My wife plays a Brahms intermezzo on the piano while I read the Times Literary Supplement. This sickening scene takes place at our holiday home in Charente. But there are worse things to be accused of than being middle-class. We returned from France on 27 February - and here we are again. They are forecasting…
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…
Wednesday 26 January is Dad's 96th birthday, an event I was beginning to think would not take place. He has looked close to death on several occasions. But what do I know? Caring for one elderly parent is difficult and exhausting, but caring for two (one of whom has dementia) is almost impossible. It is…
I have been reviewing my posts from last year. It is far from riveting stuff. There was a great deal about Covid-19 (no surprise there); a bit of nostalgia; quite a lot about getting out of London, when possible (and there were more escapes than I mentioned - including a very enjoyable weekend in Paris),…
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…
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…
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…
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.…
After eight years in the job, I stood down in December as Chair of the Herne Hill Society. Hardly world-shattering news, I realise. It seemed a good time to step aside and let someone else have a go - if I could find someone to take it on (which I did, eventually). Membership is increasing,…
The Wight Stuff 