The week before Christmas was always going to be a challenge. The conflict was clear. On the one hand, I am, or was, an unsociable man and in the past have found house guests difficult [see ‘A bit of bah humbug does you good’, 23 Dec 2009]. On the other, on the 18th of December a…
My brother’s keeper
After the usual pleasantries we sat down to lunch. The soup was served without a hitch. Not so the distribution of the bread which was greeted with some consternation. A guest, or was it my wife, had noticed that one end of the baguette was missing. Somebody had removed, and presumably eaten, this much-coveted crusty…
Man in a hurry
I am now three years into my retirement and last month things changed. Suddenly I was a man in a hurry. At a dinner with six others, average age over seventy, it was clear that the each of us had decided how we would live out our lives in terms of what we should do…
Short back and torture
I reckon I have had my hair cut every 6-8 weeks since I was four, which makes last week’s my 500th. The trouble is that I have disliked each and every one, finding them at best unpleasant and at worst, plain horrible. I have nothing against barbers, I just don’t like keeping still and I'm not…
What’s in a face
Just as I have a system for recalling words, I now have one for faces. For words I do a mind search. As others do, I scan through the alphabet focusing on each letter in turn looking for those that best match the starter letter of the lost word. I then run through second letters…
Collector’s peace
Last week some 250 friends gathered in my study. Until then they had been sitting on tabletops or in dusty cabinets or variously packed away in suitcases, boxes and plastic bags. We had been separated for anything from weeks, to months and years. But on that Friday morning we (that is, me and my elephant collection)…
The kindness of strangers
Receiving kindness is warming, not to say enriching, provided of course that it is welcome. It is not so nice when an act of ‘kindness’ is unwanted or perhaps even a threat. Real kindness occurs between friends or workmates and is based on feelings that are mutual. It can also be part of relationships with…
Every crowd has a silver lining
Something special happens when we gather in crowds. Look no further than the emotions aroused in an audience at a theatre, stadium, or political meeting. People who, as individuals, might be shy or retiring, in groups, can become part of a powerful mass that is greater than the sum of the parts. This new power…
Font of wisdom
There are two key givens in employment. First, it is the employer who pays; second it is the employer who decides what is to be done. Well, that is the theory. When we employed a local engraver, things did not go exactly to plan... During our first holidays in Tréguennec, goods, guests, and even letters…
Funny thing, laughter
Laughter is one of the great pleasures in life. It is also complicated as in addition to its traditional role in humour, it sometimes takes on a social role when it becomes an altogether more serious matter. In the world of humour, laughter is probably at its most pleasurable when it gets out of hand.…
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