The Glass Bead Game

Episode 16 Remember This

Why do some tiny moments stay with us for a lifetime while so many important events disappear? A walk home, two Crunchie bars, and a conversation with my son became a reflection on memory, attention , and the quiet ways parents shape the future

Episode 15 The Tree That Remained

What are we really looking for when we revisit the places we knew as children? Perhaps not the past itself, but something that remained. In this episode I reflect on a dream, a childhood library, Paul Auster's The Invention of Solitude, and the quiet witnesses that connect our present selves to vanished worlds.

Episode 14 The Doctor As Buffer

Every doctor has experienced this moment. A patient says, quietly, "I've paid my stamp all my life." Behind those few words lies a profound question about fairness, expectation, and the changing relationship between citizens and the health service. This episode isn't about politics or policy. It's about what happens in the consulting room when peoples expectations collide with the limits of a modern healthcare system, and the often unseen or misunderstood role doctors play in absorbing that collision. If you have ever been a patient, or even cared for one, I hope this reflection offers a different way of seeing the consultation. If any of this resonates with you please feel free to comment either here or to my email glassbeadgame.guy@gmail.com

Epidsode 13 The Machine That Said Sorry

Welcome to The Glass Bead Game A few days ago I came across a cartoon on social media. It made me laugh. Then it made me think. And the more I thought about it, the less it seemed to be about artificial intelligence at all. If any of this resonates feel free to email me on glassbeadgame.guy@gmail.com

Episode 12. The Last Witnesses

Most people went to the wake. Six of us followed the coffin to the crematorium. What happened there felt unexpectebly strange. Stripped of the crowds and familiar rhythms of a funeral, the ceremony seemed briefly exposed- deeply moving on one level but also oddly surreal. A reflection on grief, ritual, and the experience of accompanying someone to the very end. Please comment or email if anything resonates with you at glassbeadgame.guy@gmail.com