Every day Amazon sends me a short list of books that I can buy on Kindle for the princely sum of 99p. If I find a favourite author or something that looks interesting, well what’s 99p? I’ve a whole pile of such purchases, waiting for me. The latest addition is a book by Julie Samuel... Continue Reading →
On Being a Good Listener
All this talk about royalty reminded me of the time I met William and Harry some years ago. They were patrons of a charity we’d set up and they attended a reception in London laid on to raise its profile and hopefully get some money coming in. There were probably eighty of us by the... Continue Reading →
Judge Not
Most days Millie takes us to her preferred park, favoured mainly because of the squirrel population which she likes to keep on their toes. We’ve got to know the regulars. This particular morning we exchanged greetings with a local dog walker we’d got to know. A young man with 2 dogs, one off the lead... Continue Reading →
Go Well Into a New Year
I had to make an early (for me) start today to get to a hospital in Portsmouth. People anxious about me having rather too much iron in my blood; me worrying that I was slowly turning into a giant magnet. Never having been there before I allowed an hour for the trip. Coat on, ready... Continue Reading →
In Praise of Foodbanks
I’m coming to the end (hopefully) to what has been toughest assignment of all my years as a charity consultant. For a bit of light relief I’ve offered myself to a local foodbank. It’ll be a walk in the park after my recent experiences. I notice that food banks are gearing themselves up to what’s... Continue Reading →
What’s a Webinar Anyway?
As I stood at the till to pay, the barber who’d come all the way from Estonia to cut my hair asked me if I was a patient. ‘Sorry’ I replied. ‘Are you a patient?’ Aware I’d put my hearing aids into a pocket and everything was a bit muffled, I looked at him helplessly.... Continue Reading →
Turn off the TV
There’s been a sea change in my life. It started in the lockdown; you remember that time of madness when the politicians gave into public demand and we all had to stay home, destroying the economy and thousands of small businesses in the process. The politicians never believed in it, hence Barnard Castle, and ‘partygate’... Continue Reading →
Dogs Break Hearts
It must be ten years ago; I was rooting around in a junk shop in Broadstairs when I came across a wooden framed prayer that resonated with me. It was about someone who started out well in their journey of faith, but stuff happened and it all fell away. I paid a couple of pounds... Continue Reading →
Gratitude
Having not written anything for a while, here’s a little piece of foolishness: We were enjoying dinner in our hotel, a reasonable 3 star. I mostly listen these days, never a bad thing, particularly in my case. Partly this is related to my increasing hearing problems, which I sort of overcome with hearing aids.. Whilst... Continue Reading →
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