My first cycling memory was riding a trike. I doubt that this machine was actually mine; it is more likely to have been a hand-me-down, as were most things were in my youth. I remember it being red, although this may not have been true. I also remember it having a small rounded boot which […]
My early memories of attending St Chad’s primary school in Whittle-le-Woods are scarce. I believe that there were about 60 or 70 children in the entire school during my time there. The infants (known as classes 3, 2 and 1) were taught by Miss Fletcher and took pupils from the age of five until seven. […]
Roscoe’s Farm is no more. My childhood home, where I lived for the first 23 years of my life now goes by the name of Rustic Oak Farm with huge signs excitedly announcing the change. The new name has none of the history nor prompts any of the questions that passers-by will ponder – who […]
A couple of weeks ago I’d decided not to write a letter this year. For the past 4½ months, all that has occupied our time has been dealing with tradesmen since we have had the entire rear of the house reworked to form a single kitchen/dining/sitting area. Whilst it has been the top of our […]
The weather this summer has been great for outdoor activities, and so, encouraged by the Tour de France in Yorkshire, I’ve cycled into work on many occasions and enjoyed three cycle touring breaks. The touring has been mainly round Scotland, with the most remote trip taking in a circuit of Arran, continuing right round the […]
Hello everyone, and welcome to this year’s verbal stroll through the past twelve months. The metaphor fails immediately, however, since the first thing that comes to mind when reviewing 2013 is cycling, not strolling. A few years ago, I had an idea that I needed to cycle from Land’s End to John o’ Groats, but […]
There’s rather a lot to tell you this year, but as usual, I’ll limit myself to 2000 words and see how much I can cover. Communications are big this year, since both Geraldine and I became smartphone users. Geraldine started it off when she saw the benefit of responding to emails ‘on the go’, and […]
I hope that in this poor economic climate, this card and letter finds you safe, secure and content. This time last year, Geraldine’s job was under threat, and so, as a form of insurance, she decided to branch out in a new direction and became trained as a marriage celebrant. This is something that she […]
This year, I have some very sad news to start with: Geraldine’s Mum, who had been suffering from cancer for some time, finally lost her battle in July this year after a short stay in St Catherine’s Hospital. She was cheerful early Friday evening when we saw her, but by 9pm she had suffered a […]
Well, it’s early December and I am once more bemoaning the anticipation of the end of yet another year whilst I have barely got used to the new one. The ‘noughties’ are coming to an end, to be replaced with… what? Has anyone yet decided what the next decade will be called? The ‘teenies’? I […]