4th March 2013 On Monday, Sue was summoned to Church Langton school for the day, where the staffroom was positively fizzing with gossip. Three stalwarts were leaving, which is a lot of emotional baggage for one kettle to bear. Sue was standing in for the Deputy Head, who was off visiting her new school in… Continue Reading

25th February 2013 Early February brought a few days of snow before the temperature shot up into double figures, allowing me to play at being “Willow Bank Destroyer.” Armed with Suraj’s pressure washer, a fearsome contraption capable of stripping paint off doors (I tested that quite by accident), I spent three solid days blasting moss,… Continue Reading

11th February 2013 At the end of January, I made my usual pilgrimage north to Thurcroft to check on the house. Since Nan no longer wishes to join me on these jaunts, I took along Peter, a Kiwi pal from the Rugby Club. Thankfully, the weather was more forgiving than in recent months, and the… Continue Reading

28th January 2013 Overnight, the wind and rain swept away the snow, bringing a brief rise in temperature. By morning, the white blanket had gone, leaving us with the all-too-familiar sight of a swollen, flooded river. Same script, different week. Charlotte has been in the wars with her tooth. The dentist initially found nothing amiss,… Continue Reading

21st January 2013 Winter has finally arrived with a vengeance, and, true to form, the entire country has ground to a halt. The media is once again overflowing with “scenic” snow photographs (all suspiciously similar) and endless clips of skidding cars performing involuntary pirouettes. Jamie has been making the most of it with his snowboard,… Continue Reading

18th January 2012 Last Tuesday, Nan, Sue, and I ventured off to North Wales. The previous day had brought a dusting of snow, about half an inch still clinging stubbornly to the ground, and more was predicted throughout the week. Naturally, we set off with a healthy dose of trepidation, fully expecting a white-knuckle drive,… Continue Reading

14th January 2012 One afternoon, Charlotte, Sarah, Ellis, and I decided to go geocaching between Rothwell and Desborough. Sarah has been meeting up with Charlotte quite regularly, finding caches all over Harborough, and this time, they invited me along. Earlier, I had been out cycling in the wilds of Leicestershire, and, growing impatient waiting for… Continue Reading

30th December 2012 On Monday, Nan joined the Huntingdon Gardens gang for their Christmas dinner. They trekked to Enderby to dine at a Toby Inn (yes, apparently they still exist, who knew?). The food was the usual festive fare, and naturally it wouldn’t have been a proper ‘wrinklies’ outing without a chorus of complaints: slow… Continue Reading