It’s not on the way to anywhere, so there’s very little in the way of passing traffic, and not much happens. So this blog is indeed just like Tranquility Base, the deeply rural French hamlet where we live. Nonetheless, occasionally an unsuspecting browser does seem to stumble across it, metaphorically pop their head round the…
My light spends most of its time under a firmly nailed-down bushel. This strikes me as perfectly rational: there is little to be gained and much to be lost from wanton self-aggrandisement – mostly in terms of respect, and particularly self-respect. But then ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’ bowls me this googly (or throws me this…
Confidential: Draft script for infomercial. Do NOT show to client under any circumstances* Fade up studio lights to presenter seated in high-backed leather armchair. [I’m thinking I M Jolly here, people. No chance of getting James Earl Jones, I suppose] Hello there. Now, if you’re watching this channel at this time of night, then the chances are…
It’s all perfectly logical, I suppose. Sixty is the new forty, orange is the new black (although I have no idea what that actually means). Everything is the new something*. At this point you’re probably thinking – assuming you haven’t already clicked away in your restless search for that new cat video – ‘What the hell…
The latest of ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’ invites us to “write a post in the style of (or simply inspired by) a favourite author”. However, rather than lay ourselves open to charges of plagiarism (and, even worse, doubtless poorly-executed plagiarism at that) we decided instead on a departure from the normal diet of self-obsessed twaddle. So today for the first…
Today is my 40th wedding anniversary. So how appropriate that ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’ should come up, on this particular date, with an invitation to “Describe what it feels like to…see a stunning piece of art”. I’m afraid I couldn’t even begin to describe what it feels like to see this stunning masterpiece of nature…
For someone who goes out of his way to disavow any interest in ‘fashion’, the subject of clothing does seem to crop up quite often, albeit randomly, in this collection of ramblings. So perhaps it’s time to give the subject its own post, especially as the latest of ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’ provides a…
‘Is there junk in your life?’ asks the latest of ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts.’ Well of course there is. ‘Junk’- in all its burgeoning variety of forms – is an inescapable adjunct to modern life. Some – maybe even most – junk doesn’t start out that way: it’s simply stuff that gets overtaken by events, or…
Examine my sleeve as closely as you will: you’ll never find my heart on it. I’m not, by nature, particularly demonstrative. This doesn’t mean I lack feelings (far from it), simply that making a fuss – thereby, shock horror, drawing attention to myself – doesn’t come easily, and certainly not naturally. Now, I’m well aware that being low-key can sometimes…
You know what they say: ‘a happy customer might tell a friend, but an unhappy one will tell the world.’ Well, guess what? I don’t pretend that this blog has global reach, but I can’t resist the opportunity afforded by this latest of ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’: “Are you being served? What’s the most…
the only deadhead in the hameau 