From 2014, a response to a question about tattoos… Tattoo? Me? According to the infallible oracle that we call ‘the internet’, you are statistically most likely to have a tattoo if you are (a) female and (b) in the 30-39 age group. Being a male and – in my head at any rate – only in my…
From ten years ago, and inspired – for want of a better word – by a prompt included in WordPress’ Writing 101 course that invited us to ‘reinvent the letter format’. This is as close as it’s going to get. An Open Letter To My Passport Photo Dear self, Well, I wouldn’t go so far as…
From 2016, a diatribe about the limits of technology. I love a good rant, me… Brainless Stupidity #3: GPS (‘Brainless Stupidity’ is a – very – occasional series of diatribes against state-of-the-art manifestations of bovine idiocy masquerading as aids to modern life. Previous targets have included been the Belgian way of buying fuel and Paypal’s…
Another slice of bah humbug from 2014… 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…
From this day in 2014, a meditation on boredom… Shoot Me Now This one’s just too good to miss…(cracks knuckles; hunches over keyboard; ticks tags for ‘rants’ and ‘grumpy old man’). “(YAWN): What bores you?” Firstly, let’s be clear about what we actually mean by ‘boredom’. My first stab at finding a dictionary definition came…
This was originally published on 7 July 2015 and is another example of me trying to reconcile myself to the fact that I am getting older. Never mind my generation, what about yours? I got on a bus recently. Let me tell you, my life is one long party. I had a suitcase, so, wanting to…
Bloganuary Day 19: Warning – today I am wearing my ‘grumpy old man’ head. Write about something mysterious. I’m grateful to today’s instalment of Bloganuary for providing this opportunity to have a rant, thereby further cementing my carefully cultivated image of general misanthropy. Most thing are at least something of a mystery to me, so…
Bloganuary Day 8: Finally, a chance for a rant… What do you like most about your writing? I spent most of my working life writing for a living. As an investment analyst, the constant churning out of ‘reports’ was what I was supposed, and paid, to do. I like to think that I was quite…
Very – very – occasionally, I rise to the challenge of answering a few questions posed by another blogger. This is one of those times, so my thanks to Judy at lifelessons for making me bestir myself to respond to these nosy (her word, not mine) questions. If nothing else, this goes to prove that…
“The idea that a life of dull ineptitude might conceal glamorous superpowers is appealing, particularly to those who happen to be dull and inept” – from a recent review in the Times Literary Supplement of a new edition of Baroness Orczy’s ‘The Scarlet Pimpernel’ – – – – – – – Beneath this drab, unexceptional…
the only deadhead in the hameau 