Ahem The Malawi weather improved considerably in the first week and by the time of our departure the farm was experiencing some classic crop-growing weather: a couple of hours of determined rain and several hours of sun each day. On our last night we finally managed to witness a sundowner – watching the sun go […]
Tag Archives: birthday
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
2026 Ahem
SCUDDED PROPRIETORIALLY TRIMMINGS: January 2026
Ahem, During this interminably long month of heaving weather, our far south-east corner, ancestral home [...]
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02
Feb
Feb
2025 Ahem
QUERYING PAKKELEG CONVULSED: December 2025
Ahem Our Christmas celebrations normally start after we celebrate Gwen’s birthday on the 12th, when [...]
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01
Jan
Jan
2025 Ahem
FOODELICIOUS WASHBOARD BELEAGURED: November 2025
Ahem, Richard and Marie, from Cholsey in Oxfordshire, where Alli and I lived just after [...]
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01
Dec
Dec
2025 Ahem
HYENA FUNGI HALLOWEEN: October 2025
Ahem There is a village close to the Toleza Farm in Malawi that goes by [...]
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01
Nov
Nov
05
Mar
Mar
Ahem, On the ninth day of the month, I travelled to meet my sister-in-law Julia and her long-time friend Christine at Heathrow to spend the rest of the month with them at the Toleza farm near Balaka in Malawi. Hitches, snafus, and hassles from previous similar journeys were much reduced, and we were driven to […]
01
Apr
Apr
Ahem Our dogs have not been well. Both Bonnie and Max have suffered from stomach trouble, but Bonnie stopped eating and drinking and her temperature soared while she walked around in a dehydrated and discombobulated daze. There were rumours of a dog virus around the walkers’ slopes of Batchelors’ Farm. She was referred by the […]
31
Dec
Dec
Ahem On 5th December, Jurrat knelt in the autumn leaves before our first-born daughter Jessie in the garden of Broad Oaks and asked her to marry him. She accepted and her sister Gwen (who was nearby) burst into tears, and Jaxon, their sensitive Staffie, jumped for joy up and down around them. So we will […]
03
Dec
Dec
Ahem My previous one-scener blue moon trips to London have now turned into weekly or twice-weekly trips into the City for my temporary stint as interim speechwriter at the Guildhall. I face down forlorn memories of my commute two decades ago into Greyface Gormenghast Gritty Thameslink, the grimmest railway station in Britain. I would slope […]
31
Mar
Mar
Ahem, The comedy highlight of a month already replete with unintentional comedy and tragedy foretold could be found on stage at the back of the Southern Belle pub in Brighton. This is where my friend Peter made his UK debut as a stand-up comedian with a hilarious routine about his relationship with the human resources […]