This blog is primarily about a joke of mine that worked! However, to complete the picture I have added some background material from the sixteenth century. I have been telling jokes since I was a small child, indeed clowning was one of the few things I did well. Over the years, most of my jokes…

This blog has its origins in this year’s most unusual Christmas lunch. What made it different was that amongst those around the table were three who don’t often meet together but have now known each other for around eighty years. The most senior was Margaret (now 99), who had looked after Martin (now 81) when…

This blog tells the story of a recent episode in which I managed to escape from the gloom of a miserable afternoon by day-dreaming. My gloom arose after we saw a retrospective exhibition of the works of Mark Rothko at the Louis Vuitton Gallery in Paris. The day dream recalled a visit Rohan and I…

On most mornings, I walk down Richmond’s Duke Street as I go to the gym. Apart from one house, its mishmash of otherwise nondescript buildings don’t merit a second look. The exception is Number 4 which was built in 1999 and which I love. It is a skinny building that is supported by four magnificent…

If I had to choose my favourite place to eat ‘in the whole world’ it would be Restaurant Camille. This blog tells of an unforgettable meal we ate there on the last day of a recent stay in Paris.  I should explain that we came across Camille soon after it opened in the early 1990s…

Over the years I have developed a whole set of ‘likes’ and ‘dislikes’ and often these influence what I do or how I behave. This blog is about an occasion when, based on some strongly-held dislikes, I almost missed a wonderful lecture. I was invited to an event at which my host - London’s Royal College…

Just over two months ago a stranger’s dog attacked me and in so doing bit a chunk out of my ankle. Olga’s bite hurt and as she was ushered away blood started trickling out though my sock. The attack happened one afternoon in late summer and when I recounted the incident I told of the…

This blog is a celebration. Usually, those in authority order people about, as they use imperious and clipped language or leaden images to tell us what to do. On roads or in other public spaces we are surrounded by their ‘Do’s’ and ‘Don’ts’ with warnings and, for transgressors, threats of fines. Exceptionally, however, their advice is more measured - hence this blog.  Over several years I have collected…

Recently we had a week dominated by insects. Other animals made appearances, but it was insects on which we concentrated and which captured the interest of our nature-loving guests, one of whom was an encyclopaedic ‘seeker/explorer’; the other more a dedicated ‘watcher/observer’. In keeping, Jeni would excitedly show us photos and tell stories of the butterflies she had found during sorties into our meadow, many of…

Learning gives such pleasure. Clearly, I am not talking about ‘learning the hard way’ where a new idea comes out of some adverse event and leaves a bitter association. Rather, I am referring to the discoveries that open the mind and give new insights or skills that delight. This blog is about two such discoveries: one was by my grandson, the other by me. For River, it was learning to play dominos; for me, and of a…