Gary Strachan – "Write" Said Fred
Whimsical observations from deep within an erratic mind
Well it’s 17th December and the festive feel in Chez Strachan is slowly intensifying. How can you not feel festive when you’re greeted with the words ‘Front Bottom’ from behind window 17 on my Tourettes Advent calendar?! To add to the yuletide spirit, the unmistakable smell of spilt wine, satsumas, and the newly printed Christmas... Continue Reading →
Due to the inclement weather, I offered to drop my daughter Rachel off at work this morning. It was a frustrating journey, the type of which is never portrayed in glossy, Utopian drive car advertisements. This was no sun-filled, carefree drive at the wheel of the only automobile on a picturesque Alpine road. A journey... Continue Reading →
When I wrote my last blog I was on the train from Leeds to Newcastle, last Saturday. There was a lively atmosphere in the carriage as our locomotive powered north. Our congested coach was rammed with groups of high spirited revelers drinking, singing and arguing over track gauges on the Iberian national railways! …… I... Continue Reading →
I'm writing this blog on a train from Leeds to Newcastle. Looking out of the window I've so far been greeted with a monochrome vision of heavy rain, clouds and a woman, who's just missed the train, running along the platform at York shouting "Come back you b*****ds!" I'm travelling to Newcastle to meet up... Continue Reading →
This morning I put my Christmas tree up. I wouldn’t say ‘It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas’ as penned by lyricist Meredith Willson in 1951, but a decorated tree, along with the smell of pine and cinnamon, have definitely made the house feel more festive. I find something strangely therapeutic about decorating a... Continue Reading →
I wrote yesterday of the first part of a trip I undertook with friends in the Yorkshire Dales at the weekend. It was a tale of inclement weather, trekking, camaraderie, wine gums and the skillful use of the word juxtaposition in paragraph eleven. Today I intend to try paint a picture of the remainder of... Continue Reading →
Well we’re into December, we can start opening our advent calendars, put our Christmas trees up without repercussions from the Christmas tree police and people will soon be caroling (hopefully not, though, bringing their cacophonous din to my door!). I've nothing against carol singers per se! Listening to carols sung by a melodic choir can... Continue Reading →