Last week’s Portuguese vacation with my partner Sarah has meant it has been a barren time literary wise of late. Sure, I could have still waxed lyric on the Iberian Peninsula. However, instead I chose to indulge on a relaxing seven-day smorgasbord of sun, sand, sangria, silliness, and Sarah. An alliteration brew warming both my…
Tag: author
Mixed Emotions
Although penning this piece from the bedroom of a Portuguese hotel, I am more than aware back in Blighty my fellow Brits are celebrating Father’s Day. One of the many reminders of the celebration coming in the shape of cards from my children, granddaughter and Zella the dog which take pride of place on my…
Sarah’s Smile
During a reflective moment yesterday, lyrics to Daryl Hall and John Hall’s 1970s song Sara’s Smile meandered evocatively around my neurological corridors. These locutions floated around my mind, gently blown along by a metaphorical zephyr. Calming and soothing my soul, evoking thoughts of my beau Sarah. Sure, unlike Daryl Hall’s girlfriend Sara, my Ossett squeeze…
Festival Days
Last weekend saw my inaugural visit to a music festival. It has only took six decades but the wait was well worth it, even the ninety minutes it took to get from the venue entrance to my camper van pitch. If there is a sun god, he also had tickets to the musical clambake. His…
Cor Blimey, Guv
The first known batch of Scotch whisky was recorded on this day in 1495; the first distillation accredited to a Tironensian monk named John Cor. The man of pray a servant in King James IV’s court at Lindores Abbey, Fife. For the uninitiated, the Tironensian Order was a medieval monastic order named after the location of the mother abbey in France (Tiron Abbey), which…
Who to Invite?!
As I commence putting pen to paper, the soundscape of Adele singing her melancholic refrain ‘When We Were Young‘ reverberates around my living room. Obviously, the source of the Tottenham-born singer’s lament is my smart speaker; the one where Alexa resides rent free. The superstar (Adele, not Alexa) hasn’t, of course, travelled to my modest West Yorkshire…
Our Kid
On this day in mid-1960’s my younger brother Ian made his inaugural appearance into the world. Born at our Leeds home, our kid arrived shortly after, in their second World Heavyweight Championship fight Cassius Clay had knocked out Sonny Liston. With Clay (latterly Muhammed Ali) winning by first round KO, Ian didn’t arrive in time to…
`Foolish Legacy?
Recently I visited the White Rose Shopping Centre, in South Leeds. During this tarry, procuring a new printer for the purpose of printing copies of my daily narratives. At the cost of £19.99, a gracious offer from monsieur WH Smith and folk at his splendid stationery emporium. Quite perversely, the purchase price less than that…
Diamond in the Rough
Occasionally, while treading this creative path, I venture into a world of philosophy. A time when I try to make sense of life on this dysfunctional planet; hopefully leaving it with some insightful observation or advocacy. Yesterday, one such pearl of wisdom occurred to me; this relating to the upside of enduring stressful life episodes….