My word this has been a truly awful start to winter. We had a lovely summer, a very hot first week of wimbledon tennis, then rain. More rain in August, but then really hot September and the driest October on record. But inbeween all this were storms of great momentum, fuelled by Hurricane Harvey lashing […]
I have recently returned from a very different kind of break away and spent 4 days on a narrowboat on a canal in the heart of England. After the initial strange sensation once the craft had got going, . . . . it was back to sitting around, reading, eating, talking or dare I suggest […]
I belong to the womens’ institute – that august body of worthy usefulness. Some federations are over 100 years old – each major town has its own federation which includes and incorporates surrounding villages. It’s amazing to see how many are still functioning, in fact quite a few have reached their centenial milestone! I mention […]
There is a time and place for obsessive cleaning routines. Possibly on board a tiny submarine or other cramped shared places. I remember when a colleague was desperately depressed because of marital troubles – he became unkempt and uncaring about personal hygiene. The latter was never too hot to begin with and it soon lapsed […]
I have recently been in contact with a family who’s son has just come out of the navy. It doesn’t seem five minutes since he passed all the entrance requirements, the hefty medical stuff and after a couple more months delay in civvy street, off he went. 8 years later he has decided the politics […]
I am currently listening to the mens’ singles final at the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world. That funny little part of south west London that is the byeword in absolute sporting and behavoural perfection. It is wonderful to note that all the contestants have to abide by strictly applied dress rules. All playing […]
Some of the things that come to mind regarding the very unexpected heatwave of late is how much I do not envy those folk who still have to attend an office block or warehouse to earn their crust! Having done that for great periods of my working life over the years, I know full well […]
I used to share a bedroom with a sister who was always much tidier than me. It would be a battle ground and after a while, her irritation with my less tidy ways would boil over and a clear demarkation line would appear, beyond which I dare not let anything of mine stray – particularly […]
There is a tiny office near me where a relative runs a web based business – all kinds of activities online and so her business is all contained within the one room – no goods arriving or going out, no packages to worry about and no garbage beyond the usual lunch packets and chocolate wrappers, […]
In a lifetime ago I worked for a small company out in the sticks – a funny little industrial unit way out of town a few miles off the nearest bypass. It was idyllic though, we were surrounded by nature, birds, squirrels, farmland. For those of us who were not in a tearing hurry to […]