Gary Strachan – "Write" Said Fred
Whimsical observations from deep within an erratic mind
Despite being the most distressing life event I've thus far experienced, I never wept when my father died in the October of 2017. I similarly remained tear free during his funeral, even while delivering a twenty minute eulogy I'd written as a tribute to a man I adored. A beautiful person whose passing devastated me;... Continue Reading →
It's been a productive week for yours truly. Seven days where I've indulged in a far physically and mentally healthier lifestyle, including three gym visits, a cathartic choir rehearsal and a much needed period of sobriety. A lifestyle adjustment meaning, if I could desist from unhealthily munching so many bags or crisps, who knows this... Continue Reading →
Almost exactly a week after attending the funeral of a Gateshead Fell cricket club (GFCC) legend***, a club I represented for a decade between 1977-1987, this morning I was further saddened to hear of a former junior & senior team colleague Brian Gray's passing. *** - Last week's melancholic events more extensively detailed in my... Continue Reading →
I'd proposed not penning a blog today. Intending instead to commence a significant rewrite of a tome written in 2010, which I'd remissly disregarded, leaving unloved and gathering dust for a decade. However, after a troublesome time attempting to gain White Rose Shopping Centre's (WRSC) wifi access, circumstances conspired against me causing an itinerary rethink.... Continue Reading →
I've spent the last few hours taking my mum for her weekly comestible shop at a south Leeds supermarket. During today's oft challenging sojourn, taking the opportunity to collect a phone whose tariff I'd upgraded to yesterday evening, along with investing in new and more en vogue gym kit. The latter I felt required imperatively... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, 2nd January, saw me attending the first (and hopefully my last) funeral of 2020. The journey up to Gateshead taken with buddy and former team mate John Hutchison, paying respects to a recently passed doyen of a cricket club we'd both represented at various junctures of our life odysseys. The wake giving me an opportunity... Continue Reading →
I've just returned from a round trip to Cheshire, picking up my mother from her Christmas hiatus at my sisters home. Bringing back the matriarch home to West Yorkshire, ending my few angst-free days of solitude. Mater (Maggie) was in fine spirits on the journey home, her yuletide spent in the company of my youngest... Continue Reading →
It was an arching run up with trailing bowling arm and slightly unorthodox delivery action I mimicked on numerous occasions during my 1970's childhood. This then homage to Warwickshire and England cricketer Bob Willis ordinarily undertaken during 'Test Matches' my brother Ian and/or friends participated on the tarmac wicket of Dorchester Gardens, or dog dirt... Continue Reading →
I've just got off the phone from a conversation with my son Jonathon, who lives with his charming fiancee Jenny on the outskirts of York. This conversation incorporating our usual inanely random chatter; topics including UPV door adaptations, aspirations for Christmas gifts, his new love of golf and his idiosyncratic grandma (my mum). My son's... Continue Reading →