The History of the Pub

Everyone knows that many people native to this wind blown, rain sodden, brass monkey scaring, pastoral idyll known as Britain……like to drink. We don’t have to look very far (outside the window is enough) or ponder for very long (about a minute) to think of reasons why. Until the advent of double glazing, central heatingContinue reading “The History of the Pub”

Free at the point of Delivery

Photo by Olga Kononenko on Unsplash Hospitals are not hotels. That much should be obvious. They don’t provide personal services tailored to your every whim and fancy. Nor do they provide concierge doctors who will order an MRI for the headache you have as a result of a heavy night down the pub or golf club. They willContinue reading “Free at the point of Delivery”

An excerpt from ‘Sodding Tales’ – a little taster of a much bigger story……

Far away from the villages that nested in the valleys, the Muddlingthrew Hills raised their blue black silhouette against a soon to be rising sun.  The sky was beginning to lighten from the east, provoking a few feathered early risers, keen to get the dawn chorus going, to raise themselves from their nests and findContinue reading “An excerpt from ‘Sodding Tales’ – a little taster of a much bigger story……”

Things can only get better if…

A crescent shaped slice of orange and the splintered remains of a cocktail umbrella are not a good look stuck to one’s cheek as one stares into the bathroom mirror searching for shred of human dignity. Just as one flushes away last night’s curry round the u bend, it is quickly followed by just thatContinue reading “Things can only get better if…”

A Plan for a nice old age…22 life lessons.

Its not funny being old. And as that is a state most of us in the rich developed world will experience,  we’d better get a grip of life’s challenges and opportunities while we have the capabilities to do so. One challenge is not to make comedy out of simply being old itself; to treat itContinue reading “A Plan for a nice old age…22 life lessons.”

When the rain comes…

“…and reportedly said “….if he does that again, cut his balls off”. Otherwise, Her Majesty thoroughly enjoyed the garden party…and now, although I hesitate to ask…Tim, what’s the weather like today?” “Well, Samantha, it might surprise you to know that there is no weather today…merely climate. We’ve decided to stop calling it weather due toContinue reading “When the rain comes…”