Joe Biden is the 46th President of the United States. I have waited until now, two days after his inauguration, to write these words although he was declared the winner of the US Presidential Election by most media organizations over two months ago. He is the sixth Democrat to hold the office of President in my lifetime. There have also been six Republican Presidents in that time. … Continue reading Presidential calculations: dates and ages
Today is known by some as Blue Monday. This piece in The Scotsman describes as “the most depressing day of the year”, for the following reasons: “It’s the day when the financial pressure of the Christmas just passed hangs over us most, the weather is at its worst, and the extra pounds we’ve acquired over the holiday… Continue reading “Blue Monday” and the Henry Fern Collection
Earlier this year, a new business opened on the High Road in premises that had been empty for a while but had, for most of the last 20 years, been occupied by estate agents. It’s called “Exit Here”. From the tasteful, subdued look of the shop-front, and from the name of the business, I had… Continue reading “Life-affirming fun”
As noted in this piece from 2018, November is the month of the dead in the Catholic Church. Most years there are ceremonies in local cemeteries on the first or second Sunday of the month to bless the graves of deceased parishioners. This year’s ceremonies were cancelled even before the reimposition of lockdown rules last… Continue reading A cemetery at dusk
2020 has been marked by multiple anniversaries commemorating events from World War Two. The VE Day celebrations on 8 May, marking 75 years since the end of the war in Europe, could not go ahead as planned because of lockdown. It was a Bank Holiday, but with schools closed (and pubs, restaurants and most shops)… Continue reading A World War Two story, about timing
Do you remember air mail letters? They were single sheets of paper that could be folded in three, stuck at the sides (thanks to three pre-gummed flaps at the top of the page) and mailed to anywhere in the world. The paper was lightweight, white or light blue. The postage was pre-paid, so there was… Continue reading Air mail letters
For the last year, my life has been affected by a dodgy E. The consequences are felt most days. I am referring here to a specific key on my Yamaha P-105 digital piano, the E that sits just over an octave above middle C. The piano is otherwise working just fine, although I had to… Continue reading A Dodgy E
Throughout my time at school there were two roads that I always walked down: the one I lived in, as you’d expect, and another that ran from north to south. At the southern end was a passageway that led to my primary school. At the northern end was the High Road, and my route to… Continue reading Another local landmark gone (#36)
Diligent readers of this Blog will know that yesterday, 21 September, was my birthday. In this piece from 2017 I listed a dozen or more people who were also born on that date. You can add Joe “PE with Joe” Wicks to the list. He was born in 1986. In terms of star sign and… Continue reading “It never rains on my birthday”
Like many people, I buy the daily paper far less often than I used to. Sales of most UK titles have halved in the last 10 years, a decline that cannot be attributed to mortality rates alone. I get The Guardian on Fridays and Saturdays, and hardly ever get a Sunday paper. I am back… Continue reading “Bar snack? (9)” and why I no longer do cryptic crosswords
The Compartments 