At the ripe old age of sixty-three and fifty-nine, with arthritis and diabetes, my wife and I have decided to take up camping, just at the point when folk of our age are promoting themselves onto motorhomes. To quickly kill the image you have in your mind of two of us crawling into a two-man…
While on holiday recently we had a day out in Northumberland. I adore this part of the country and love to travel down the coastline from Bamburgh in the north to Tynemouth. Time and tide permitting we will also take in a visit to Holy Island, another of my favourite haunts. We were staying in…
Dear Friends, The words “living in unprecedented times” have been quoted over and over again during the last two years and following one of the most challenging weeks that I can remember, I believe that the last fortnight definitely qualifies. I will normally write my letter to you first thing on a Wednesday morning, when…
Dear Friends, One of my mantra’s that I have found to be true over the years is something I learned a long time ago, surround yourself with good people and you will experience the very best that life has to offer. I believe that was true of the wonderful welcome service we offered to God…
I spent several remarkable weeks binging on the excellent Netflix Drama “The Crown” earlier this year. I would hardly claim to be a Royalist, but I have always respected our monarchy and admired our Queen. Perhaps my motivation at the time was the platinum jubilee, when, not for the first time in my life, I…
Dear Friends, I always look forward to September with a mix of emotions, on the one hand, it is one of the busiest months of the year for me, with a string of meetings, several of them quite heavyweight. I also find it quite depressing as the evenings start to draw in. On the other…
Without any shame whatsoever I am taking the opportunity to advertise a brilliant book, North to Alaska by Trevor Lund. Over the years I have loved reading about people who have set out to do the impossible. Just over twenty years ago, Trevor set out from Ushuaia at the southernmost tip of Argentina with all…
If you have ever considered the idea of taking up either surfing, or wind surfing, I thought that you might appreciate a bit of advice before investing in a board, wet suit and all the gear you will need. Not that I have even touched a surfboard in my entire life, nor am ever likely…
One of my criticisms about the twenty-first century is that we seem to believe that it is honourable to fill every minute of every day with work. I keep hearing people bragging about how hard they work, and I guess that I am guilty of doing the same myself. If I am being honest, I…
Just on the off chance that you think that the above picture is of Karen and I on our recent holiday in Cornwall, relaxing in the sunshine, I’m sorry to disappoint you, although the sea was that lovely turquoise colour and the sun shone most of the time, and we spent a lot of time…