This year my lads turned 21 and 18, so after a rummage through the pics these emerged (vol might be a bit quiet) –

Max has been back here. For a year, he and Yaz have planned and dreamt of van life and as Lockdown bit they began serious work on converting a refrigerated van into mobile life support. With university disrupted, returning to home comforts and a garage of tools seemed a good option, besides, he and I…

Easter Monday – Christ’s resurrection The most important, magical and promising event in the Christian calendar brought grey skies and showers that broke the most glorious sunny spell. Not so up lifting, but lockdown Britain breathed easier with the opening of some London parks earlier this week, albeit to the tune of megaphone wielding cops.…

This is a headline in today’s Guardian – England: police to get power to use force to impose coronavirus lockdown:  “The Guardian has learned that, under plans being discussed by ministers and senior officials, officers would first encourage and cajole people to go back indoors if they suspect them of being out of their home…

The arrival of Covid-19 has greatly disrupted the world and daily life in a very short period of time. Though flu stats are hard to pin down, here’s a thumbnail summary for some perspective on Covid-19 – The Great Spanish Fu epidemic of 1917 is estimated to have killed 50 million+ with a mortality rate…

New Year’s Eve – a time of fire and feasting, reflecting on memories and pondering possibilities.   The two distinguished looking chaps in the background I’ve known for 35 and 33 years respectively, about twice as long as the two nearest the camera have been alive. That sobering realisation occurred shortly before sobriety left the…

We first visited the CAT in Snowdonia about 10 years ago. We stayed at the Snowdon Ranger youth hostel, coincidentally in the same room we had 5 years ago for a birthday assault on Snowdon – it was just as grotty and with the same pungent reminder of how socks fair after a long hike.…

There’ve recently been 2 celebrations: birthday lunch with my surrogate family and Father’s day with the boys and Ali. Ageing is so interesting, its swings and roundabouts better navigated after a few laps around the block. Things are more easily appreciated for what they are, as opposed to how they might appear to greener eyes.  I’m…