Annually,  on the very last day before the digit shuffle which signifies the turn of the year, I am overcome with the most insane desire to party. I am not certain why I get this primaeval urge to shout and misbehave so very unreasonably on this particular day, and I have a nagging feeling it … Continue reading »

Felix has a new watch. Granny gave it to him, on Christmas day. It is bright red plastic, and has lovely clear hands, but it might as well be a diamond studded Rolex. Because it has been elevated to the status of Crown Jewel. Every morning, we have the Great Putting On Of The Watch. … Continue reading »

In the midst of Winter, when the ground is frozen, the Wild often comes to call. It is notable that, while we live on the edge of a great forest, we choose to holiday, not in alternative terrain, but in another great forest. On holiday, though, cars do not trespass more than they have to, … Continue reading »

There was a moment in the nineteenth century when all hell broke loose in the world of classical music. Mainly, because  someone decided that sometimes, things did not have to be resolved. Richard Wagner was not having an easy time in his personal life when he became inspired by a Mediaeval Germanic poet who had … Continue reading »

It is easy to be wise after the event. Yesterday afternoon a kindly husband spirited the children away for a meal and bowling, dispatching me to the spa complex which nestles in the well-forested resort in which we are holidaying. I took War And Peace and put it on a recliner next to the azure … Continue reading »

The males in the family have just embarked on the ultimate board game. Felix has always loved Monopoly: the financial cut-and-thrust of property purchase and development. But now, he  has a new twist on the old theme. He has Star Wars Monopoly. It works like this: you start with something like 1,650 galactic credits. These look nothing like Her Majesty’s … Continue reading »

I’m a terror for conspiracy theories. I think it’s the journalist in me. When I went to college we learnt the techniques of Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein as they inched their way towards a scandalous truth hidden by some very powerful people. Woodward and Bernstein were scrupulous in the way they handled an attempt from the … Continue reading »

It is Christmas Eve, and we are in our darkest hour, where light is so very essential. It is so dark that electric lights, which stand between us and inky black oblivion, are more essential than at any other time. How did we fare before one could flick a switch, and flood a room with … Continue reading »

We have arrived. And the snow renders our little holiday resort even more magical than usual. It is a purpose-built holidaymakers’ town with a great dome at its centre, housing a plaza and a great pool complex with slides and water features which mermaids would accord rave reviews. There is falconry and owlery, football and … Continue reading »

Ah, the winter solstice. December 21st has finally overtaken us. Today we will pass one of the most potent signs of solstice: the age-old monoliths which stand on the hill at Stonehenge. Last year 700 braved mist and fog for a solstice gathering. It was led by Druid Arthur Uther Pendragon: formerly known as John … Continue reading »