It seems like just yesterday that we were seeing in the new year, and yet now today is the first of December. The first weekend in December is when we carry out what has become a family tradition. In December 1982 the church in the village I grew up in started running a Santa’s Grotto […]
Christmas – it’s the most wonderful time of the year. As a parent, it’s just magical and I love watching our girls enjoy the season. However, there are some things about the Christmas season that I really do not like. Call me a Christmas Grinch or scream “bah humbug” if you must. But I reckon […]
Christmas is cancelled. This is not a drill or a joke, and certainly not a hoax. The secondary school that two of our children attend has cancelled Christmas. This means that cards, gifts, carols and Christmas activities are banned. The students now have to write to the head of RE before the end of November […]
Every now and then you see something that is truly mind-blowing. A film, a TV show, a play or even a musical. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does you revel in it. One such thing, that I implore you to seek out and watch, is Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old. If you’ve not […]
11th November 2018 marks 100 years since the end of World War One. In 1921, poppies began being worn as a symbol of remembrance of those who fought in war. I wear, as I always have, my red poppy during each season of remembrance. The reason I wear it is just that, to remember those who […]
Back at the start of the year, I must have mentioned to Helen that Ant Middleton was doing a speaking tour. More specifically, that one of the venues would be Scarborough Spa. In case you don’t know, we’re not that far from Scarborough so this was of particular interest. I must have forgotten about it […]
Saltburn-by-the-Sea is somewhere that, until yesterday, we’d never visited. It is sandwiched on the Cleveland coastline between the headland (that separates it from Skinnigrove) to the south and Redcar and the mouth of the River Tees to the north. As we had a rare Sunday free we decided to tick off another little seaside town. […]
Since the turn of the century, camping has taken on a new dimension – what used to be an uncomfortable experience at the best of times, can now be both comfortable and convenient. Solar panels empower the camper and give the outdoor enthusiast some real freedom by providing clean and renewable energy from any location. […]
This a shot of the Poseidon anchored off the island of Plati. We’ve just returned from a fantastic holiday on Kos with our girls, two of my sisters, their husbands, nieces, nephews and some of their friends. My niece got married over there which is why there were almost 30 of us in the group! […]
For so long now, David Beckham has been a role model for so many people. Not only while he was playing football, but since hanging up his boots too. He clearly wants to portray himself as being a person of good standing, and someone who does things the right way. Until now we’ve believed it. This business […]
