I can’t think of a nicer way to spread cheer and to end the year than mentioning an old chum from my childhood. Stuart Vallantine (can tell you himself) that he hasn’t always had an easy ride in life. A few years younger than me, this wonderful lad first presented himself to the world as […]
Cheer up! Paint the whole world. Never mind the town.
Now here’s another cast-iron guarantee ‘pick me up’ if you’re the sort of person who doesn’t easily feel good cheer at this time of year. One of the things that I love about living Up North – being crowbarred between Manchester, Huddersfield, Halifax, Bradford and Leeds – is that I get access to such incredible […]
Raising The Spirits
A lot of people find this to be a difficult time of year. In the past, I never found it to be so. I always preferred Advent to the maelstrom of the big days themselves. ‘Cause I like my anticipation, me I do. But after losing certain very special people from my life at this […]
A Blanket Descends.
(Howling from the kitchen) ME: (coming downstairs). Go on then. Is that happy howling? 12 yr old GIRL: Noooo Nooooooo! He’s got in. Trump. It’s Trump! My God! What is WRONG with these people? ME: (that’s dumbstruck silence) 8 yr old BOY: (coming downstairs) What? Trump got […]
Skimmed? Or Devoured.
As a life-long bookworm, it came a bit of a shock to me when I noticed that my 6 year old daughter would do anything not to read. Indeed, we soon noticed that the kid was hiding her school reading books down the back of the settee (which in my household is a remarkably risky […]
It’s All In His Head
The other day, I happened to be feeling rather grateful to the wonderful Bill Bryson. Well, I’ve always felt quite grateful to him actually. As the incredibly talented, witty, top-notch, best-selling author actually WROTE to me when I lived in Africa. In fact – the rather lovely fella has actually sent me TWO letters. It’s […]
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