Tomorrow is my birthday. I am, of course, about 36 - chokes on an unforgivable falsehood and gasps for air like a fish flung onto a riverbank. My mind drifts back to a time when birthdays were less about existential reckoning and more about pure, unadulterated want. There was a toy aeroplane in the window … Continue reading The Birthday Present
This ole House…
There are places in life one stumbles into not by choice but by coercion - fraternal coercion, in this case, which is the worst kind, often dressed up as protection and delivered with the smug authority of an older sibling. That’s how I came to find myself, some years ago now, inside The House That … Continue reading This ole House…
Blackpool is Pants!
The merest mention of Blackpool and I’m instantly whisked back to the last time Mum took me there. Now, I’ve never been Blackpool’s most enthusiastic advocate. And yet, in my allegedly responsible adult years, I’ve found myself obliged - on occasion - to return to that blustery western coast and endure the odd weekend in … Continue reading Blackpool is Pants!
The (knot-so) Beautiful Game
Wherever I go, whatever I do, my left shoelace has an uncanny knack for wriggling its way free of the bow I so carefully tie. Always the left! Something supernatural at play? Perhaps it’s because I’m right-handed and lack the same vigour when securing it. Or maybe, I’m simply no good at tying laces. Whatever … Continue reading The (knot-so) Beautiful Game
Wish Shoe Were Here: The Perils of Finding the Perfect Shoe
Shoe shopping ought to be a simple affair. A straightforward transaction. And yet, here I am, wrestling with what seems to be an impossible quest: finding a decent pair of shoes. I have no desire for ostentation, no need for trendy embellishments or impractical flourishes. Just plain black leather, perhaps with a modest brogue pattern … Continue reading Wish Shoe Were Here: The Perils of Finding the Perfect Shoe
Wording 