As part of our recent move, we've had interactions with a number of service providers. As is now usually the case, we've been prompted to leave a review... Most of the reviews I've left have been good. The companies concerned and their employees all delivered a service somewhere along the spectrum of good to great,... Continue Reading →

I read an article which claimed those children who'd read a lot of fiction during their childhood tended to have 10 traits. Now, I usually take this type of thing with a big dollop of salt, but I was a prolific reader of fiction during childhood, and I do have all 10 traits - so... Continue Reading →

I suspect this question is asked with the intention of uncovering something akin to aspirational routine making. But there's nothing about my first hour which is anything other than just trying to keep it together, for I am very much not a morning person. Let me share with you the following story to demonstrate how... Continue Reading →

We know a guy and, over the years of knowing him and his girlfriend, I have taken to calling him a cocklodger. For those unfamiliar with the term, it means a man who moves in with a woman and doesn't contribute financially to the household pot (as I learned on the Mumsnet forum). His cocklodging... Continue Reading →

For those of you who are either not readers - or just not in a navel-gazing kind of way - I promise there won't be more than a couple of these a year. Is there a book you just couldn't finish?A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. On paper, this book was right up my street...... Continue Reading →

For me, any attempt to achieve this mythical state, ends up feeling like standing on one leg on a narrow ledge. From time-to-time I have stress dreams about work, where I appear helpless while everything around me is going wrong, where everyone is either doing wrong, making it worse, or plain doesn't care. And while... Continue Reading →

As is the way when moving and you have packers, certain things get packed which aren't meant to be - like the brightly coloured folder with a BIG notice on it saying "do not pack, this stays here". That, and the kettle... And if you know Brits, you know that we cannot function without tea.... Continue Reading →

Lists abound - whether they be your favourites, top 10, most memorable, best ever, or simply enjoyable and watchable. But when you put together a list, does it explain why those films made the cut - for you? I thought I'd talk about some films and share what I found notable about them. Empire of... Continue Reading →

Just for fun, here's some random nonsense about me.... I was a sleep walker and talker when I was young. I'm pretty confident I've not done either since turning 18. No idea what that was about... I was virtually fluent in Spanish during my later teens, but I have forgotten everything. Well, I can order... Continue Reading →

As you may know, the past months have seen us in the process of an unplanned house move, meaning we've been looking at all manner of options. A couple of places we've looked at have been properly rural - you know, surrounded by fields, overlooking a pond/small lake, accessible only down a farm track. Both... Continue Reading →