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 the UK’s east coast. This, along with GJ Strachan’s alarming indifference to the topics of […]
A couple of days back a mate in Gateshead announced on social media he’d become a grandad. Witnessing this posting led me to post a tribute YouTube video on my buddy’s timeline showing a recording of Dad’s Army actor Clive Dunn’s 1970’s novelty single ‘Grandad’. A misguided action on my part which’ve meant for the past forty eight hours the refrain’s lyrics and tune have been looping on repeat play […]
Yesterday, despite commencing a literary piece, I didn’t publish a narrative on my website writesaidfred.org. Eventually giving up on the offering in the early evening after penning around 300 words of prose. This rare loss of interest in completing an essay not through a lack of notions on my part; moreover the consequence of finding the subject I’d chosen (the current UK political climate) as too emotionally exhausting. I’ve covered […]
My brief time home alone ends at around midday today when my mother returns from a brief break with family friends. Mater’s stay elongated an extra day, allowing her and buddies to visit yesterday’s Ripon race meeting. An occasion when, no doubt, Mrs S would’ve likely ‘entertained’ her group with insightful jockey related observations like “That Frankie Detorri seems a nice lad!”, “Ryan Moore’s jockeys outfit is nice. I wonder […]
The other day I inadvertently, but gratifyingly, came across an emotive Gregory Porter cover of the song It’s Probably Me, originally brought to audiences attention on Sting’s 1992 album Ten Summoner’ Tales. Porter’s version of a refrain performed live in front of an audience including the former the Police frontman, during 2017’s Polar Music Prize Ceremony. Written by a trinity of rock royalty, Eric Clapton, Michael Kamen and Gordon Sumner […]
I’ve got a weekend home alone. Consequently, GJ Strachan will be spending a great deal of his time slobbing around the place in his undies armed with a pizza and a six pack of beer…… I just hope it’s not a lifestyle strategy which leads to me getting a lifetime ban from Tescos!! One positive piece of news is that at least I’m now able to drive again. Consequently I […]
During a recent attempt to broaden my intellectual horizons, I was intrigued to read a statement by the late author, social critic and public intellectual Christopher Hitchens, claiming “Once you assume a creator and a plan, it makes us objects in a cruel experiment, whereby we are created sick, and commanded to be well.” An unashamed contrarian, iconoclast and anti-theist, witnessing Hitchens erudite and forthright prowess in the debating bear […]
