There was a hint of musical chairs about my train journey home last Monday. It started when a young woman plugged into her mobile sat down beside me. It was impossible to escape from her chatter so after a few moments I upped and moved down the carriage. There I found a space with no…
Hand me downs
Peter was a quiet-spoken man with a beguiling laugh. He was also the ‘father’ figure of the local allotment where his fruit and vegetables, neat paths and absence of weeds made him the envy of us all. Around twenty years ago he had retired from his work as an architect specialising in the restoration of…
Friends in high places
Luck was on our side when we bought our Paris flat. By chance on our doorstep were quality shops and restaurants, plentiful public transport above and below ground, and a traditional newspaper kiosk. But there were drawbacks too, particularly at street level. First, the pavements were often so narrow that when it rained, passing with…
The West Lothian Bus Question
Joe Collier asks the West Lothian bus question: "Got any change?" It was late one Saturday evening and we were in an unfamiliar suburb of Edinburgh. At that time buses are rare. The next was due in around two minutes and had we missed it we would have had to wait for almost an hour.…
In a manner of speaking
The minute I hear a voice on the phone I try to guess who is speaking. For close friends, just the briefest of sounds will be enough - so just the 'hell' of 'hello' - and getting it right gives me a real buzz. It is an odd pastime but in my case one born…
Après le déluge, moi
Our dinner together that Thursday was special. Not only was it my wife's birthday, albeit celebrated two days late, but we both had lived to share the occasion. Her actual birthday had been lost during a hectic and horrible 24 hours earlier in the week. We were still on our holiday in France. At around…
This orderly life
Some people are neat and tidy. So when my wife asks if I could bring her a blouse or some socks or whatever from her wardrobe, I know that I am about to be shamed. Everything on the shelves or in the drawers is laid out carefully, folded neatly and arranged logically. And the same…
Organ recitals
Concerns about illness are normal at my age. In fact, they are so everyday that symptoms are discussed by guests around the dinner table in the now customary 'organ recital' slot. Chronic symptoms are in some ways old friends. It is the new ones that raise alarms. Do they herald something sinister? Will they get…