A year ago this week the actor and comedian Tony Slattery died. I wrote this piece about him the day we heard the news, recalling how he was a schoolfriend of my brother’s, and a family friend for many years after that. I have written many thousands of words about him since them, not finalized… Continue reading The champagne had turned to vinegar
Last September I wrote this piece (“Sports Channels and Smoking, an Analogy”) about cancelling all my sports subscriptions in the summer. I had already watched a few football matches in pubs but had spent less money on beer than I would have spent subscribing to the relevant channels. And I had saved plenty of time.… Continue reading Leeds United: One Match, 13 Nationalities
Last Wednesday, 31 December 2025, the solution to the daily Wordle puzzle was SIREN. I attempted the puzzle for the 900th day in a row and got it in one. Siren has been my starting word for most of those 900 games. My first three attempts are usually Siren, then About, then Lymph. That gives… Continue reading Word of the week: Siren
Here’s a list of the songs that I performed in public for the first time during December 2025. Each month I aim to play at least one new song from each of the following repertoires: Songs that reached #1 in the UK. Songs that reached #1 somewhere else. Songs that have not reached #1 anywhere.… Continue reading Repertoire: Songs debuted in December 2025
In 1997, after nearly 10 years off the booze, I started drinking again. The chronology and the reasoning behind all this are in this piece on my Compartments menu. It was also the year that my mother died. On Christmas Day 1997, before the big lunch, I had a few drinks at the local Parish… Continue reading Drinks in a bar on Christmas Day, first time since 2019
Here’s a list of the songs that I performed in public for the first time during November 2025. Each month I aim to play at least one new song from each of the following repertoires: Songs that reached #1 in the UK. Songs that reached #1 somewhere else. Songs that have not reached #1 anywhere.… Continue reading Repertoire: Songs debuted in November 2025
Here’s a list of the songs that I performed in public for the first time during October 2025. Each month I aim to play at least one new song from each of the following repertoires: Songs that reached #1 in the UK. Songs that reached #1 somewhere else. Songs that have not reached #1 anywhere.… Continue reading Repertoire: Songs debuted in October 2025
Here’s a list of the songs that I performed in public for the first time during September 2025. Each month I aim to play at least one new song from each of the following repertoires: Songs that reached #1 in the UK. Songs that reached #1 somewhere else. Songs that have not reached #1 anywhere.… Continue reading Repertoire: Songs debuted in September 2025
Just over a year ago I wrote this piece, “33 months of 5-a-side”, reporting that I had continued to play football at least once a month for nearly three years. For a while, in the spring of 2022, I was playing twice a week. By last summer I was only playing once a month. As… Continue reading Word of the week: Symbolic
Earlier this summer, for many reasons, I cancelled my subscriptions to all the sports channels. The most important of these many reasons was time: I didn’t want to spend untold hours watching live cricket in daylight hours or baseball late into the night just because I could. Our main justification for subscribing to sports channels… Continue reading Sports Channels and Smoking, an Analogy
The Compartments 