For too many Christmases I’ve felt my trousers shrink. Why do they do that? There used to be a time when I could eat and eat and eat and not change weight or size. It was . . . I don’t remember when. Strangely, I don’t want to eat quite as much as I used … Read more
In many ways I am not a tidy person. Even as a child my bedroom was untidy, although not quite as tidy as people seem to say children’s room are these days. Strangely, even though some people think I am a bit (or very) absent-minded, my head is quite ordered. Anyway, due to personal and … Read more
Today it is 75 years since Kristallnacht, a series of coordinated attacks against Jews throughout Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938. At the time, my grandparents and my father lived in Spandau in Berlin. My grandfather was a member of a synagogue, not sure if it was the Fasanenstrasse Synagogue. Anyway, the … Read more
We went on a special shopping trip to Marks and Spencer in Camberley earlier in the year. It’s a big store and very smart. We went there specifically because it is big and a close family member in a wheelchair wanted to be able to see a good selection of clothes. It was easy for … Read more
I enjoy cooking and find it helps me relax a lot. I’ve been so busy this year that I haven’t spent much time cooking some of the more time-consuming meals I like to prepare. I was determined to unwind this weekend and decided to try out a new recipe. I dug out a cookery book … Read more
Following Suzan St Maur‘s challenge ‘to write a blog post using the alphabet’ and specifically for me to write one about completing a VAT return, which I have done this weekend, here is my attempt. Admin threatened to dominate the weekend. Boring accounts and the VAT return are not my idea of fun. Catching up … Read more
My busy schedule for today: Morning 9.00am Perfect photosynthesis technology to convert sunlight into limitless energy supply to replace food for humans as well as electricity to keep the whole world online 27/4/365/e. 10.00am Launch my Moggie Millions affiliate business which generates 1p of revenue whenever someone thinks the word ‘cat’ 11.00am Elevenses – tea … Read more
Like most people, I can be happy, reflective or even depressed according to what’s happening in my life at any time. Over the past 10 to 15 years, I’ve found what’s most important to me is spending time with family and friends, our dogs and being in the countryside. But however contented you feel, life … Read more
I used to travel on public transport a lot: to school and to various jobs. I remember the ‘good old days’ when I would let two Piccadilly Line trains go past at Holborn just so that I could ‘stand’ in relative comfort on the commute home. As a teenager, I remember getting on a British … Read more
How much we forget. I rediscovered Arthur in my brother’s garage. He hasn’t been seen for 35 years ago, when he used to make appearances at traffic lights around Hounslow. A friend and I produced Arthur from a fridge/freezer box. Presumably he had a hole in the side leading us to cut another to make … Read more
Do you find yourself getting into a bit of a rut sometimes, unable to break out of a mundane routine? Me too. Yet over the past months I’ve been working to change that. It’s astounding what happens when you change gear out of ‘automatic’ and take the ‘manual’ approach to life. You start to take … Read more
I was lucky to be invited to the launch of Ilfra-Expo on Sunday 14 July 2013 for a whistle-stop tour of the art installations around Ilfracombe. It made so much of an impact that today we took the day off to go round again at a slower pace. Like many people, I’m often rushing about … Read more
Today I have read about the Gloucester Cheese-Rolling, where, after advice (interpretation = warning) from Gloucestershire Police, a foam cheese was substituted for the usual double-Gloucester cheese that has been chased down the hill every year since the early nineteenth century. Shame the cheese had to be replaced with foam, but well done for going … Read more
I am not surprised that researchers from Imperial College London and Oxford University have identified that patients who have been in intensive care do not get all the support they need. I suggest the lack of support goes much further and it’s not just recent either. I underwent major intestinal surgery 40 years and now realise … Read more
Perhaps you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, but I’ve learnt a few things over the past year or two. This is due to seeing loved family members and pets suffer degenerative conditions, strokes and other hardships, mostly the result of growing older. I don’t believe there’s anything we can do to stop ageing, … Read more
Is the recent news about burgers sold by national supermarket and fast food chains containing horse meat really a surprise? Perhaps the horse meat is a surprise, but I’m not surprised that the actual content does not always match the description on the label. The vast scale of industrialised food makes it very difficult to … Read more
The past two weeks have reminded me how important it is to spend time with those we love. First, spending time with an elderly relative and another who is their carer rekindled the delight of leisurely conversation, shared memories and simple pleasures. On my return, our oldest dog was taken ill with vestibular syndrome: flickering … Read more
It’s the time when many of us make New Year resolutions. And shortly most of these will have been broken and forgotten. I know I’ve looked back and wondered how I came to forget my resolutions. That’s why I don’t make any these days. I do have aims and ambitions, but these are part of a … Read more
In recent years, I have found Christmas a bittersweet time. When I was a child, it was a time of big family get-togethers with grandparents, uncles and aunts, and many cousins. Of course, as a child I also enjoyed finding what Father Christmas had left me in my Christmas stocking and opening presents under our … Read more
The Lamb has recently reopened as a steak house restaurant, so as it is just a couple of minutes’ walk away in Ilfracombe High Street, Mrs Z and I thought we would pop along for a meal. On the evening we visited, the restaurant was full (always a good sign) so we opted to sit … Read more
