If you’re old enough, you might remember the 1960/70s Teach Yourself books. They had a distinctive black and yellow cover. I learned to touch type with one of them. They…
Jared and his Granny Two weeks ago we had our first snowfall of the winter, on the last day of Autumn! What excitement it used to be as a child—the…
Once upon a time, long, long ago, I was going to be a potter. Seriously: a real potter making pots to sell in my own workshop. A career change from…
Nine or ten years ago I had a defining moment, never forgotten. I was climbing Helvellyn in the Lake District, one of my favourite walks. After the longest, hardest climb…
My sister Lesley emigrated to America decades ago. She settled in a small rural community in northern Utah called Deweyville. The residents pronounce the name “Dooeyville”. In England it would…
In the weeks preceding Father’s Day a blizzard of advertising offers the perfect gift for dad. I tell my grown-up children I don’t need or want a gift, without success.…
Inevitably, this post is thoughts on Easter, the greatest of our Christian festivals and a time for reflection. It’s a story of contrasts: an infinite agony beyond human endurance began…
There was a time when the Earth was flat. If you walked or sailed far enough, you would fall off the edge. Yes, really. No one was in a position…
Ahh, true love. I hope you give and receive it. My sweetheart and I have exchanged it since our teenage years—it matures and deepens with age. I’ve used John Lennon’s…
In prehistoric times the written word was hand-made wall pictures. Eventually marks in clay tablets appeared, later quills and ink, then steel nibs, then fountain pens (the most elegant way…