Staying with my parents, studying family photos, I now wonder if my recollections are sound. Could it be that the photo taken in Tanzania was a particularly extreme example, not completely representative of my youthful form? Could it be that I’m my own worst critic? Well no, not really. All I can say is that …
One of the most noticeable effects of testosterone therapy is the immediate boost in confidence. The examples that jump out at me may strike others as daft or commonplace, but I would say that’s a consequence of taking what is normal for granted. If for the past six weeks I was plummeting down into the …
Mindful of the perpetual procession of supply teachers, not to mention school overcrowding, I’m often found worrying that we have failed our children. If only we’d pushed harder when they were younger, I tell myself, they might have got into a local grammar school. Or if only I’d worked harder when I was young, we …
What I fear most is that our own wrongdoing will be our downfall. In our Book we read that God destroyed many generations before us when they did wrong or were unjust. So why do we think it should be any different for us? Perhaps our enemies are most unjust, and this will be their …
“You have no idea what it’s like to be different,” rages our eldest. “It’s so embarrassing being the odd one out.” Oh yes I do, I reply. But they’re talking about not having the latest smartphone here, not some kind of physical difference. I know daily humiliation intimately. But they’re still too immature and lacking …
My manager wonders what my secret is. How it is that I both identify the problem and the solution, and then implement it with little fuss. How it is that I move things forward, they wonder, while others can’t even muster the curiosity to move themselves forward. Ah, well, the answer to that is easy. …
Do you really think British duplicity began and ended with the Balfour Declaration, and does not continue to this very day?
Poor thing has been neglected.
I am forwarded a viral message via WhatsApp purporting to debunk fifty lies. It has been beamed into our household by a respected friend, presumed sensible and reliable. That alone has been used to judge its veracity. However, I will not forward it on from my own phone, because I personally cannot verify any of …
Legend has it that I proposed to you on the traffic island opposite the park on West Ealing Broadway. You say I got down on one knee in the midst of crossing the Uxbridge Road. I have vague recollections of that, although I always thought it was while waiting to cross Northfield Avenue at the …
God bless our Turkish neighbours. Today was the day we were to fix the road outside our house. Fifty square metres of concrete on its way. Then the specialist road builders cancelled. Into the breach step our neighbours, shovels and rakes in hand to make the best of a bad situation. Some let you down …
Our youngest runs up stairs, bursts into my room and flings their arms around me. “Three lights are back on!” they exclaim with a grin on their face. Friday evening has been salvaged, it seems. The internet service provider has redeemed itself.
Oh dear, we had a three-hour internet outage. For our kids, it’s an internet outrage. Their weekend’s ruined. It’s a human right. How will they survive? It’s the end of the world. Play a board game. “No thanks!” Read a book. “You’re joking, right?” I think we still have some DVDs. “What, and watch Happy …
