Category Archives: family

Daft

It was probably 1961. It was cold and if not Christmas Eve then very close. Back then, the attitude towards dogs, at least in our part of north Surrey, perched on the edge of the North Downs’ escarpment was lax … Continue reading

Posted in dog, family, memories, miscellany | Tagged , , , | 29 Comments

A Half-Feb Garden

I’ve been channelling my inner pretzel with the Boy who assists, or who I assist – it’s up for debate – in the garden. The garden itself is still stacking waiting for permission to land… or should that be to … Continue reading

Posted in family, gardening, miscellany | Tagged , , | 41 Comments

The Five Senses Of My Father

I came across some old videos the other day, when looking for something else. I had to convert them from their ancient format to mp4 to play and then I found myself with a little lump in my throat. Which … Continue reading

Posted in family, poems, poetry | Tagged , , , | 51 Comments

A Family At War #armisticeday

During the First World War, I had several relatives directly involved in the conflict. My maternal grandfather, Percy Francis had a fascinating war, joining the London Branch of the Seaforth Highlanders, having lost a bet that meant he had to … Continue reading

Posted in family, miscellany, WW1 | Tagged , , , | 38 Comments

Week Thirty-Eight: 2022

Well, that was a rollercoaster of a week. It ended with me coughing like a fifty a day trooper, diagnosed as a chest infection and told by the GP to take it easy, not something I’m especially good at. The … Continue reading

Posted in 2022, family, miscellany, thought piece | Tagged , , , , , , | 51 Comments

I Swear

As a child I was sheltered from the adult world in many ways. One part, to which I returned this week was swearing and what one might describe as Oaths, Ancient and Modern. During my primary school years, I became … Continue reading

Posted in family, memories, miscellany, thought piece | Tagged , , , , , | 43 Comments

That First Time

There’s a lot of difficult stuff in the news just now and normally I rise above it. But sometimes, amongst the flippancy and frivolity, there’s different emotion lurking and I was drawn to this piece about my first experiences of … Continue reading

Posted in death, family, grief | Tagged , , , , , | 47 Comments

Aunts, Ancient And Modern #familymemories

PG Woodhouse was clear about how devilish Aunts could be in his fabulous Bertie Wooster books. I’ve been lucky with my aunts, both of them are alive and well and with power to add to the gaiety of nations. But … Continue reading

Posted in family, memories | Tagged , , , | 53 Comments

Toe To Toe, Cheek To Cheek

The Textiliste and I have been dancing for many years now and have developed a decent repertoire of Latin and Ballroom classics. There’s this myth about dancing, that the man leads. Fortunately same sex dancing has knocked that on its … Continue reading

Posted in family, marriage, memories, miscellany, thought piece | Tagged , , , | 26 Comments

November 11th And Giving Thanks To A Small Statue And Many, Many Men And Women #remembranceday

My brother, the Archaeologist wrote this piece for my blog back in 2014 when we were thinking about the 100th anniversary of the start of that god-awful conflict. On this day of days, a unusually mild and beautiful November here … Continue reading

Posted in family, France, memories, WW1 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 38 Comments