If you have spent any time here in London you will probably be familiar with blue plaques, like this one: You will find them on buildings connected with people and organizations of note. The example above is on a row of houses close to Barnes Bridge on the south side of the river. It’s very… Continue reading Blue plaques, and a life that spanned three centuries
Following on from this piece at the start of the year, here’s another set of photos showing what remains after a pint of beer and a packet of crisps have been dealt with. They were taken at various bars in West London, Spain and Ireland. The concept of “The 4-Ring Man” was originally covered in… Continue reading The 4-Ring Man, in pictures (Part 2)
Today is our 18th wedding anniversary. The temperature here in London has been even hotter than on the day we got married, and back in 2001 that was the hottest day of the year. Just like last year, we drove into town to have lunch at a branch of Wagamama. Unlike last year we didn’t… Continue reading Our wedding video, “Dad’s Army”, and an audio treat
WARNING: There are three photos at the end of this piece that show the effects of insect bites on my skin this summer, and an infection that affected my palms some years ago. You might find them rather unpleasant but they illustrate what this piece is about. If you are squeamish about such things, be… Continue reading Holiday notes: sun, sea, sand, and insect bites
The EHIC, or “European Health Insurance Card”, entitles those of us who live in the UK to “reduced cost (or sometimes free) state-provided healthcare where treatment becomes medically necessary during a temporary visit to other countries of the European Economic Area or Switzerland”. I quote directly from the letter that accompanied our new cards when… Continue reading Word of the week: EHIC
Do you recall the early days of mobile phone technology, back in the 1980s? The way I remember it, a disproportionate number of calls began with the caller (usually a man in a suit) exclaiming, “I’m on a train!” It became a cliché, but there was a practical purpose to it. As soon as the… Continue reading Word of the week: decompression
Greetings to anyone reading these words thousands of miles from West London, where they have been drafted. Over the last few days this Blog has had 23 Page Views in the Falkland Islands. I have no information about the people (or maybe it’s just one person) reading these pages, just the fact there have been… Continue reading Greetings to readers in Nepal, Palau, the Falkland Islands and other distant places
What are your strengths? What are you good at? What do your friends, family, and others around you, regard as your strengths? In my case, friends and family have often made reference to my memory. I’m not sure that they all regard it as a strength, but it’s certainly something that gets mentioned. On numerous… Continue reading No good at medical chat
Here’s something I’ve noticed over the last 10 years at swimming pools here in West London. The older a man is, the skimpier his swimwear. The size of a man’s swimming trunks (for want of a better description) is inversely proportional to the age of the man. I noticed it when I was a member of a… Continue reading Inversely Proportional: male swimwear and the age of the swimmer
Today, 40 days after Easter Sunday, is the Feast of the Ascension. For the first time in over a decade the Catholic Church here in the UK is celebrating the Feast on the day itself, Thursday. In recent years the Ascension has been celebrated the following weekend, on the 7th Sunday of Easter. Some years,… Continue reading Easter Dividends
The Compartments 