Some years ago I stood three feet away from Paul Weller at a gig in a fairly small London venue. It was at the Half Moon in Putney in August 2011. Ian McLagan (former keyboard player with Small Faces and The Faces) was playing, solo, and I went on my own. A friend who was… Continue reading Keeping out of sight
We had the most enjoyable Saturday. An old friend from university, after a few significant changes in his life, now lives fairly near to us here in West London. Previously he was a two-hour drive away. We hadn’t spoken for over ten years, hadn’t met up for nearly 20 years (my birthday party, in 1996).… Continue reading Snapshots
Today we are halfway through the season of Lent. Ash Wednesday (when it started) was 23 days ago and Easter Sunday (when it ends) is 23 days from now. What did you give up for Lent? My preferred answer these days, when asked that question, is “talking about it”. If you’ve given something up (booze,… Continue reading Halfway through Lent
There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you. I alluded to it back in December, in this piece, and have been planning to come back to it. Does this happen to you much, with conversations? Do you start tell a story and then digress, and not get back to what you were talking about? Or… Continue reading That Tim Moore Quote
My subject is memory. I wrote “1000 Memories” to record some of the many thousands of things that have played on my mind over the years. It ends during the month of my 14th birthday. Chronologically, the next step is “1000 Teenage Memories”, to take me through my last years at school and onto my… Continue reading The Biograph, December 1980
An alternative title for this Blog was “The Balanced Blog”, to reflect how often I find myself balanced between two views, or two extremes of behaviour. I was born on the day of the autumnal equinox and have often said (not entirely seriously) that that is why I’m well balanced. I can’t recommend it though.… Continue reading Binges and Balance
Last month the BBC2 Quiz Show “Only Connect” featured a question about palimpsests. I had a vague idea of what a palimpsest was (some kind of document), intended to look it up, and then forgot. Earlier this month, while looking up information about Archimedes (trying to explain to my daughter what “Eureka” meant, and why… Continue reading Word of the week: palimpsest
It’s okay to give things up, as long as you can find at least two reasons for doing so, and can work out what you’re doing as a replacement. Last autumn, just after her 9th birthday, our daughter gave up piano lessons. There were many reasons for this, but the two main ones were: a… Continue reading Giving things up, and replacing them
Is there a secret code that works its way through award-winning literature, unknown to the judges of literary prizes, or maybe known and used as a checklist by those same judges? Or is it just a “coincidence”? Over the years I have noticed that at least two of the following words or phrases often appear… Continue reading Filigree, antimacassar, daguerreotype, lapis lazuli
This is the only recipe you’re likely to find on these pages. It’s a dish that, for me, is steeped in memories. For day-to-day simple meals I believe that the time spent preparing the food should be less than the time spent eating it. This dish fulfils that criterion. I learnt it at university. It… Continue reading Friday Night Dinner (a recipe)
The Compartments 