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…
I had visited to Athens twice before: once in 1971, when I was 16, and once with my wife Anne, in 2000. Only for a couple of days in each case; all I can really remember is traipsing up to the Acropolis and visiting two or three museums. This year we decided to spend four…
We haven't been annihilated by Russian missiles. The invasion of Ukraine continues, with thousands killed and millions made refugees, but it all seems far away, certainly far enough to be forgotten on a sunny day in May. I have a feeling that British interest in this war is waning, as it becomes almost normal, a…
It is easy to forget that 40 years ago our country (my country, that is) was at war. Very easy for someone of my generation to forget that it happened four decades ago. And even easier for subsequent generations, because there has been little about it in the news (not that I wish to be…
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…
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…
"Where would we be without the web?" says everyone I talk to. Mind you, nearly every conversation I have is on the internet these days, so they would say that, wouldn't they? Shares in the company that owns the Zoom platform have, appropriately, rocketed. It’s not only Zoom, one of many technologies that allow meetings…
It’s a fortnight since I wrote my last blog on - you guessed it - Coronavirus, which certain persons close to home suggested was alarmist, depressing, over-reactive etc. But it wasn’t hard to guess that where Italy led we would follow - even if we are a few paces behind. If I sound like a…
Memories of 1980s Oxford, for the second time this month. In the same week in which I received an invitation to the Osma Centenary Symposium, Andrew informed me that he'd turned up a cassette tape from 1982 while looking (inevitably) for something else. He digitised it and emailed the result to Bernard and me. The…
Symposium, amongst other things, can mean "a one-day conference". Who knew it had to be just for the one day? (Not Plato for sure.) Last week I was invited to a symposium at Oxford. Some time ago I blogged about my trip to Madrid at Easter 1980, when I was 25 years old. This memorable…
The Wight Stuff 