Over the last weeks buses have proved a life-saver. The problem has been that walking even short distances has been difficult - it is my right knee this time that is giving me trouble! Despite this difficulty, by knowing the network of bus routes that we have nearby - and there is a choice of…
When Two Robins Shared a Secret
When asked which is my favourite season, for as long as I can remember I have said - ‘Spring’. For me it represents a re-awakening after Winter, serving each year as a wonderful reminder of how Nature can come back to life and importantly that nature is indomitable if left to its own devices. In…
On Being Invaded by Another Culture
Richmond, our home now for over thirty years, is a lovely place in which to settle, and sharing it with people who have warmed to the environment and adopted it as their home, is a delight and one that gives me both pleasure and stimulation. In any such adoption, most of those living here will…
Coco’s Tantrum – Fair or Reprehensible
I don’t follow tennis closely and generally know little about individual players, but the media make it difficult to ignore some players. One such player is Coco Gauff, who at 15 was seen as a tennis prodigy; in her first year ‘on the circuit’ she beat two of the world’s leading players at ‘Grand Slam’…
Lee Miller: A Challenging, Intrepid and Gifted photographer.
When I think about famous photographers, I usually know more about the photos they have taken rather than who they are. Obviously, there are exceptions, and one is the American photographer Lee Miller. Over the last twenty years there have been many attempts at telling Miller’s extraordinary story and of these I have seen four.…
When the Cold Bit Hard
With the weather in Brittany at its coldest for years and the heating arrangements on our arrival in Tréguennec at their most tetchy, our recent holiday in Brittany was a real challenge. But we saw it through and with the struggle we were brought closer together than ever. Paradoxically, the problems that were so trying…
A Wonderful Year for ‘Strictly’
This year, the BBC’s ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ has been the best ever - in every way a real tonic. I write this knowing that there will be some readers who will be surprised to learn that I am a Strictly fan, indeed, to learn that I have been a regular viewer for the last ten…
Three Cheers for ‘Kingdom’
Over the years, I have grown closer to animals. When the children were young, I was rarely drawn to talking to, picking up or cuddling the family’s pets; for me just patting or stroking were enough. In keeping, animals outside the home went essentially unnoticed. With age I have changed: as an older man I…
A Visit Where Dashed Expectations Were Eventually Salvaged
Recently, Rohan and I spent a long weekend in Paris. While there, we set aside a morning to visit the restored Notre Dame. By all accounts the restoration following the devastating fire has been extraordinary and seeing the building for ourselves was a priority. Sadly, my expectations were not met; partly because they were unrealistically…
A Wonderful Evening with Wendy and Peter Pan.
As part of a half-term holiday treat, we took our grandson, River and one of his best friends Ava, to see J M Barrie’s ‘Peter Pan’. The play was on at London’s Barbican, and the atmosphere when we walked into the centre’s vast, thousand-seater auditorium, and then looked across to the set on a giant…
The Joe Collier Blog 