Ahem, “We’re on the home stretch” observed my great-niece Julia-Rose reassuringly as I clambered up a gradient clearly needing crampons for progress, my hands grappling desperately with dead branches and loose pebbles to heave my legs and body up and over huge Sumo boulders that bulked the “path” to the top of Zomba’s eponymous mountain. […]
Author Archives: Lionel Stanbrook
2026 Ahem
PEAGE PINTXOS BANISTER: May 2026
Ahem, I travelled down to La Hune with Jurrat and Jessie in a well-loaded car [...]
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01
Jun
Jun
2026 Ahem
MUSKETS SHRIFT RAPT: April 2026
Ahem Alli and I were up and early on Good Friday to be driven with [...]
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30
Apr
Apr
Professional Writing Writing
They awoke…
The hidden past of the bisexual pronoun Those of all political and cultural persuasions [...]
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2026 Ahem
BABY FAIRYLAND TWITTEN: March 2026
Ahem I was about to open a pile of birthday cards when I was encouraged [...]
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30
Mar
Mar
2026 Ahem
QUOTIDIAN HAMMERHEAD HIPPO: February 2026
Ahem Rain and colder weather in southern England dominated the first few days of the [...]
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02
Mar
Mar
31
Jul
Jul
Ahem, Jessie, our first-born daughter, and Jurrat, our first son-in-law, made their memorable vows to each other in an unforgettable wedding celebration under a blue cedar tree in the garden of Broad Oaks, following their civil marriage in Brighton last month. Jessie and Jurrat (J2) had between them arranged almost everything about the wedding celebration. […]
02
Jul
Jul
Ahem Jessie and Jurrat (J2) were legally married at Brighton registry office on 17th June. They then had lunch with their witnesses nanny Kay and cousin Sophia before joining the rest of the family for bubbly on Brighton beach to mark the day. We all look forward to the wedding in the garden of Broad […]
26
Jun
Jun
Here are ten tips on selecting the right words in the right order and on making written words and phrases simpler, clearer, and better understood. The preliminary rule is first to be aware and conscious of your audience. Depending on the nature of the audience for your writing, any or all of the rules below […]
22
Jun
Jun
The UK’s Foreign Secretary says that his avoidance of the recent Commons vote sanctioning the liar and ex-PM Boris Johnson was a moot point. I need to point out that this ‘moot point’ is not a ‘moot point’ at all, not even cleverly. It’s another example of why spending too long detangling modern political vocabulary […]
07
Jun
Jun
The Celtic tribe of the Gauls, choosing the site for Loudun several centuries before the creation of Christianity, named it Lugh-Dun, ‘a fortified hill dedicated to the God of Light’. In the Middle Ages, Loudun was located on the edge of three provinces: Poitou, Anjou, and Touraine. Long and dead-straight roads span like spokes of […]
03
Jun
Jun
Ahem, Rain fell in solid chapters and the sun shone in free verse through the first merry half of May, although the unwelcome drizzle on Coronation day was light, occasional, and parade-friendly. Ella and Gwen joined us in watching the colourful regalia on TV. Alli made the official Royal quiche, following most of the official […]
02
May
May
What is often termed Business / Corporate English has become little more than dead code, a lacklustre collection of weak and overused phrases stretched unevenly across an unimaginative vocabulary. And it’s not confined to English. There are very similar deathwish trends affecting French, Spanish, German and most other developed-world languages. The real problem is that […]
30
Apr
Apr
Ahem, The Easter weekend saw the family gathered to hunt for prosecco and chocolate. A considerable bout of rain gracefully stopped in time to allow the search to take place in the damp garden, although the event somehow lacked its original charm from when small squealing children were running around the garden in breathless anticipation. […]
01
Apr
Apr
Ahem, For over 60 years of my life I have been Lionel. But all this time I have been triplicitous and deceitful. My first name is, in fact, Cedric. Yes, Cedric. Lionel is not even my second, but my third and middle name. When I, at four years old, told my father that my nursery […]