Wineskins old and new
Wild Rose: Full many a flow'r is born to blush unseen, and waste its sweetness on the [prairie] air. -Thomas Grey A few years ago, my son-in-law tried valiantly to explain Bitcoin to me. My failure to grasp the basic principles—I realized later—wasn’t because I am a poor learner or he a poor teacher. I’ve since read a great deal about Cryptocurrencies, blockchain, and, most recently, NFTs (Non-fungible-tokens) and I think that the pathways in my brain that might allow me to grasp Bitcoin are beginning to form. And that’s really what it’s about, isn’t it? “New wine in old wineskins.” Perhaps that’s why we detest the music of the day; my favourite Playlist on Spotify is titled 70s Ballads. The popular music pathways in my brain were established back then; Avril Lavigne’s I Want to be your Girlfriend , ought to stay off my musical pathways! It grates like a mini-skirt in the church choir. “Money is about bills and change and deposits and bank statements and chequ