The Song Contest, and Lads Just Having A Laugh
Apparently the Eurovision Song Contest last night (on BBC1) was watched by as many as 180 million people. Really? Despite the competition in this country from other channels? For instance, the showing...
View ArticleBad back
Ooooh! Ouch! You may know the feeling. You've made some unwise movement that involves twisting your back. Or you've held an awkward position for too long. And your lower back protests. It's now...
View ArticleCircus Circus
While driving around Sussex last week I couldn't help noticing that Circus Season has arrived. There are fliers stuck up everywhere - several circuses seem to be open for business in the county just...
View ArticleLife on a tightrope
Ah! Retirement! A life of leisure! It's also a life on a fixed income. I'm sure those who 'enjoy' retirement (planned or unplanned, voluntarily or forced) know this all too well. Oh yes, one may be...
View ArticleJames Bond
James Bond, 007. I am so glad that Daniel Craig, the latest James Bond, has rescued the film series from the realm of formula, gimmickry, and action for its own sake. His casting for Casino Royale in...
View ArticleA sleeping bag is awakened with a kiss
Back to mundane matters - in this case sleeping bags, and in particular an old sleeping bag that was in a cupboard in my home, and could be washed, aired, and used on my Welsh Tour (which is less than...
View ArticleWho owns the child's body?
Radio 4's review of the Sunday papers around 7.10am this morning alerted me to a Mail on Sunday article about the latest policy of a London clinic. The policy, based on recently-completed research,...
View ArticlePoundbury
On 3 April last, while on holiday in Dorset, I visited Dorchester. On the way in from the west I parked Fiona in Poundbury, and had a look around. Poundbury is an architectural experiment, an urban...
View ArticleMobile phone dangers
In the news today: a fresh study of whether children's use of mobile phones can harm their brain development - see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-27475515. The general danger from mobile phones -...
View ArticleWakehurst Place. Outraged of Mid-Sussex fumes.
One of my favourite places to go to is Wakehurst Place. It belongs to the National Trust, just like Sheffield Park and Nymans, and till now has been one of three quite local, photogenic places where I...
View ArticlePenzance to Wick. Let's do it!
One of the best apps on my phone is the National Rail Enquiries app, the 'official' one for getting a display of trains to catch, and - if you so wish - to buy the ticket online (although I have so far...
View ArticleThe Glasgow School of Art, and Charles Rennie Mackintosh
What an awful thing to happen - the fire at the Glasgow School of Art. This highly original building by Charles Rennie Mackintosh, the renowned Art Nouveau designer, completed in 1909, was...
View ArticleLook out if your surname is Dommett. We're coming.
Lately - since the end of April, in fact - there has been an unexpected development. My family name (the one on my birth certificate) is Dommett. There it is: Lucy Dommett. A lady of my generation...
View ArticleA wedding tomorrow in London Town
In three nights' time I shall be enjoying a very tasty chorizo and vegetable casserole in Moreton-in-Marsh, at the north end of the Cotswolds, the first stop on my Welsh Tour. I know that, because I've...
View ArticleTeaser Wedding Report
The wedding yesterday was a great success, and I feel so happy for my nephew and his bride. I think they must have had total control over the arrangements: I detected no awkward compromises. Of course,...
View ArticleA neighbour's tragedy
Yesterday's happy event has been followed today by a sad thing. Tragedy is never far away. No, nothing to do with my family. A neighbour, a nice man, has lost his wife suddenly. I was speaking with him...
View ArticleDisappointments and delights
You know, it's a mistake to recreate a cherished occasion in the past. Time does not stand still. Next time the place will be different, or, as I discovered today, just not there. I am now two days...
View ArticleThe new barmaid
Ah, I do like it when the reception at a Club Site is more than usually pleasant, and they call me Mrs Melford as a matter of course. As if it can be taken for granted that, as a lady caravanner on her...
View ArticlePondering life on a quiet afternoon
I do a lot of thinking, and on holiday there is ample opportunity to sort a few things out in one's mind. Such as: do I pass well enough? Or: what do I really feel about going away on my own? The...
View ArticleTaking it to the Bridge
My last evening at Chester. Apart from a visit to the close-by Sainsbury's superstore, I didn't go anywhere during the day, mainly on account of the indifferent weather: cloudy, with intermittent rain....
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