Yes, men can be grumpy, unsociable, and uncommunicative, but on occasion we can also be gentle and understanding. Indeed this is often how we are amongst ourselves when sharing our 'toys' - those mechanical objects that bemuse women. Two such instances occurred recently. Not with a video camera, Apple iPad or over-complex watch, but a…
One man’s rubbish…
Oslo residents Elisabet Helsing & Graham Dukes have a rubbish day out You remember the dear old dustbin? Back in the forties all our good parents had one, just out of sight beyond the kitchen window. It was mostly filled with the greyish powder left after a good blaze in the kitchen grate, but anything…
Line of most resistance
It was a lovely spring afternoon and I sat sipping tea in the conservatory, calculating the amount of my time I spend procrastinating. The task was prompted by the sight of shirts, towels and smalls fluttering prettily on a washing line that I had just put up; a job that took 3 years. In the…
Touching moments
There are a lot of special things about South Kensington tube station. First, it simply has history. The London Underground was the world’s first public underground service and South Ken one of its original stations - witness the bold, mid 1860s, wrought iron lettering over the entrance. Second, and at a more personal level, South…
A sense of belonging
Although I have lived in my current house for over eight years, it is only now that I feel as though I belong. More precisely, when it comes to my house, my street, and my neighbourhood, I now feel we belong to each other. At work, which dominated my life for 40 odd years, I…
Strictly Heaven
Once tea was poured and pleasantries were over, talking began. I was round at Martha’s and on that particular morning our discussion naturally turned to the previous night’s final of Strictly Come Dancing and to its winner, the drummer Harry Judd. ‘Strictly’ is not everyone’s favourite programme but Martha and I are devotees and in…
Reverting to type
Elizabet Helsing and husband Graham Dukes appear to be typing a letter.. It was several decades ago that we first ran into the concept of processing. At that time it was applied to cheese; processed cheese looked like soap and tasted much the same. Later on they processed foods in general, textiles and goodness knows…
A late addition to Dad’s collection
As he got older my father became fascinated by ‘boring’ picture post cards. Gradually he became part of a circle of collectors and cards would arrive from around the world. Their very incongruity amused him and his face would light up when a new one dropped through the letter box. He judged them on content,…