Christmas 2022 Funerals are never cheerful occasions, if there is such a thing, and it was with sadness that, on 19th December, I joined a church full of friends to attend the funeral of Eddie Gregory. Eddie, a fellow Market Harborough rugby player, had lost his battle with cancer. He was big in stature and… Continue Reading

16th December 2022 One bleak evening in early December, as I drove across town, I sensed that something wasn’t quite right. Upon reaching Welland Park Road, it suddenly dawned on me: in years gone by, nearly every other house in town would have been brightly lit with flashing Christmas lights of one sort or another,… Continue Reading

28th November 2022 RANT: “The World Cup is not just a great global sporting event, it is also inscribed with much deeper cultural and political importance.” – Martin Jacques Whether you have an interest in soccer or not, the game can, in many ways, serve as a measure of a country’s sense of humanity. The decision… Continue Reading

18th November 2022 More than one family member has recently found themselves in the hospital for scans. One of Sarah’s routine check-ups confirmed that her baby is a boy and produced an incredible set of photographs. Isn’t modern technology marvellous? Jamie’s latest scans and X-rays show encouraging signs of healing, and plans are now being… Continue Reading

9th October 2022 On 4th October, I had my third, and hopefully final, Lucentis injection. It truly is a remarkable drug; improvements in vision can be noticed within hours, and any discomfort disappears after a day. With any luck, that will be it for a couple of years at least. Sue drove me to the… Continue Reading

1st October 2022 It’s time to return to some sense of normality. Queen Elizabeth II once described a difficult year as an “Annus Horribilis”, and without doubt, 2022 has been just that. The ongoing pandemic, the mounting effects of global warming, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the resulting sanctions and Putin’s retaliations,  and, of course, the… Continue Reading

Queen Elizabeth II; Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022 Not by any means could I be described as a royalist. In my view, the monarchy is an outdated dinosaur that should have been consigned to the refuse bin of history centuries ago. Yet, our Lilibet conducted herself throughout her reign… Continue Reading

6th September 2022 With August rapidly drawing to a close (it was the 28th), Sue and I decided to make a rare visit to Jamie in Waltham on the Wolds. Unfortunately, we happened to pick a day when he was attending a supercar rally in Derbyshire. Undeterred, we made alternative plans and arranged to take… Continue Reading

27th August 2022 The heat that had settled in towards the end of July returned at the start of August. We’d had very little rain for several months, and both gardens and fields showed the strain. The ground was bone dry and rock hard, and digging up the last of the potatoes was a tough,… Continue Reading

6th August 2022 The heatwave forecast for our return to the UK duly arrived on the 18th of July. Fortunately, this gave Sue and me ample time to get both ourselves and the house prepared for its arrival. The fruit and vegetable plots had been pruned and weeded, the lawns mown, and the hedges neatly… Continue Reading