Sparrows might not be able to sing but they sure can twitter. I see quarrels of sparrows, or rather I hear them, all over Friars Cliff, my little coastal retreat. They might be dull, brown jobs [...]

As a shielded, old person holding society to ransom and ruining life for young people, my holiday experiences over 50 years comes to the fore. Before I start proselytizing, let me make an [...]

The word passion appeals to me; am I getting to be a dirty old man? Yes, is the answer but the dirt is soil. Oops, I hate soil being called dirt so I must not correlate the two words. Soil really [...]

Once again, I am a slave to nature. However, I recall the condition from years before so it is not new to me. It is a state whereby the garden demands constant action from me, most of it hard [...]

Increasing male violence during the pandemic comes as no surprise to me. All over the world, men have a problem. Any lockdown, with its frustrations, brings out the bully. As a result, they [...]

The government is struggling to manage the pandemic and deaths are rising. We were not ready for this pandemic anymore than they were ready for the 1918 Spanish flu. Indeed, over my 45 years in [...]

When I registered on NHS England as extremely vulnerable, I had to state whether I was able to maintain food supplies. At first, I said yes. Days later and unable to contact Sainsbury’s, I [...]

The modern world and the ancient have suddenly become similar. By that, I mean small and unpredictable. Today, we have to fear people from outside our circle, more so if they dare to cough. In [...]

The rare perception of my mother-in-law now comes to the fore. She often said to my wife, “You can make a meal out of a dishcloth.” Was that what attracted me to Ann in the first [...]

Many councils in the UK are declaring a climate emergency including my own in Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP). As a result, they have an action plan that has 153 measures to become [...]

As the dreaded virus spreads, statements that we are all in this together can be hard to reconcile. As it is, I find myself on the high risk rating because of my blood cancer. I even have a [...]

I spent three weeks in Lanzarote in February 2020. I would hate you to think that I was lounging in the sun doing nothing. In fact, I was caring for myself in accordance with advice from a [...]

It is a clash of perspectives; to be a vegan and an environmentalist. The two do not sit comfortably together. That ridiculous almond milk has attained the status of manna, a miraculous [...]

The pagan economy in Britain was built on trees. The small stuff we call wood. Timber, the big stuff, was difficult to cut with a Neolithic flint axe and had less value. The wood was used for hut [...]

The River Stour and Avon spill out into the sea through Bournemouth and Christchurch, two seaside resorts. It now appears that sea swimmers have to be warned off entering the water during heavy [...]

When Ann and I moved here, to Friars Cliff, in 2012, a green woodpecker popped into our garden every few days. It was like a ray of sunshine as this gaudy bird used our lawn as a catwalk. In case [...]

Ann and I run over the volcano as the sun rises each day. The distance is four miles and the lava trip hazards number in their thousands. It is cool and we watch the sun rise as a flaming ball [...]

Ann and I live in our cosy little seaside bubble. We have no children and in the event of one of us becoming gaga, how do we best protect each other? The advice was to take out a lasting power of [...]

It was a neighbour who said to me that television over Christmas was rubbish. That comment dates us oldies. Would he have said the same if he was on Sky? I doubt that youngsters with music, [...]

Prior to 4000 BC, people wore furry skins for warmth. The Neolithic preparation of skins was perhaps the hardest work these early people did. A number of human skeletons have been found, both [...]

As you drive towards Christchurch, a sign for Dorset states, ‘Home of the Jurassic Coast. It’s miles away, that coast, so what about our seaside retreat? Consequently, I am currently [...]

I want to cheer you up in the face of constant negativity; today I am the purveyor of good news. To hell with politics and Brexit. Friars cliff and the environment, where I live, are in good [...]

It was the archaeologist Parker Pearson who started this off. Because he found cremated human bones, the media flashed up the graphic headlines, ‘Is Stonehenge a place of the dead?’ [...]

Seasons greetings to you, my reader. Enjoy the end of the year and the return of the sun, albeit a slow return. We all, in our way, love this turnover point. My Irish star, one Terry Wogan, used [...]