The word “clutter” is never far from my mind. It was the subject of the second piece published on this Blog, on the day it was born. That piece links to this November 2007 “Writers Rooms” article in the Guardian. It shows the late Russell Hoban’s working environment. I am surprised to find that this… Continue reading Word of the week: clutter
Last week’s piece about missing boats to and from Ireland was triggered by a journey to Fishguard last month, to catch the ferry for our recent trip to Hollywood in Wicklow. We very nearly missed the boat. We were allowed to board even though we arrived at the terminal 25 minutes after check-in was due… Continue reading Not missing the boat
We have just returned from a few days in Hollywood. I refer here to a village in County Wicklow, Ireland, rather than any other places with the same name. It has a sign similar to the famous one in California, all nine letters spelt out on a hill overlooking the village. It is easier to… Continue reading Word of the week: Hollywood
My childhood holidays involved three possible routes to Ireland, my parents’ homeland. There was the train from Euston to Holyhead followed by the boat to Dun Laoghaire, County Dublin. After my mother passed her driving test (soon after my 10th birthday) we went by car. She did all the driving, usually to Holyhead, to take… Continue reading Missing the boat
Earlier this month I mentioned the word intinction in this piece about the closure of a local restaurant. Non-Catholics are unlikely to be familiar with the term, and many of my fellow Catholics may also benefit from a reminder of what it means. Intinction is the practice of dipping the host in the wine at… Continue reading Word of the week: intinction
You may be familiar with the expression “Every day is a school day”. It’s a phrase that I am fond of, having come across it numerous times in pieces by writers I admire, most recently this piece in the New Statesman by Nicholas Lezard. I have not used it on these pages until now. This… Continue reading How to deal with a dead cat
The school holidays are upon us. My 11-year-old daughter has finished primary school, something that has been anticipated in various posts throughout the academic year, like this one about her most recent sports day. In September she starts at secondary school (senior school, or High School if you prefer). The last three terms have mainly… Continue reading Things you should know before you go to secondary school
Here’s another Word of the Week prompted by TV quiz shows, like earlier examples capercaillie, quotidian and Cadillac. Those last two words were on recent episodes of “The 100k Drop”, and so was “monotreme”, in the following question: “In biology which of these words refers to egg-laying mammals?” Options: Monotreme / Cetacean / Marsupial The… Continue reading Word of the week: monotreme
If you live for long enough in the same village, town or city you will see many businesses come and go: shops, restaurants, bars, petrol stations. Having spent most of my life in the same part of West London I can trace the history of some of these multiple local changes without difficulty. Other places… Continue reading Lyons, Wimpy, Burger King, Carluccio’s, Empty
Just over a year ago, in this piece, I wrote about Pop Master, the mid-morning quiz on the Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2. That earlier piece explains the format of the quiz, and notes that this is the most listened-to slot on UK radio, outside of Breakfast Shows. Every Monday to Friday, at… Continue reading 600 Rounds of Pop Master
The Compartments 