The last time that I saw my father he was wrapped in one of the foil blankets that are favoured by exhausted runners, though this was some time before the explosion in marathon running turned finish lines into parades of self-basting human ready meals. He was sitting up in bed and quite, quite dead. It […]
As time slips through our fingers it becomes easy for old friendships, as comfortable and reassuring as favourite pants, to recede into the distance. I tell people how closely knit my circle of friends from college still are but the truth is that we snatch occasional meetings maybe twice a year. On one of our gatherings, some four years […]
It has taken me some time to come to terms with the events of last night. I had decided, in Lisa’s continued absence, to celebrate the conclusion of the holidays by taking the children to see ‘Dawn of Planet of the Apes’ at the cinema in the Westfield Shopping Centre. I was tired. It had […]
There are things that should not happen to a chap, sights that should not be seen. Now, my father-in-law is a man’s man. He has spent years deep in the wildernesses of several continents prospecting, and wrestling bears, and biting the heads off snakes and generally defining rugged. He is the real deal, he makes […]
Sheffield from London, first thing in the morning? Excellent. Said veeeery few people. This morning’s variation on the standard middle aged misery of being unable to find my glasses because I couldn’t see without them: As I searched with increasing urgency (because I hadn’t included ‘find glasses’ in my list of 5am tasks) I became […]
One of the joys of my job is the unanticipated day at home. This gives me a chance to spend some quality time with my lovely wife. I know that she was genuinely saddened to remember that she had to go out all day. As she left, in a bit of a rush – she […]
The boy’s first big adventure away, the school trip to France. I didn’t go on mine so consequently France remained in my mind this strange land, source of flick knives, bangers and Gitanes. The French spent their whole time being really cool, while producing utterly shit pop, puffing on fags and cleaning their nails with […]
This morning my knees hurt more than usual as I staggered up the escalator at Marylebone, and the prospect of another day’s futile submissions before an uncaring tribunal (whose civil practice leads him to view all criminal hacks as witless shysters who provide some comic relief at their own expense) weighed heavily. The dimly remembered […]
(written on the 26th June) I am in hiding. Isobel has had five friends for a sleepover. She achieved this coup de maison by the tried and tested method of telling Lisa that I had agreed and telling me that Lisa said it was ok. Over the days running up to this takeover Lisa and I did […]
(written on the 28th June during the Brexit trauma) I took some time off yesterday from frothing at the mouth while spewing anti-democratic bilge to go to court. I had spent the weekend anxiously preparing for trial (ha ha, I only put that in for any solicitors reading this, in reality I prepare for trial […]
