Coffee Hour (or should that be ‘Tea break’) – I took this photo of my desk with my phone this morning. I didn’t realize at the time how much history and how many special things there could be in a simple picture. One-minute read
Reminiscing
For the Conspiracy Theorists – I recently showed Ginger the Tony Christie ‘Walk like a panther’ video on YouTube… a few days later it turned up in my suggested listening on Spotify … cue the ‘Twilight Zone’ music.Video: 4:44
July 7, 2019 16:40
My 2018 Top 100 on Spotify; it’s a tad eclectic. Brit Pop, Bluegrass, College Rock, Electro Pop, Folk, Jazz, Prog Rock, and Soul. One-minute read
December 31, 2018 19:48
Rinse and Repeat. The shop assistant squealed, she’d never seen a passport before, let alone a British one … The UK and the US. It’s often said that they are two nations separated by a common language. After ten years living in the US I can confirm that it is still true. Three-minute read
December 8, 2018 10:01
Late Night Cleaning and Polishing. I first cleaned these brass ornaments, belonging to my mother when I was 4-5 years old. Two-minute read, 3 pictures
January 5, 2018 23:30
“In the town where I was born …” – It seems that every year or so I find an excuse to take at least one picture of the ceramic fish and/or submarine my sister bought me way back when.
October 20, 2017 22:16
Connections and Degrees of Separation – You may have heard of the idea that all the people on Earth are six or fewer steps away from each other in a human chain of contacts. The “Six degrees of separation” theory, In June this year, I discovered I was three steps away from Che Guevara. Three-minute read, 3 pictures
October 8, 2017 19:16
Jim’s short wheelbase, 400″ block, 1978 Chevrolet Scottsdale Pickup, just back from the shop after a new paint job. 8 pictures
June 16, 2017 14:52
Calm Center (Three) – We visited a place laden with memories for me and recreated a picture from ten years ago. 1
April 24, 2017 12:43
Sitting on a bench at Milton Lock.
April 24, 2017 12:43
Langstone Mill – Besides being picturesque, Langstone Mill is interesting because it is the site of two mills. Besides the obvious windmill, there was also a tidal mill. Plus a bonus reminisce, and a picture from the seventies. 1 3
April 20, 2017 17:39
Lancia Stratos HF Zero – I was a school kid when I discovered this jaw droppingly awesome car. It caught my imagination and made such an impression that forty years on, I still think it is one of the most stunning vehicles ever built. Video: 2 clips, ten-minute read, 2 pictures
March 25, 2013 23:34
Do You Know Pete Best? — A chance meeting with locals looking for directions on a remote Ozarks farm road. Two-minute read
June 6, 2012 13:00
Gary plus rat (365:283) – This plastic rat has been making appearances in lots of places over the past few days. x2
October 10, 2011 20:30
Meet my old friend Penfold. One-minute read
February 25, 2009 22:55
Still lots to do and a couple I’ll pass on, thank you — This is one of those lists of things you should do / have done. One-minute read
November 23, 2008 16:36
Identity Crisis – My mother’s Christian name is a little different, being a combination of two fairly common names into something a little more unusual. When Ginger was staying, I told her the story of my mother’s name, producing my birth certificate with a flourish as proof I had to eat my words when I saw her name wasn’t spelled the way I thought it should be. Two-minute read
August 31, 2008 15:59
Saint Nicholas’ Church, Great Hormead – My first visit to my childhood village in around 30 years. Album: 3 16
June 22, 2007 17:12
Brian Kidd Way and Southsea Castle.
May 22, 2007 17:58
Maisonettes Gary Helped Build — When I left college, I worked for a summer as a labourer on a building site, building these apartments.
May 22, 2007 17:41
Bennett, Goring, Allman – I’m pretty sure this was the year Bob and Ann turned up unexpectedly.
August 26, 1991 20:36
A friend posted a mnemonic on Facebook for the sequence of the royal houses of England in chronological order. It reminded me of one my uncle taught me, which in turn reminded me of a couple I learned at school. Two-minute read, 2 pictures
July 21, 1972 1:21
Hadham Hall School, October 1968 – Today (March 11, 2021), spurred on by an email I recently received from another ‘old boy,’ I did a quick stitching job on the pictures. Unfortunately, neither Photoshop nor Lightroom’s auto stitch could merge the images, so I ended up doing so by hand. As the image is low res, and time is short, that was the extent of my repairs to the photograph.
October 16, 1968 13:15
They Built Their Own Yacht – Packed away in a box under the bed I found this newspaper cutting from 1960. It tells the story of how my father and a work colleague built their own yacht. I’ve also written about some of my early sailing experiences, in particular a couple of attempts at drowning myself. 5 5