Blog
International telephone scammers, Black Lives Matter and geopolitics
“Your Internet is getting disconnected…” That’s all I heard before I put the phone down on the recording of the rather improbably well-spoken girl with the posh English voice. This will be the fourth nuisance call I’ve had this morning. Four and counting. The first...
William Blake – book review
By the Tate Gallery This is not so much a review of this book, good though it is, rather it’s a review of William Blake himself. Before you think that sounds a bit presumptuous I’ll explain. This isn’t actually a book, it’s the catalogue for the William Blake...
Someone did the decent thing this morning
Since the end of the lockdown, or perhaps I should say Lockdown 1 as it seems it’s likely it’s no longer a singular, I’ve been preparing to move house to be closer to my muse. As a result I cleared out my shed. At the back of my shed I came across a large set of step...
C3PO has moved out
R2D2 is sad now. After lockdown came to its end I decided that I'm going to move to Colchester to be nearer my muse. Not seeing each other for three months will do that for you and it seemed to encourage my romantic side. Of course announcing that I'm selling up,...
Four ambulances and an apocalypse
Some years ago I was stopped on an apparently open road by a policeman standing in front of an unattended ambulance. My curiosity, and perhaps my slight irritation about why I couldn’t continue with my journey, was soon answered. A trolley appeared from around a bend...
How things have changed, or not changed, with the virus
People are saying how much has changed in just a few weeks. Suddenly people are at home, with their children full time, getting food has become more like foraging, socialisation has stopped and the government is acting completely out of character. So much has changed....
Venturing out amid the virus
People used to tell me that I should get out more. For the past few years I’ve been working from home as the sort of writing that is my day job means I don’t I don’t need to be in an office. If a client needs me to, I can log into their servers and work from my tiny...
I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue – Review
For those of you in the know, and you know who you are, you’ll be aware that BBC Radio 4 is the soundtrack of my being. All of life is on Radio 4, which makes it a pretty big platform. Everything you want to know about news and current affairs, the greatest drama,...
Bournemouth, Wimborne, and how not to be a tourist
A few weeks ago, we went to Bournemouth, I say we went to Bournemouth, we actually went to Wimborne but in the two or three days we were there we visited Bournemouth twice and only really slept in Wimborne. I say it was a few weeks ago, Christmas was a few weeks ago,...
R2D2 gets his reward for good behaviour over the holidays
After a relatively well-behaved holiday season R2D2 was rewarded with a trip out to see The Rise of Skywalker on Saturday night. He’s been increasingly bothersome since we got back from the visit to relatives over Christmas and I’d just about had enough. My muse and I...
R2D2 isn’t coming to New Year’s Eve
Well, we’ve got as far as New Year’s Eve and R2D2 has been behaving himself. He had a good Christmas, although he did try to sneak away with my prawn cocktail before I took him off the table and put him on the windowsill where he couldn’t be tempted to interfere with...
R2D2 is glad I have new brake pads
My muse and I have come away for our annual family Christmas break and, naturally, R2D2 had to come with us. C3PO has gone away for the duration of the holiday, who knows where. When I asked when he would be back, he shrugged in that way that only droids can. I got...
Who will look after the NHS?
I just went for my flu jab. As I left the nurse the following conversation ensued: 'Don't forget to vote tomorrow,' said I. 'Is it tomorrow?' said she. 'It is,' said I. 'Don't forget to vote for looking after the NHS.' She paused before asking the next question. 'So...
Mitch Benn – Ten Songs to Save The World – review
Listeners to Radio 4 might know Mitch Benn as the guy who used to do the topical music spot on The Now Show on Friday nights. If you don’t know The Now Show it’s a satirical comedy show looking at the week’s politics in much the same way as Have I Got News For You,...
The unseen divisions in the population around us
It’s been said that the population is divided into two halves and neither is aware of the existence of the other. It’s to do with how people use toilet paper and apparently there are two distinct methods. I’ll not explain any further, but leave it to your imagination....
The Shepherd’s Life: A Tale of the Lake District – book review
By James Rebanks The Shepherd’s Life is just what it says on the cover, a memoir of the life of James Rebanks, the son of a shepherd, as was his father and grandfather and so on for generations. However, it’s more than that in that as well as describing how he relates...
The Handmaid’s Tale – why I had to stop watching it on TV
The Handmaid’s Tale, that multi award winning 1985 novel by Margaret Atwood, is in the news again. It’s in the news for its sequel being nominated for a Booker prize despite it not being released yet, for Amazon sending out copies before today's official release date...
Memories in raindrops
Since the announcement of Rutger Hauer's death last week there's been a lot of comment about his part in Blade Runner. I've not heard much said about his very surreal Guinness adverts though. I'm sure, at the time, I remember hearing that they conceived the campaign...
The Story of the British Isles in 100 Places – book review
By Neil Oliver Back in 2010 I asked for a copy of A History of the World in 100 Objects by Neil MacGregor for Christmas. It’s a great book although, I have to admit, I’ve not read it so much as browsed it. However, I know what’s in it as I, like so many other Radio 4...
Ask an Astronaut – book review
By Tim Peake People outside the UK might not have heard of Tim Peake but here in the UK he’s a bit of a celeb. Tim is the second astronaut to come from Britain after Helen Sharman who went into space in 1991 but most people have forgotten about her, which, somehow,...
What’s in a name?
They've built a new block of flats near where I live, you might know them as apartments. As blocks of flats go it’s much like any other, it has plenty of parking, it’s within walking distance to some shops and an Indian restaurant. These are all the sort of things...
An unwatchable expanse of endless brilliant TV
I recently started watching Series Three of The Expanse, the brilliant Sci Fi series about a future where humans have colonised the solar system, Mars is an independent planet in a cold war with Earth, and The Belt (asteroid belt) is inhabited by people who live...
Dungeness
Dungeness is strange and fascinating. I’d lived in Kent for a year or so before I went to Dungeness and at the time I’d expressed an interest in visiting after work one long summer evening. However, I’d been discouraged when I was told that there’s ‘nothing there.’...
Kingmaker: Winter Pilgrims – book review
By Toby Clements This is a historical adventure story set at the beginning of the Wars of the Roses. Starting in the Priory of St Mary, in Lincolnshire in 1460, it charts the lives of two members of the priory, Brother Thomas and Sister Katherine as they leave the...
Transporter Bridge
“Poking over the rooftops I could see a bright blue structure. At first I thought it was a shipyard crane, then the penny dropped. Kathy had brought me to Middlesbrough & I was looking at the famous Transporter Bridge. I resolved to get a closer look. Having...
Relationship bonds
“Interactions with people, strangers or otherwise, are important. Maslow’s next level of need is emotional fulfilment. He talks about love & belonging. You can’t really make space for that in life unless you have food & shelter sorted & safety from danger....
Whitby
“Graham has always been a bit of a trickster and claiming he lived in Bram Stoker’s old house is just the sort of thing he’d be likely to make up, especially for a callow youth as I was at the time. So, I went looking for a house that looked like Bram Stoker’s...
Humber Bridge
“I’d never crossed the Humber Bridge before which, when it was built in the 70s, was a major engineering achievement, the largest single span suspension bridge in the world. There were all sorts of astonishing facts such as the two towers are so far apart that they...
Louth
“After a coffee I paid my bill and headed back to the Truck with my head and hood further down than before. The day had not been going well, the weather wasn’t going to improve, I’d not found an alternative camp site and I wasn’t looking forward to cooking inadequate...
The Beast of Rutland
“I’d catered for what Maslow would have considered the first level of the pyramid, shelter. In the increasing breeze I pitched the Khyam & in the lee of a hedge with the Truck across the entrance. The downside was that the farm had lots of birds: peackocks &...