Gary Strachan – "Write" Said Fred
Whimsical observations from deep within an erratic mind
Being a seaplane there were no shouts of "Chocks away!" as the flight prepared to embark on its south westerly route. There was, though, multiple flicking of cockpit switches and manoeuvring of levers before the Cessna's propellors fired into life as my airborne sojourn commenced in earnest. Scene - Late Sunday morning, solars rays at... Continue Reading →
The first leg of my Scottish break commences at midday when the Strachmobile heads north-west for a one-night stop in Dumfries, Scotland. My destination a market town laying fifteen miles within Scots territory as the crow flies. That being said, as I'm travelling by car not on the back of a giant corvus, it'll be... Continue Reading →
This morning my mother departed on a weeks holiday to Bridlington with some of her buddies. Consequently, GJ Strachan's upcoming days will hopefully be bereft of being asked the same question he'd answered five minutes early, along with a host of other maternal habits which 'press his buttons'. After completing this journal, yours truly is... Continue Reading →
With little, or no, chance of securing a holiday abroad for the foreseeable future, earlier I spent a quiet hour recollecting the verve and vigour resultant from Mediterranean odysseys of yore. One of these sojourns a vacation to Corfu Town with buddy, Dave. Leaving any form of serendipity in the departure lounge of Newcastle airport,... Continue Reading →
I'm back in East Ardsley, West Yorkshire, after an enjoyable few days break residing in a lodge at Heysham on the Lancashire coastline. This pleasant enough town, an Irish Sea port for ferries to the Isle of Man and Ireland, which although accessible by road not wardrobe I've been unreliable assured is twinned with Narnia. Thankfully,... Continue Reading →
Over the years I've put pen to paper (or typed text to Word document) in a variety of locations. Some the more pleasing environments of European holiday destinations, the kaleidoscopic garden at my Leeds home, along with my Uncle Arthur's orangery which has stunning views of the Great Wall of China....... Incidentally, the latter is... Continue Reading →
I visited Wales for the first time over the weekend. At over 50 years of age, my inaugural sojourn to a nation the Welsh dub 'lad of my fathers' long overdue. This tardiness at sampling the domain famed for dragons, leeks and daffodils consequential of my preference to holiday at the nearer beach resorts; predominantly on... Continue Reading →
Two years ago, almost to the day, I embarked on a trip to the Scottish village where my surname originates. At the time, I wrote three narratives journaling my voyage, all of which I am in the process of editing. Below is an updated version chronicling the second part of that expedition....... At the end of the first narrative on my road trip around Scotland,... Continue Reading →
When you reside in the United Kingdom, there has to be an acceptance (begrudged or otherwise) of the unpredictability of its temperate climate. Our summers are unlikely to bequeath us sustained periods of sunshine. However, on the flip side, unless you live in Frank the butcher's walk in freezer, winters are ordinarily milder than those... Continue Reading →