Archive For The “The way it is” Category
Despite my misgivings [Reflections of a Postmodernist, 11 July 2014], buying a television for our cottage in France has proved worthwhile. Just this month it has allowed me to watch key events at the European Athletics championship, and my wife some favourite DVDs, but it has also revealed its limitations. Our subscription did not allow me…
When it comes to etiquette, I’m in a muddle. I am happy to doff my hat, wait my turn in a queue or offer my seat to women in the underground, but at the same time I see a problem with the idea of politeness for politeness’ sake. To me, following rules of conduct or social…
Already this year I have spent three months in France and I plan to be there for at least another two. Next year I imagine it will be even longer. Inevitably, with these extended periods abroad, I began to wonder exactly where I belong – a question which, at my stage of life, comes as…
Football divides us, and for those of you who see the ‘beautiful game’ as irrelevant, aggressive or even repulsive, here is a health warning: this blog is not for you. However, those who empathise are invited to read on. The final Saturday afternoon of the season was a topsy turvy affair with anxiety and exhilaration…
Joe Collier learns the importance of keeping up appliances Getting old seems almost unreal. As a child, then as an adolescent and later in my twenties, old age seemed a long way off and not much fun. And some things were clear – when old age arrives bodies stop working. Walking sticks, glasses, false teeth…
Let me admit it right at the start; the Road on which we live is not all that congenial. Stately, if you like, with big trees and some bigger houses; a Princess once resided halfway up the hill, and the Director of the National Bank lives up at the top. Every front drive sports at…
It is usually dangerous to make generalisations but here we go – Canadians are nice. What draws me to this position? On my first trip five months ago I discovered that when it comes to matters of taste, there are many people in Canada who have an endearing quirkiness, as I described in July [A…
The other evening I found myself listening to a lecture by an enthusiastic young man explaining that since electronic text was the technical highlight of this young century, we must accept the consequences. Newspapers and magazines, he assured us, would be dead within a decade. And Printed Books would be next in line for the…
