1st September 2005 As is customary on holiday, I start the day with breakfast alongside the family before heading off to the hotel gym in a valiant (and probably doomed) attempt to shed the holiday calories that sneakily accumulate the moment one steps off British soil. On my way, I paused by the beach to… Continue Reading

29th August 2008 The internet here is sooooooo slow, it makes dial-up feel like broadband. Sending an email is like launching a message in a bottle and hoping for the best. But frankly, with scenery like this, it’s hard to stay grumpy; the stunning coastline and cloudless skies more than make up for our digital… Continue Reading

28th August 2008 The weather here in Zanzibar continues to be glorious, bright, breezy, and none of the cloying humidity you’d find in the Far East. You can actually sit in the shade and cool down without feeling like you’ve been steamed like a dumpling. The sky and sea are both the sort of blue… Continue Reading

26th August 2008 Early Thursday morning (by which I mean around 12:30 pm, a very civilised “early”), we packed the car and headed off to Heathrow. All was smooth sailing until about twelve miles from the airport, when the traffic slowed, then crawled, then decided it had had enough entirely. We spent a leisurely hour… Continue Reading

11th August 2008 This week, Sue, Sarah and I joined a family ramble to Fineshade Woods, courtesy of Harborough Council. The outing began with drama. I was nearly left behind after previously refereeing a school football match and having to sprint the mile home to catch the bus. I made it in just over four… Continue Reading

10th August 2008 Having the time to sit down and write this blog can mean only one thing: yes, it’s raining. Again. I had grand plans for the day: hedge trimming, lawn mowing, and pool cleaning. I did manage to get the hedge trimmed in between showers, but the trimmings are now languishing artistically along… Continue Reading

20th July 2008 So… how’s retirement going, you ask? Well, imagine stepping into your golden years with the elegance of a swan… only to be immediately sideswiped by a freight train of Yellow Fever. The vaccine I had the previous Friday (marketed cheerfully as “a mild dose that might make you feel a little under… Continue Reading

15th July 2008 In 1958, aged five, my mother took me by the hand to Thurcroft Infants School for my very first school day. Fifty years later, having never quite escaped the gravitational pull of education, I walked out of Farndon Fields Primary School for what may be the final time. With all the farewells… Continue Reading

15th June 2008 This Saturday saw the family converging on Thurcroft to celebrate a truly special milestone, Nan’s 80th birthday! Jamie chauffeured Sarah in his new car (still shiny, still slightly alarming), while Sue and I made our way north. Charlotte, Suraj, and Lucas arrived from Newark, completing the familial jigsaw puzzle. We had booked… Continue Reading

31st May 2008 As is traditional, half term arrived hand-in-hand with foul weather. In a desperate attempt to escape the relentless drizzle of Harborough, Sarah and I set off for sunny Yorkshire, where, naturally, it was also raining. Honestly, if Noah had shown up in a dinghy offering us space for two, I’d have packed… Continue Reading