A load of old bull

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…

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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…

Retirement is the new work

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…

Not quite the style icon

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…

Never knowingly overstated

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…

“…and narrated by John Peel”

Every so often, WordPress comes up with a daily prompt that’s quite irresistible, and a couple of days ago they offered up an absolute beauty. “Your blog is being turned into an audiobook. If you could choose anyone to narrate your posts, who would it be?” This fits in neatly with one of their earlier…

Fandango’s Flashback Friday 29 August 2025

Well, here we are at the end of August and self-doubt may be starting to creep into WordPress’ ‘365 Days of Writing Prompts’: “Are writing prompts a useful exercise, or do you find them to be too limiting and/or hokey?” Yes, I do find writing prompts useful as a supplement to my own sparse powers of imagination. However, I…

Fandango’s Flashback Friday 15 August 2025

From August 2014, on the art of masterly inactivity. I can’t help it, I’m an analyst “Procrastination. What have you been putting off doing? Why?” We’ve talked about this before on this blog, albeit from a different perspective. So you could consider this as an update. A belated one, obviously. If – no, let’s be fair, when – I’m…

Well stacked

Sunday’s Daily Prompt asked in which everyday activity you can get lost in ‘the zone’. For me there can be only one answer. The dishwasher is my domain. I don’t know if there is any single individual who can claim responsibility for liberating the masses from the drudgery of washing up by inventing the dishwasher…

Life: The Soundtrack

Yesterday’s Daily Prompt struck a chord (as it were): “Put together a a musical playlist of songs that describe your life, including what you hope your future entails.” I guess that this is something many people think about doing but don’t actually set about it in a properly structured way. This seems like a good…