I found myself walking through the West End in London recently. It was late evening, approaching 9pm. There were the usual thronging crowds of diners, theatre goers, sightseers, pubbers and clubbers, workers going to work, workers going home, bikers, scooterists, homeless folk and Deliverooisters. And everyone seemed very happy. Except maybe the homeless folk. But … Continue reading Life and Crime 2025
Summer is over for another year. It is as far as I'm concerned anyway. Different people in different places have different methods to determine when seasons begin and end. I like simplicity. December, January and February constitute winter. March, April and May make up spring. June, July and August are the summer months. September, … Continue reading Seasons
We Brits have few nice things to say about our weather. We do not receive the amount of sunshine that we would like. But it's not just about the gross amount of solar rays that reach our little island. It's the useable quantity. Let me give an example. Last week we set off on a … Continue reading The Secret Garden
Given that it seemed like the Queen Mother lived for all eternity, it somewhat surprised me to find she's been dead for more than fifteen years. I only remember the last couple of decades of her life, when she closely resembled a breathing corpse. She would be trundled out on her walking frame to be … Continue reading Queen Mother
London has changed aplenty during my lifetime. Parts of the capital have been utterly transformed. Mostly for the better? That depends on who you ask and which part of the city you are referring to. It's a big place. Great swathes of the centre have undergone a process known as gentrification. Balham in the south, … Continue reading Lordification of Kings Cross
This week I have ticked off an item on my bucket list. It’s not a terribly long bucket list. And truth be told, my bucket list is much like the British constitution - unwritten and largely made up as one goes along. Items are added and removed at the whim of the part of my … Continue reading Snookered
It's unseasonably warm. The sun can be felt on the skin. The sky is blue. Birdsong has returned. And some fools had the grand idea that a bit of surfing would be a good idea. But we are still in February, I am still de-icing my windscreen in the morning and the water is still … Continue reading Black Gold
The Mexile 