After working in universities for 30 years as a biomedical scientist, I took early retirement in 2009 and moved to Devon. I am Emeritus Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Reading and writing is now my principal occupation. I write about science and about nature with a particular focus on how science fits in to society.
For more information visit http://philipstrange.wordpress.com/
It was a luminous spring morning in early May when I trekked up Hardown Hill in west Dorset. Hardown rises steeply above Morcombelake and the surrounding countryside affording fine views of the coast and of the Marshwood Vale. Compared with Read more »
You may have never knowingly encountered a nurdle but these small plastic pellets are the raw material of the plastics industry and are ferried around the world in their millions. About the size of a small pea, nurdles come in Read more »
A Treasure Trove fit for the 21st Century The Lyme Regis Museum reopened last year after a major makeover including the addition of a new wing named after Mary Anning, the famous fossil hunter and one of Lyme’s most celebrated Read more »
Towards the end of October, I spent a day at Cogden Beach, just east of Burton Bradstock. It’s a beautiful, natural spot, a rich concoction of sea, sky and shingle where wildlife prospers despite the sometimes harsh conditions. It’s becoming Read more »
Four years ago, a family of wild beavers were spotted on the river Otter in East Devon. This was the first report of the animal breeding successfully in the wild in England since the species had been hunted to extinction Read more »
Mistaken marriages, passionate affairs, tragic deaths, richly interwoven with folklore and superstition. This is the complex concoction contained in The Return of the Native, one of Thomas Hardy’s great novels. Hardy set his narrative on the semi-fictional Egdon Heath, a Read more »
For hundreds of years, colourful, flower-rich hay meadows were a defining feature of the British countryside and its way of life. The 20th century saw a tidal wave of agricultural intensification sweep through the countryside accompanied by increased use of Read more »
The Seafront Gardens in Lyme Regis Mature trees, richly planted borders, gently curving paths, a place to look and a space to think—the Seafront Gardens in Lyme Regis provide both an oasis of calm for humans and a safe haven Read more »
Runny nose, sore throat, hacking cough? Do you run to the pharmacy for a cough medicine that may or may not help? Many Bridport people remember the days when the remedy of choice was Fudge’s Mentholated Honey Syrup, or as Read more »
One of the more unusual features of the magnificent St Mary’s Church in Ottery St Mary is the ancient astronomical clock. Not only does it tell the time, it also shows the age and phase of the moon, and it Read more »