Three weeks ago, on Saturday 22nd of January to be precise, I turned eighty. This blog is about that birthday and how, despite earlier worries coupled with elements of dread, the day turned out to be very special. Amongst other things I had often thought that I might not last long enough to be there to celebrate in person - at my age the future…

As a child, I would love watching people mend, make or create. I would stand in awe for hours in the local carpenter’s workshop or blacksmith’s forge. How a plank of wood could be turned into furniture or bars of iron into bespoke shoes for a horse was simply magical. But it was not just…

Two of the ‘greats’ who shaped modern South Africa were Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela. Both fought tirelessly against apartheid but it was Mandela, whose struggle led to 26 years in prison and whose influence was the greater, who I admired the most. In keeping, when Tutu died a few weeks ago, after I had reflected on…

Over Christmas there was an added treat. For the first time in years the meals were made complete, now I could see things that, a few weeks earlier, would have been a horrible blur. After years of feeling an outsider, I was able to enjoy the expressions on the faces of family and friends as we chatted and laughed. The removal…

For several years we were on nodding terms. I knew next to nothing about the man at Number 12, and I imagine he knew little about me. I would see him on my way to and from the shops as he stood outside his front door - usually smoking. Now I know more; he can…

Europe’s Celtic Fringe is very important to me and now, through photos of its coast and hinterland, its richness is being celebrated in an exhibition in Paris. It is my visit to the exhibition and the effect that seeing the exhibits had on me, which inspired this blog It was a cold and wet November…

Opinions of others can change in a moment and several years ago this happened to my wife, Rohan. In our family, her account of that day’s events has become legendary and recently she retold the tale to friends over tea. It is that retelling which prompted this blog. The story was several years in the…

When it comes to beaches, my favourites have miles of fine sand and the occasional rock pool. On a recent trip to the seaside the view down to the water’s edge could not have been more disappointing. For the next hour or so I would be ‘playing’ on a short stretch of a narrow, steeply banked, pebble beach with nowhere…

When Rohan woke that morning she told me how her night had been broken by bursts of unusual and worrying sounds. Volleys of coughs, snorts and whimpers came in through the window from the garden below. Both of us hear less well these days but our losses are complementary. So whereas she is good on…

Our tea that day was very special. It was a warm and sunny afternoon and we decided to eat in the garden. When Rohan’s Russian teacher arrived the table was already set with a spread that included home-made biscuits and an apple tart baked for the occasion. Masha, once a teacher of Russian in Novosibirsk, emigrated to France over…