In the long run, an all destroying conflict can be avoided only by the setting up of a world federation of nations.”

However, like the League of Nations, the United Nations is not taken seriously and is generally used by the bigger powers to promote their own national and strategic interests. Coupled with serious under funding, this short-sighted approach to the world body ensures that tribal interests continue to take priority.

The collapse of the Soviet empire which ended the Cold War in 1989 sparked off yet another realignment of tribal power blocs. The European Union is in the process of creating its own unified military power base to avoid the embarrassing dependence on American military hardware and the need to slavishly follow American foreign policy. A much weakened Russia struggles to maintain her military and political clout while China continues to expand her military and economic power structures.

The events of 9/11 provided a golden opportunity for the US, at present, the most powerful tribe in the world, to change the predictable course of history. The attack on the Twin Towers generated unprecedented sympathy for America and this goodwill could have been used to steer humankind on a new path of cooperation and peace.

Instead, the Bush Administration acted as humans have always acted; they declared war on tribes who they perceived as enemies and threatened everybody else by declaring that if you are not with us you are against us. Instead of developing a new and enlightened policy of global co-operation they used the attacks as just another means of strengthening their position in the continuing realignment of global tribal power.

The history of the 20th century teaches us, if we care to learn the lesson that this game of power bloc musical chairs inevitably leads to conflict. There has never been a time in history when events turned out otherwise. There is no reason whatsoever to believe that the present realignment of the various tribes into their armed camps will bring mankind anything else but global catastrophe.

This depressing but realistic view of what we face can only be avoided if the main players discard the primitive instinct of forming themselves into warring tribes armed with nuclear spears and clubs and acknowledge that there is only one tribe on earth – Humankind.

The Western powers, currently the most powerful military tribal bloc, must avoid the age old temptation of dominating the other tribes and lead the way by embarking on the only possible alternative – the establishment of a strong and effective United Nations which really does represent all the nations of the world.

The opening years of the 21st century must see the nations of the earth reject ultra-nationalism whether promoted by single nations or groups of nations and embrace a global view as proclaimed by the great Greek philosopher, Socrates (469-399 BCE) –

“I am not an Athenian or a Greek, but a citizen of the world.”

Some crew members are consuming with abandon claiming that there is more than enough to last the trip while others want to follow a careful strategy of conservation in order to ensure survival. Unfortunately, despite receiving several warnings from NASA, the over-consumers gain the upper hand and the squandering continues.

Could humans be so stupid? A recent UN sponsored report concluded that almost two thirds of the natural machinery that supports life on Earth is being degraded by humans. It further warned that the wetlands, forests, savannahs, estuaries, coastal fisheries and other habitats that recycle air, water and nutrients for all living creatures are being irretrievably damaged.

In other words, spaceship Earth is living beyond its means and is heading into serious trouble unless the crew can unite in taking radical action. But, as we know, unity among humans is rare and we have never managed to unite on a global scale.

The first step for the crew of spaceship Earth must be to develop an extraterrestrial mental attitude. That is, we must learn to think like astronauts do when they are isolated in deep space with no second chance if they are stupid enough to waste limited resources or neglect machinery vital to survival. Always uppermost in their minds is the fact that the craft they inhabit is the only protection they have against total extinction.

The difficulty is that most humans are unaware that they actually are crew members of an intergalactic spacecraft. This is principally because our everyday sense is of living on a very large planet that is unconnected with greater space. The reality is very different.

Earth is a spacecraft with a diameter of only 7,926 miles spinning on its axis at about 1,000 miles per hour and speeding around the sun at over 65,000 miles per hour. It is a tiny component of a solar system that is itself moving around the centre of the Milky Way galaxy at about 155 miles per second, taking approximately 250 millions years to complete one rotation.

It can be seen, therefore, that we are living on a very small spacecraft with very limited resources, speeding through a vast and hostile universe.

Given that we are decades if not centuries away from being able to exploit the vast resources of nearby space, it is vital that we conserve and maintain in good working order the ‘machinery of nature’ that is so crucial to our survival.

If we fail, and to date we are failing, there is no possibility of outside help, no hope of rescue or re-supply. We will become a dead planet drifting silently through intergalactic space.

On a hot summer’s day 2,784 years ago, a Greek by the name of Koroibos crossed the finishing line to become the first ever Olympic winner. He was competing in a foot race called the stade that was run over a distance of 192.25 metres.

The year was 776 BC and the occasion was the first official Olympic Games, which were held in the town of Olympia in western Greece.

Like today, the games were held every four years and for nearly fifty years the stade race was the only event. Over time other events were added.

The Pankration was a combination of boxing and wrestling with very few rules. This was a dangerous sport and sometimes resulted in serious injury or even death. Gouging and biting were forbidden but choking, finger breaking and blows to the genitals were allowed.

The Hoplite race (a Hoplite was a Greek soldier of the time) involved competing under a hot Greek sun with a complete suit of bronze armour that could weigh up to 60 pounds.

A more familiar event to modern times, the Pentathlon, consisted of the long jump, discus, javelin, running and wrestling. Later, chariot racing was introduced. An interesting point about this particular event was that it was the owners and not the charioteers who were recognised as the victors.

The ancient Greeks, in common with the organisers of the modern games, had to deal with the twin threats of cheating and violence in order to protect the status of the games. Strict laws were enforced for cheating. For instance, an athlete making a false start could be punished by whipping. Transgressors could also be banned and face heavy fines.

These fines were used to erect bronze statues of Zeus (the patron god of the games) at the entrance of the stadium as a warning to other athletes. The name of the cheat was inscribed on the base of the statue thus bringing permanent shame, not just to the athlete, but also to his family and city.

Ancient Greece was not a single united state. It consisted of a series of independent city-states that shared a common heritage in literature, language and religion. But despite this common heritage the cities were constantly at war with each other. It was the Olympic Games that provided a focus of unity for all ancient Greeks.

For this reason war was banned for the duration of the games. This ban was known as the Sacred Truce and was enforced for a three-month period. It allowed athletes, officials and spectators to travel, participate in and return from the Games in safety.

The Olympic Games continued on into Roman times. In 67 AD the emperor Nero took part in a chariot race held in his honour and although he fell from his chariot and did not finish the race he was still declared the winner.

He also introduced a musical contest to the event and while he was performing no one was allowed to leave the auditorium. The Roman biographer, Suetonius, tells us that women gave birth during the performance and men pretended to be dead so that they could be carried out.

The last recorded Olympic victor of the ancient games was Varazdates the Armenian, who in 385 AD, was victorious in the boxing event. Nine years later, after more than a thousand years of unbroken competition, the Christian emperor Theodosius the Great abolished the Games because of their pagan associations.

Over 1,500 years were to pass before athletes would again participate in Olympic competition with each other in pursuit of personal and national glory. Apart from some half-hearted efforts in the 19th century to revive the games, it was not until late in that century, in 1896, that the first International Olympic Games of the modern era took place, fittingly enough, in Athens.

The word ‘Athletics’ is derived from the Greek verb “to struggle or suffer for a prize” Apart from the struggle for personal excellence the ancient Greeks saw the Olympic Games as a strong force for unity. They obviously recognised that unity of purpose was critical if their civilisation was to survive and prosper.

Against a background of widespread global conflict the significance of the Games as a catalyst for global unity in the 21st century is of no less importance. It is certainly a prize that is worth the struggle.

The first project was to get rid of the likeable but aging and difficult to maintain wooden garden shed. Once the sparkling new, galvanised steel, zero maintenance shed had been installed, I set about demolishing the old but much loved version.

I started by knocking out the back wall and breaking a window but then got tired and went in for a cup of tea. That was about five years ago and the shed is still there.

My first second thoughts about demolishing the shed came when I noticed that my cat Moggy, (Yes, I know, I know, very original) and some of his pals had commandeered it as a ‘summer house’. Situated at the edge of his territory it also made a good frontier post to fend off intruders.

Later, I read an article that described the best conditions for the proliferation of the beautiful and useful Ladybird. The old shed fitted the bill to a T. And I had indeed observed a noticeable increase in the population of this attractive creature.

Then one summer I noticed a group of wasps apparently ‘eating’ the whitened and decaying wood. Straight onto the ‘magic’ Google for enlightenment to learn the following;

“Unlike bees, the wasps have no wax producing glands and therefore cannot construct wax combs. To get around this they use paper which they make from wood pulp, just like we make paper from wood pulp. The wasps use their powerful jaws to scrape wood from trees and fence posts, this is then chewed up and mixed with saliva and then spread out to make combs.”

In addition, I learned that an abandoned shed like mine was an ideal shelter spot for fertilised female wasps to sit out the winter.

Over time, the roof of the shed developed a slump, the door would no longer close and the climber plant (Woodbine, I think) that I planted at the side has made its way through the broken window and is getting a firm grip on the roof.

I now look on the slowly decaying structure, not as a shed but almost as a living creature that has become part of nature itself. A creature that has struck a deal with the cats, ladybirds, wasps and all the countless other creatures that live in and off its bounty.

“Convince the human that I’m still useful, that I’ll provide shelter and food for you. That way I can live out my life to its full and natural end.”

By times, as I lounge in my seat looking at this ‘work of art’ created by nature, this inanimate object that has metamorphosed into a ‘living creature’ I think to myself:

“Anthony, the real reason you didn’t finish the job is because you’re a lazy fecker and now you’re trying to bullshit your way out of it.”

Opinion by return post please.