During 45 years working in cemeteries and crematoria, I recorded an increasing longevity each and every year. Because I was so used to that I never expected it to change. The improvement in [...]

Wardlow Hay Cop is a modest peak, tucked away into other folds of Peak District hills. However, from so many directions, even though it is in the view, few people recognise it. A drive from [...]

I’m fed up with being a man. I am told that these days I can be anybody I want to be, and any gender. So, I am exchanging Ken for Karen. That might sound like I want to be a woman but not [...]

Here, in the wilder Shires, life is good, even in the winter. Four cows are snug in the byre. Hay is piled outside and you can smell its aroma way before you reach it. The cats sit about calmly, [...]

I rarely told anybody that I once rafted down the Grand Canyon. It sounded a little pretentious. However, it happened because in the 1970’s, as a climber, I lauded Joe Brown and Don [...]

I’m sick of waiting for the government. They couldn’t make a decision to end my life let alone theirs. With Bishops in the Lords and a pseudo Christian attitude in government, it [...]

The question to the BBC programme was ‘should I have children when I see the world falling apart?’ I cannot answer it because I don’t have a womb. Even if I called myself a [...]

The countryside is a wonderful place. You go for a three mile walk, meet a few people from the village, hear and see all the news. On Main Street, a skip had been placed outside the Butchers [...]

I have despised the water companies for most of my life. The brook I used to fish in as a kid was ruined by them. They cut all the trees and shrubs along the bank to speed up the flow of water [...]

We have no right to feel too comfortable in this life. Sometimes, I have to challenge myself by considering other people’s stories. Consequently, I listened to the life of poet Lemn Sissay [...]

I have been considering my carbon footprint and it’s depressing. However, forget vehicle mileage and all the obvious carbon issues because it’s really the hidden things. For instance, [...]

Welcome to the Dexter, a rare breed cow. They are my neighbours but living outdoors rather than in. I suspect that we meet and chat to them (cowtalk) more than we do our human neighbours. They [...]

I have tried to ignore Prince Charles. Certainly, his treatment of Diana was diabolical. However, his rather weird behaviour has always made him look eccentric. In Britain, we have always ignored [...]

The hazards of being a pensioner creep up on you. However, at 75, I am now quite skilled at avoidance techniques. This really started after we did a long walk in London and stopped at a cafe [...]

We found it, finally, and felt flushed with success. Having parked by the Beggars Plot, we walked into Bradwell along rows of cottages built of limestone rubble. They looked cosy but the [...]

It’s the 1st September, outside the Cat & Fiddle Inn at 1689 feet. The temperature is 12.5C. We walk south across the moor and in 5 miles will not see another human. The dense cloud [...]

The parkruns are starting again after the pandemic. I look forward to an outdoors run with so many people. There is much joy in surging forward in the pack. Whatever, the joy is shortlived, as [...]

It is the 1st September and world CLL day. You might never have heard of it nor understand what it means. I, meanwhile, am a member of this unique club, albeit not a membership I ever desired. [...]

My father was a good father. He lavished love on his children. Subsequently, he supported them through school and took them on holidays. He then supported their children through university. Those [...]

When I moved to the Peak District, I anticipated that my Neolithic understanding gained in Dorset would be an advantage. However, that has not happened even though the similarities are many. Both [...]

When we moved back to a rural life, in the Peak District, I had it sussed. “Here we are, back to mediocrity”, I said. For certain, I now have to apologise. Yet, I must not be too [...]

We walk up Main Street and turn left up Old Smithy Lane. The first cottage has a sign outside, “An old rooster lives here with a young chick”. We climb up past the old smithy and the [...]

In the past, Ann and I lived just outside the Lake District. Even by the early 1980’s, the area was full of dead villages. The cottages still stood, but the owners dwelt in Newcastle and [...]

I am currently sporting a bias, both to left and to right. However, it’s nothing to do with politics. As I walk or run, I scan the verges to one side or the other. I think it is a maternal [...]