The Way We Were

It’s Sunday morning, the morning after the night before. The morning before the night after and not far off the night before the morning before. If you can understand the paragraph above would you let me know what it means as I’ve not got a chuffing clue! Today, the capricious West Yorkshire weather has generously…

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Where There’s Muck There’s Brass

I picked my brother Ian up from Leeds rail station this morning. When I met up with him, he was in good spirits as he’d written some song lyrics on his journey south from Newcastle. My younger sibling hasn’t shared his musical poetry with me yet, although I can’t wait to hear his 2016 Christmas…

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Carefully Planned Spontaneity

Karen and I started our Christmas shopping this morning. An onerous task planned with military precision by my other half; even down to which car parking space we would utilise! On arrival at the out of town retail outlet, we hit the first hitches in my spouses meticulous plan when she noticed a typo on her A4…

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If You Go Down To The Woods

This morning, to blow away a few cobwebs, I took a bracing stroll around the grounds of Temple Newsham House. I’m not sure how I attracted all the webs, all know is they started propagating around the time I commenced sleeping in my dad’s wallet. My walk, wrapped in several layers of clothing against the elements…

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Divide & Conquer

This morning I’m greeted by the first snow of autumn 2016, which falls almost apologetically in a gentle flutter outside. It sheepishly amalmagamates with the contents of an earlier altogether more concentrated flurry, creating a synergy responsible for extinguishing the last remnants of colour dans mon jardin. On TV, a programme of remembrance shows a similar flurry scene, only with poppy petals falling gently…

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A Grand Day Out?

The Strachan family have been on a trip out with a difference today. Ordinarily, St James’ Hospital oncology unit wouldn’t be my first choice of a location for a family outing, but years ago I was taught on team building course that bonding can occur in the most unexpected of environments…….. That being said, I don’t expect the…

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Snail on a Whale

Today’s a day of executive decisions. To start with, I need to put some thought into the look and feel of my website writesaidfred.org , as  I currently can’t settle for a theme of which I’m 100% content. I’m after a theme that renders bother pictures and the opening paragraph of each blog on the homepage….

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Cat On A Cold Wet Roof

The meteorological gods (Keeley Donovan and the blonde lass who reads the Calendar weather) have decreed that today we shall experience torrential rainfall in the West Yorkshire area. Word is that precipitation of biblical proportions will rain down on the residents of Bardsey, Wetwang, Heckmondwyke  and customers of the chip shop with a leaky roof in…

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Dear BBC….

I’m feeling inordinately disorientated this morning. Allied to continually losing my thread, I’m asking ill thought out questions of the people I engage with on this chilly West Yorkshire day. For example I’ve just asked someone if the Leeds 10k race tomorrow is in Leeds!…… durrrr! Constantly losing my thread is a real pain in…

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