Summer Here in northern England, we have been enjoying a record summer. There have been five official heatwaves and even between them the days have still be…
Nature On Sunday night Mike's wife Jill dropped me off at the top of our street. And as I walked home down the left-hand path (American: sidewalk), I sa…
Noises Y ou never quite know what you will hear on BBC Radio 4. Just last week, after my shower , I listened to an item about personal noises. It made me c…
Song In the early summer of 1967, in the same week that "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" surged to the top of the British album c…
Ghoulish The grave of a local hero - Samuel Holberry Even though I claim not to be ghoulish or obsessed with death, I seem to have done a fair amount of hangi…
Supertram Is it a train? Is it a bus? No - it's Supertram! Some cities, like Melbourne in Australia or Miserable Manchester, have mere trams but Sheffiel…
"Tomorrow" There was an old sideboard in our Majorcan villa. Half of it was filled with old paperbacks - no doubt left by previous renters. Ninety nine per cent…
Lions Phoebe with "Heart of Oak" by Lydia Monks Several blogposts back I told you about a new fund-raising drive by Sheffield Children's Hos…
Odyssey Matt Damon as Odysseus On Tuesday of this week I went to see Christopher Nolan's film version of Homer's "The Odyssey". It has been…
Continued... August 31st 1982, Ios, Greece The north west coast of Ios "At about seven thirty, with the sinking sun about to touch the western horizon, I s…
1982 August 31st 1982, Ios, Greece "There were no paths. I just guessed where the beach would be. I slid down the cliff and to my dismay found I wa…
Delusion In 2006, the same year that Stephen King published "Lisey's Story", Richard Dawkins published "The God Delusion". I had neve…
First In the entire calendar, this day, August 1st is more significant to me than July 4th (American Independence Day), April 23rd (St George's Day/ En…
Influencer The term "influencer" is bandied about a lot these days. In fact this blogpost has been inspired by the senior influencer Crozier Magnon wh…