This year we had a real Christmas. I was able to forget about buying those ‘difficult to please’ people presents. I sent money to my children, easy easy easy. I did not take a deep sigh of relief when Christmas evening fell, and whisper, “365 more days before I have to do this again!” We…

My elderly uncle believes that if there are going to be disruptions on any travel services they will happen over the holidays so he tries to avoid going anywhere at Christmas or Easter, which gets him neatly and unarguably out of family get togethers. Yesterday we took my daughter to Heathrow. The disruptions occurred on…

One would think that a bus with Crystal Palace emblazoned on its front window could be depended upon to go there. The tax payers of England, we the people, pay to be served by public transport not the other way around. I met a lady yesterday, during another brush with malfunctioning destinations, who confided to…

My grandfather always had a bonfire at the weekend when I was visiting. I would deeply inhale the smoke filled air and let the smell lodge in my memory cells.  You know, the ones where years later the trigger whisks you back to that place in time like a book mark on your toolbar. I…

My youngest daughter was home with us for a few days.  She is back in Leigh-on-Sea to honour her work commitment so she can pay her debts.  In this cold and frosty weather I admire her.   She was  up this morning while it was still icy on the ground. She and I went shopping…

Trying to buy a 60 or 100 watt light bulb here is not easy.  They can’t be had at the grocery store where we do most of our shopping.  The hardware shop sells them but that’s an added trip.  So we make do with the 40 watt, longer lasting bulbs that wouldn’t light a pathway…

It is the Winter Solstice today At last.  The shortest day is upon us which means? From tomorrow onwards the days start to get longer, imperceptively so, but longer all the same! The birds knew! This morning while it was still pitch dark, about 540am, I heard a song bird twittering as if the sun…

From where we live I can hear children playing. There are several schools in the immediate vicinity, I counted them once, sixteen to be exact. Each has an application and CV from me; lost in the shuffle or, “On active file;” those who responded said. As I write at my desk with my windows open…

One of the items we can’t buy here is rubbing alcohol.  We asked at the counter of Boots the Chemist and the sales assistant told us, “You won’t find rubbing alcohol in liquid form anywhere in the United Kingdom.” The reason?  Gross misuse by a few folks. Mainly those who drink it, have they not…

Moby decided it was high time he brought his family a treat. He’d found the perfect gift.  Something he would love if given to him. Always a safe bet that, to give a gift you would love to receive. It had taken him hours of patience to find and he had had a bit of…