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…
The cake shop and the milliner
After twenty minutes and as many Canadian dollars, my hat, more specifically my hat band, was again in pristine condition. And the change was the unlikely outcome of a chance meeting, a smidgeon of alacrity, and the work of a true professional. I have worn hats for years. The habit started in the 80s when,…
Dreaming spires
Leaving the dock behind us, We sped out into the Venice lagoon. The airport receded. I picture you perched in the back of the water taxi in a dappled patch of sunshine, trying to keep your hair from flying. The Russian girl (she said her name was Alexandra) all in black, let hers go with…
A perfect foil
My recent trip to Canada was full of surprises. Not least amongst them was the decor at my Bed and Breakfast. In my limited experience B&Bs are more functional than fun. My week at Wendy's was different - here was a visual cornucopia. Each day for a week I worked with my son Joshua on…
Jam and sardines
Graham Dukes is a founder member of the Academy of Unlikely Bedfellows It really began a long time ago – I was a college student when it happened, sitting around with a group of colleagues, when (with blood glucose levels falling as the evening wore on) the conversation not unnaturally turned to food. What sort…
Time traveller
On trips abroad my mother-in-law would wear two watches. Wherever she was, she needed to know at a glance exactly what the time was at home. I would tease her - surely she could work it out for herself! And why did it matter anyway? But she never changed. Then, one morning last week, I…
The scenic route
Last week a favourite cartoon from the sixties popped into my mind's eye. It showed a large, unshaven prison escapee, dressed in a characteristic arrow-covered uniform, bearing down on an old woman standing by a fork in the road. He asks "Which is the best way to the railway station?" She replies, pointing to the…
Stand corrected
I wanted to give Charlie a hug. He had been yanked into the air by his wrist, yelled at, then whacked. He had got out of his pushchair and was caught by his distraught mother just as he was about to cross the kerb into the road. She was angry, he burst into tears, and…