I imagine most of us have a favourite daily newspaper and for many years mine was the Guardian. It is not everyone's ideal - at my local supermarket the height of the Guardian's pile each morning is less than half that of the Daily Mail - but it worked for me. Not only was it…
Table talk
Our final topic was perhaps an odd one to tackle over mid-morning coffee and anyway, in the end, nothing was actually resolved. Frank and I had met for one of our occasional coffees, initially convened to review the progress of a project we were both involved in. That business done, it was on to more…
What men think
Alan West tries to break the habit of a lifetime When a friend asked me to join his new club, I admit I was a little dubious. What sort of a club? I asked. Well, it’s a bit like a Women’s Book Club. My friend had been impressed by his wife’s book club, which meets…
Losing the plot
Compared to moving house or getting a divorce, losing one's allotment is way down on the major life-event scale. But nevertheless it is sad and is happening to us. Plot 8 has been ours since 1994, and in November we will stop paying our subs to the Management Committee and will hand back the key…
When words failed me
It has been a terrible few weeks and I am writing this blog in the saddest of circumstances. At the end of February my wife and I were completely thrown by the death of our eldest son. It has all been very painful, but one way that has helped us deal with our grief has…
Cupboard love
Joe Collier works through his difficult relationship with a piece of furniture Yesterday a tug-of-love in the Collier family was finally, or probably finally, resolved. The central character in the saga is a dour, antique two-piece wooden cupboard with glass-fronted top that we brought in 1980. It cost £3.50 and was spotted by my wife…
My personal best?
Neil Taylor wouldn't lose sleep over being on the scrapheap My oldest son, has just completed his first Ironman triathlon, which is the small matter of swimming 2.4 miles followed immediately by cycling 112 miles followed immediately by running a marathon. The world record for covering these 140.6 miles in this manner is 7 hours…
Don’t mention the …
When cycling near my cottage in Brittany my mind often conjures up images of German soldiers. In the Second World War there were many thousands stationed thereabouts. I see them in their ones and twos strutting along roads and across fields in their 1940s uniforms. No doubt these persistent images would have been seeded in…