Post-heart attack I've unsurprisingly striven to avoid situations that'll raise my blood pressure. Consequently, I'm currently staying clear of listening to/watching Leeds United games, listening to/watching Leeds Rhino rugby league matches, exposure to England Test crickets encounters and (apart from writing) numerous other avenues of pleasure. I'm also attempting to stay clear of my wife … Continue reading Patience Required
Tag: fictional writing
Boss Hogg Day
The 2nd February is Groundhog Day. An occasion citizen's of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, observe the behaviour of local groundhogs as they emerge from their burrows. In particular their reactions to that day's meteorological conditions. Folklore decreeing:- If it’s cloudy on first leaving their burrows spring will arrive before the vernal equinox. If it’s sunny then the … Continue reading Boss Hogg Day
X Marks The Spot
Sitting with a bowl of wasabi peas and a mandarin, carrot and ginger smoothie, I've one eye on my laptop and the other on a Sky Atlantic show called The Trip to Spain. This a series of six half hour shows in which British entertainers/writers Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon sample cuisine at some of … Continue reading X Marks The Spot
Helplessness
With the sad news of Karen's mum's critical medical condition, plans for the foreseeable future in casa Strachan are understandably in limbo. My wife still in the north east maintaining her bedside vigil, along with providing support for her distraught father. I'm in regular contact with my little missus by phone and text, where she … Continue reading Helplessness
Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda
Yesterday, with the blindingly low autumn sun necessitating a salute-like shielding of my eyes, I sat Elland Road Stadium in situ with my son Jonny. Our two East Stand seats the exact same ones we secured as season tickets during his childhood. With my now twenty-something son being only 12 years old last time we … Continue reading Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda
Wand’rin’ Star
Summer 1976 - Recollected by many for wall to wall sunshine in the UK, the Montreal Olympic Games, Jimmy Carter/Gerald Ford's nominations in the US presidential election and the end of the Cod War between the UK and Iceland. For me, though, I recall it as an era my existence took an unwelcome path for … Continue reading Wand’rin’ Star
Pear Tree Without A Partridge
Today would've been my mum and dad's 58th wedding anniversary; the first since he passed ten days after last year's commemoration of the same event. It was a time he was so poorly the old man was unable to write his message of endearment in my mother's card. Necessitated me penning the words of affection, … Continue reading Pear Tree Without A Partridge
