As a stickler for adhering to old wife’s advocacies, GJ Strachan faced an (admittedly small) conundrum yesterday afternoon. This infinitesimal poser manifesting during discussions with a friend about 1970’s UK punk band The Sex Pistols. The episode playing out when he asked if I can recall the title of Pistols’ only studio recorded album. Despite…
Category: review
Tell It To The Birds
Sitting in the bosom of an east Yorkshire campsite, the chirp of birds (of an unknown species) accompanies this prose litteraire. When I say the birds are of an unknown species, I’m referring to the fact GJ Strachan isn’t party to the specific avian breed. Not that I have stumbled across a ne’er before identified…
Carry On Camper Vanning
Spending time living in the great outdoors, your back hair being blown evocatively by a summer zephyr, can be wonderful fun… Unless, of course, you don’t have back hair. In which case my heart goes out to you for missing out on such brio. With the above in mind, my owning of a campervan, along…
Standing on Ceremony
This weeks topic prompt for a writing group I attend on a bi-weekly basis was ‘ceremony’. A suggestion leading me to write/read out the following tongue-in-cheek narrative:- Ceremony – by Gary Strachan Today, with our thoughts on ceremonies, I’ve decided to revisit the day 35 years ago when I walked down the aisle of a County…
Taking the Biscuit
At the risk of turning this into a less accomplished Alan Bennett biscuit monologue, yesterday I became reacquainted with the joys of Rich Teas. After having my head turned with the enchantment of a chocolate Hob Nob in the mid-1980’s, a cookie pleasure I’d not experienced for decades. The chocolate coated seductresses beckoning me to…
Fit For a King
You can say what you want about us Brits, but no one can take away our ingrained capacity to nail pomp, circumstance and royal celebration. A point gloriously highlighted over a weekend witnessing two days of festivities to mark King Charles III’s coronation. As expected the ceremony which saw our new monarch crowned was undertaken…
Watch Out For Those Thorns!!
Working with this week’s topic prompt of ‘The Walk’, my mind wandered to a recent discussion at a writing workshop I attend on a bi-weekly basis. This whimsical exchange relating to the merits, or otherwise, of an upcoming naked stroll scheduled to take place at a nearby North Yorkshire town. Let me start by admitting my understanding of this…
Coal
I’m penning this prose from within the hallowed walls of my partner Sarah’s living room. A bright and airy room which she has decorated in the minimalist style she so says she prefers. I reckon if truth be told, though, the chamber is only minimalist because she’s not yet worked out how to shop-lift a…
The Venerable Cheese
Last week saw a two night tarry to a campsite near Berwick-upon-Tweed with my kid brother, Ian. Our camper van resting place affording its lucky visitors enchanting views of North Sea landscapes Lindisfarne, and further afield Bamburgh Castle. Lindisfarne (aka as Holy Island) the tidal isle, with its links to 6th century monks Saint Cuthbert…