Category Archives: family

Life Lesson, Number… Whatever

Posted on May 2, 2019 by

My mother has been a constant influence in my life, even in death. She gifted me many things I didn’t appreciate at the time – how to eat peas in polite company; why you shouldn’t wear brown shoes with a … Continue reading →

Posted in family, gardening, memories | Tagged , , , , , | 64 Comments

The Grapes of Wrath: A Father’s Wisdom

Posted on Apr 13, 2019 by

I witnessed a crime today. A couple of kids ahead of me, heads close together and one nabbed a piece of fruit off a stall outside a small convenience store. It was casual, brazen almost. They stood there, didn’t even … Continue reading →

Posted in family, law, memories, miscellany | Tagged , , , , | 44 Comments

I Have Worms!

Posted on Apr 10, 2019 by

Pam Lazos wrote recently, here, on the joys of compost which I can echo. It made me, once again, recognise a parental lesson I received from a young age. My parents, specifically my mother recycled, repurposed and upcycled well before … Continue reading →

Posted in family, gardening, home, miscellany, thought piece | Tagged , , , , , | 46 Comments

If You Want To Get Ahead….

Posted on Mar 23, 2019 by

It is a fact, sad or otherwise that these days I am follicly challenged. I have perhaps grown too far upwards, experiencing the human equivalent of the tree line on mountains, above which hair will not grow. Some suggest it … Continue reading →

Posted in family, humour | Tagged , , | 62 Comments

Sun, Sea, Sand And #holidays

Posted on Feb 20, 2019 by

Every holiday from my earliest memory meant a visit to my mother’s mother – my Gran – who lived in a tall Georgian terraced house on the sea front at Herne Bay in North Kent. I could wax lyrical describing … Continue reading →

Posted in family, holidays | Tagged , , | 43 Comments

The Five Things I Learned From Jigsaw Puzzles

Posted on Feb 17, 2019 by

I was in a garden centre today, acting as moral support and guard duty for the Textiliste. It’s not that she is regularly under threat, you understand but any trip out that involves her mother runs the risk of strangling … Continue reading →

Posted in family, miscellany, thought piece | Tagged , , , , | 67 Comments

Unintended Consequences In The Pursuit Of A Pint

Posted on Feb 9, 2019 by

My short series on my walk with Dad across the neck of England, reminded me of his love of beer. Boy, did Dad love a pint. Bitter not lager. What we today know as real or cask ale, not what … Continue reading →

Posted in family, memories, miscellany | Tagged , , , , , | 25 Comments