2022

Yes? No? Lateral Flow No? Yes? Worra stress Christmas came in with a whimper. A glass of golden Prosecco from a daughter Yes? No? Lateral Flow All in all everybody is swapping symptoms . From flu to Covid, from sneezes to chills Everybody is swapping ills. Thank God for music and riffs, thank Heavens for … Read more

TUDELEY

Well, Day-Out-Thursday came and went. Himself was chopping wood, the morning moved into the lunchtime slot and so I ended up accompanying the dawter for coffee and cake in The Pantiles. Up with the lark and we decided to do our Thursday outing on Friday. We bundled into the car and headed down Bunny Lane … Read more

LEWES

We set off after the old git and the dawter had hung the festive lights outside the kitchen, after I had brought up the Christmas tree and box of decorations from the cellar, and after a quick shower. It was 12.15. The car seats were covered in Bombay mix – hard to get the Indian … Read more

Pooh!

We’ve been on an enforced cyber-detox. On Monday I was driving back from The Forest, called the old git to say I was coming home, when a young woman answered. I hung up and dialled again and the same young woman answered. I was short, demanding she told me who she was and what she … Read more

Over the River Uck

I did thirty minutes kundalini yoga at 7.00a.m. ONG NAMO GURU DEV NAMO -easy for you to say. Then I climbed into the bath and listened to the news, baby bubbles tickling my submerged body. Given the nature of the news; refugees, sinking dinghies, homeless children, famines and greedy arseholes who’s money is predicated on … Read more

WINCHELSEA

It’s Thursday so it must be Hastings. I climbed into the car wearing trainers over Peter the Rigger’s socks. He loaned them to me yesterday when I got frost bite in my toes. I pulled up my heavy duty blue dungarees and pulled over a thick blue woollen sweater, over which was my trusty old … Read more

Norman’s Bay

On with my walking boots and sox; my James Dean trousers that I bought in 1995 for Jim’s performance as Launce at the Globe – him and his dog stole the show – a pink sweater to match me kecks and a fancy puffer jacket. You never know what’s on offer on a November day … Read more

KING’S STANDING

JIM: ‘Do you think the sun is lower?’ Mother and daughter and dog MOTHER: ‘Yes.’ With an upward inflection like in ‘Neighbours.’ ME: ‘I feel like I’m listing to the right?’ In the interest of democratic conversation we’ll have the daughter speak. DAUGHTER: ‘Really?’ With a downward inflection like in ‘East Enders’ ME: It must … Read more

HOVE ACTUALLY

So after two weeks of abominable pain, the jaw bone, though intermittently spiteful, was significantly more bearable. So after a zoom meet with my writing partner in South Africa, I put some lipstick on, clean woolly wear against the cold, and off we set. Driving through the countryside was like travelling through a Harris tweed … Read more