Who doesn’t enjoy a really big poo? Truly – a clear out of the bowels is one of life’s great victories, only marginally eclipsed by a clear-out of the house. And this being a time of annual renewal, many of us will have completed a decluttering catharsis between Christmas and New Year. Of our homes…
Whether we like it or not, we all have an ego. With ego comes pride and pride is something to be we mindful of. It is a deadly sin, after all. I am regularly asked about pride. “You must be soooo proud of your son” …and usually most in reference to one son in particular….
To Oxford this week, the city of spires and steeples, quadrangles and gowns, bicycles and Dons. The oldest university town in the English speaking world, founded in 1069. The university where 28 UK Prime Ministers cut their teeth and 72 Nobel prize winners learnt their onions. A city of world renown academia and a perfect…
Obviously people do write about themselves and this needn’t be self-indulgent although it frequently is. We are familiar with the autobiography. Thick books with large print that fill the book shops ahead of Christmas – commonly with titles like ‘My Life’ or ‘My Struggle’ and written by a person in the midst of their ‘15…
A man can be aged by many parameters… His amount of hair and how much of it is grey. The size of his eyebrows. His girth/paunch. His politics? Eye sight, the sound he makes when bending down… There are other more oblique indicators too, like birds for example. If he used the term ‘birds’ to…
There are any number of new professions that we might be dubious of or at least wary of their exponents. I would say anyone who works in the wellness industry? Doctors and nurses take care of our health and have a long track record of success. And yet somehow a whole raft of new health…
With the explosion of streaming providers clamouring for our attention, it is all too easy to waste endless evenings on sub-standard films. How many of us have shuffled off to bed ruing another precious evening wasted? So when a recommendation comes along I tend to listen and so it was with The Mauritanian. I tend…
It has happened before with badminton, table tennis and now chess. In my youth I played all three sports to a very high level. By this, I mean I thought I was very good. It seems the delusions that have shaped my adult career were forged and set from a young age. At Tom’s 16th…
A friend of mine asked me to watch a film he has a distant hand in getting off the ground and immediately, I am keen to help. Sure, why not? “Great. It’s called Totally FKT. It’s about two blokes running.” Oh, er… Two blokes running, you say. Even in lockdown with no gigs and in-terminal…
The kitchen is the hub of any house. Much more so than the lounge and especially since TV’s have become redundant, replaced by laptops and even phones now. Who knew? And to think I recall watching in wonder a colour television for the first time. Now I am barely able to turn my TV on……
