Fun in the sun

Perhaps winter is nearly over. Perhaps not. It's not easy to tell in Britain, or anywhere in Europe for that matter. January seems to go on for an extraordinarily long time, followed by February, with its treacherous glimmers of spring, quickly and cruelly cancelled. It lifts the spirits to get away at this time of year.…

Memoryland

Tue: Exceptionally cold, even for January. Leave Herne Hill 11am, arrive Liverpool by train mid afternoon. To M&S to buy clothes for Mum (she has shrunk), then to lawyers to sign probate declaration for Dad's estate. Train to Birkenhead then taxi to Upton, arrive at house and turn on heating and water. Open post: only…

A good start

Like the Christmas tree and "seasonal" cards (42 this year - not bad - including one received today from far-away East Sussex, postmarked 15 December), 2022 has been consigned to the bin. At least, that's what I'm trying to do. I hope for fewer traumas; obviously none at all would be better. When I looked…

Cash and Carrie

The discovery of Herne Hill has been reported in the press. Again. It happens, on average, once a decade. Yet, like America, it was always in plain sight. Of course, Columbus, to his dying day, believed he’d sailed to the Far East, and in any case he spent almost all his time exploring the so-called…

Fair to middling

I swim at an indoor pool every Sunday morning, except when I am away from home or have another reasonable excuse, such as I can't be bothered. Apart from walking, it is the only regular exercise I take. As I plough up and down, which I find extremely boring, I have to have something to…

Memories of Dad

My earliest memories of Dad are of a loving father who would unexpectedly bring home toys after work: soft toys, and on one occasion a rubber bone for me to cut my teeth on. Later, there were model cars and other mechanical devices that he wanted to play with himself. I inherited Dad's huge Meccano…

Scent of the Half Moon

As I've said before, I am not much of a musician. I'm resigned to the fact that, at my age and with arthritic hands, I will not get better - but I am still ambitious, within my limitations. I try my best. When One for the Wall re-formed, eight years ago, the idea was just…

Very old lady dies

Back to Blighty in early September, after a long, sunny and thoroughly enjoyable holiday in France. For six weeks we saw almost no rain. Then, on our last day, we were nearly caught out in two violent rainstorms; one on the island of Noirmoutier, and the other in Saint-Malo just before boarding the ferry for…

Too darn hot

If you were to say “You always seem to be on holiday, mate,” I could hardly argue otherwise. But Anne is recently retired, as I have been for more than seven years. So why not, so long as funds and good health allow? So it's back to La Bréchoire, where nothing much seems to happen yet…