Remember those T-shirts? They used to be on sale everywhere – at every beach-front retail outlet between Cumbria and Gran Canaria. And good old Mum
Year: 2007
The Spice Girls – World Exclusive!
thanks to Mya for the prod We can now – in a World Exclusive – reveal that despite saying it would never happen again The
Poetry for the masses
Hey! It’s National Poetry Day. Ah, poetry… drifts off with a dopey expression I must go down to the sea again To the lonely sea
A103 blues (a bit like an Oxbridge blue. Not)
The Open University Internet bulletin board specific to the current module (A103) of my course carries two posts in particular that have irritated the hell
Everything in life is not a goal
You know those motorway signs that dispense helpful information about travel time and distance? The ones that say things like: ‘Time to J15 (for M4)
Danger Will Robinson, danger!
Driving past a college last night I was forced to take emergency avoiding action as an L-plated female motor-scooterist drove straight out of the college
Things seen on the Motorway (Part 387)
This morning on the hard shoulder of the M5 southbound approaching Gloucester, near a parked car was… A man walking his dog. No kidding! B.
Notice to Jaguar drivers
especially the driver of the S-Type, registration number: R16 EST Driving in the left-hand lane when there is no traffic on your inside is not
A public service announcement
To the driver of Ford Focus registration number: VK07 DKV Please be advised that your Ford Focus has special features that include: Indicators that enable you
The soul of discretion?
I’m reading a new (to me) blog written by a person who works in a supermarket. The writer chooses not to name either location or employer for fear
Just feeling a bit bloated
My stomach feels as though it’s the size of a small Channel Island. Just a small one, not Jersey or Guernsey. Maybe Sark? I must
Sunday afternoon music
The lovely sounds of Sigur Rós and some stunning views of the magical land of the ice and pixies. B.
Worn right out (but smiling muchly)
parental guidance warning, the following passage contains examples of extremely gratual laziness The first bit of good news is that the OU essay is finished. I
Feliz cumpleaños
Happy birthday to you Happy birthday to you Happy birthday dear daughter Happy birthday to you! This evening’s phone call was fun. The big present
Quiet but not idle
Yeah, sorry. I’ve been busy as hell lately. Work and horses and reading and writing – chiefly those – have meant I’ve been remiss in
Facebook sucks, Dick
My friend Dick and I were having a discussion about Facebook. We’ve decided. It sucks. He said, “It’s really awful, adds nothing of value. It
One evening, two views…
I hate schooling horses on a winter weekday evening because… Dusk is beginning to settle as I pull in to the yard, the sun dipping
Two hour short story (update)
I recently wrote this piece about a short story that I’ve been working on – for some time – in my head. The story is transcribed
Not good writing by not good writers
I’ve been dipping – on an irregular basis – in to a blog that describes itself as ‘The ramblings of a procrastinating writer’. Yeah, I
And now from the Ministry of Stupidity
background: The world has given us automatic speed cameras. Vehicles that are detected as exceeding the speed limit are photographed. The policing authority in which the
This is a public service announcement
Short notice but… Tomorrow’s (Sunday 23rd September) fun ride/sponsored ride at Rushock, Worcestershire has been cancelled. Not that I could have gone anyway because Vinnie
The good news is
Yes! (stands up and punches the air as if he’d just scored the winning run in a Glamorgan v Essex match) This is truly excellent
Two hour short story
I’ve been playing with a scene that fits in to an early sequence of novel No 3 (Hard Drives). Over the last fortnight I’ve given it
New header photo
Sorry, should have said something about this. It’s one of the views from the yard – looking down the hill (westwards); Beech is the far
Small road trip
In five minutes I’m leaving Worcestershire for the dreaming spires mist-ridden and impenetrable one-way system of Cambridge. I can’t go there without thinking of the
A big long music and radio rant
Here’s a thing, the 1999 hit Drinkin’ in LA‘ by the never seen again group Bran Van 3000 contained these words: arse and butt-kiss. When
The silver screen
We’ve been to the cinema twice in the last couple of weeks. The first time we watched Transformers. It’s a good film in a ‘beat
A different slavery
Here’s an interesting thing that comes to you from one of my colleagues who mentioned an event that occurred a couple of hundred years ago. In
Sweet dreams
I’m so lucky. The Lovely S is back. On Thursday evening -her first night back – we fell in to bed I don’t know when
Aarrrrghhhhh!
I’m sitting on the couch pondering the injustices that life has dealt me today. Injustice the first; I have just realised that my wife belches better than I
Horses: chiropractor, vet’s bill and competiton news
After last week’s ‘sticky but got gradually better’ experience at Bissell Wood cross country course, schooling young Vinnie, I felt things weren’t quite ‘right’ with
This month’s book group
I never fail to be amazed by the capacity of our species to induce surprise. Two things astounded me so much at this week’s brookgroup
Counting the cost of miles
Despite any impression to the contrary you may have gained, I am a leaden-footed, hyperactive, high-octane fuelled, petrol-headed speedfreak. I do, I’ll admit, think that those
Baby I got your number
Sit down. It’s a rant. I won’t be long. And yes, I know I’ve done this one before. This rant is subtitled: People shouldn’t fcuk
A funny thing happened on my way through the desert
prompted by cha0tic, here’s the first item off my Post-It. I was low-altitude cruising over the Nevada desert the other evening. Was looking for Steve Fossett
The voices are talking to me
Or… Tunes help you breathe more easily Don’t you hate it -no, I mean really really hate it -when a tune gets lodged in your
Thinking about education
This was prompted when I was put under the spotlight by Young Laura yesterday evening (and yes, Young Laura, I know this isn’t your name
A Sleepy Conversation…
the final lunchtime post of the day: a transcript of a conversation between a sleepy but very Lovely S as she drives an equally sleepy
Book review: All Fun and Games until Someone Loses an Eye – Christopher Brookmyre
Once again Christopher Brookmyre has produced an irritatingly good book. His characters are beautifully, yet succinctly, drawn. His scene-setting is pointedly brief. His dialogue is
Where there’s a Will? X-Factor syndrome?
There has recently been a lot of speculation around the old chestnut of whether or not William Shakespeare wrote ‘his’ work. Certainly one has to
Sunday went like this…
a quick lunchtime post; sorry about the sandwich crumbs – lunch at my desk… Sunday went like this… after the earlier than planned start: ‘Dressage
More lit. stuff
There’s a Readers Group meeting tomorrow evening. And… Hold on to your hats… I’m chairing it. The Lovely S, who normally runs the meeting with the
He who laughs last, laughs… erm… last
Ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha! You all thought I was bonkers when I posted this public service announcement about the British National Space Centre’s new
Unwelcome, unlate
06.25 Sunday. I awake without an alarm. I notice two things. The very cold mug of hot chocolate that I fell asleep before drinking. My