I am a 42 year old happy husband and father of a force of nature. I love that. There are many varied and interesting mistakes I have made in my life, but the decisions I made, the chain reaction events that lead to this happy state of affairs, of them I would change not a … Continue reading Hang the DJ
The Birth of Enduro-Fatty
My mother died almost two years ago. It wasn't a pleasant death, nor quick. she was the quintessential 'lovely woman'; pious, polite, kind, the whole gamut. which is what seemed to her closest family the cruelest aspect to it. No one deserves to die the way she did. If you had an enemy, someone for … Continue reading The Birth of Enduro-Fatty
Cutting the Apron Strings
Just after the invention of the seed drill and crop rotation techniques, when I was 21, I embarked on a journey of indeterminate length or destination. The intent was to spend 12 months living with and working for relatives in British Columbia in Canada. A lot of things changed and the plan was soon abandoned … Continue reading Cutting the Apron Strings
Northern Exposure
New hobbies are enjoyable, improving and self-affirming.They add a soupcon of structure to our downtime and allow us to have something better to talk about at the weekend than the latest quarterly spreadsheets. I have a new hobby. I am the kind of person that tends to throw themselves into something whole-heartedly, completely absorbed and … Continue reading Northern Exposure
Stopping to Smell the Flowers
As Forrest Gump famously said: “I’m not a smart man, but I can identify three different types of heather, and have an easy way to identify conifers”. Well, it was something along those lines anyway, film quotes were never really my strongest quiz subject. The countryside that surrounds us is abundant in every type of … Continue reading Stopping to Smell the Flowers
Tin Tents
As the summer seems to have well and truly drawn to a close, it seems time to reflect on a few life changing decisions that were made in the recent past. Holidays in Britain, ‘staycations’ if you must, are more and more popular in these days of economic downturn, recession, Brexit, and a whole host … Continue reading Tin Tents
Holidays are coming
“I love deadlines; I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by” wrote Douglas Adams, author of The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Clearly, Adams was a man who didn’t allow himself to feel rushed and indeed, the words that were plastered over the front of the titular Guide were: “Don’t Panic”. … Continue reading Holidays are coming
Mermaid’s Tears
As has been said often before: 'If your dog is getting fat, you’re not getting enough exercise'. It was with that thought ringing in my ears that I sloped off with the mutt on the first truly Autumnal morning of the season, harr and mist clung to the cobwebs on the bushes and the sea … Continue reading Mermaid’s Tears
Rambling Prose
Most weekends begin and end the same. Exultation at the end of the working week, full of possibilities about how to spend your hard earned two day break, followed by the crushing realisation of the time wasted whilst watching Sunday night TV, having put the offspring to bed after their two-day screen fest. This is … Continue reading Rambling Prose
A Modern Strife 