I sit in the gloom watching my father sleeping, his default mode nowadays, while my mother stares at the TV. It doesn’t matter what is on because she doesn’t understand. Daytime TV is mind-destroying anyway I have seen too much of it recently; Dion Dublin wanting to knock through rooms, Jasmine Harman showing apartments to…
Have you ever trapped your finger in a door frame? I hadn't until we were in holiday in Suffolk this August. I don't recommend trying it, because it hurts like hell. And all because I was careless and not looking at what I was doing. I well remember losing a toenail 40 years ago. You…
Brittany is (or was originally referred to as) La Petite Bretagne - did you know that? It was a place of refuge for Britons escaping from the Anglo-Saxon invaders of their homeland. Or maybe they just wanted to go somewhere a bit warmer, as millions of Britons still do. Having had a holiday home in…
It may occasionally be of interest to others but this blog is a self-indulgent exercise. Sometimes I'm just recording what I've been up to and how I feel about current events, such as Brexit and the Covid pandemic. But it has also given me a space to examine and attempt to come to terms with…
Ten months between visits is a longer gap than we'd have liked. I know, many people have been suffering in various ways at this time so I shouldn't moan about it. The downside of having a holiday home is that you might arrive to find a leaking roof or a wasps' nest; well, you try…
Now that Portugal's all-too-brief status as the UK's green destination of choice has been revoked, the Government is encouraging us to take our summer holidays in dear old Blighty. Frustrated by not being able to get to France we decided to give Cornwall a go, and managed to find somewhere to stay... in a tin…
Fancy a foreign break? Who can blame us really when it is so wet and cold in Blighty. Just when you think things might be improving, a hailstorm crashes down. Merry month of May? If you want to get away, there are currently very few Government-approved destinations. There’s Australia and New Zealand (who clearly don’t…
I received my first Covid jab on 28 January and I was waiting to get a date for the follow-up. After hearing nothing for 10 weeks I cracked and rang my GP; to be told, more or less, to sit tight and wait for the call that would soon come. A week later I'd still…
The BBC reminds us that the UK's first lockdown began a year ago today. At that point 364 people had died; now the total has reached 126,172. Over half the adult population has been vaccinated: an incredible achievement, many times better than what any other European country has achieved, and yet life has not returned…
It's one of those situations where people, especially those with a Brummie accent, will say, "I could see that coming!" Very, very annoying - and the more so because they are right. The trouble with a mandolin (or mandoline?), as opposed to a ukulele, say, is that it is an inherently dangerous piece of kit.…
The Wight Stuff 