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 […]
Tag Archives: Gwen
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
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
01
Mar
Mar
Ahem, Alli and I went to Brussels on the Eurostar from St Pancras to visit our friends Laurence and Claude and to celebrate Laurence’s 60th birthday with their son Corentin, daughter Ambre, and a large group of mutual friends, many of whom have been constant, close, and regular companions for nearly fifty years. It is […]
01
Feb
Feb
Ahem, The atrocious rain in the first half of January seemed like a judgment of the gods, restoring a balance disturbed by the absurd heat waves of the summer past. Walks were again mudslides, even on paths that previously had held firm throughout the last few weeks. Local sauntering was less of a pleasure as […]
30
Dec
Dec
Ahem, It’s been a Football World Cup month, and therefore a danger once again to hear far too much of the ruined popular song from England’s near-miss of 1996: “Football’s coming home” – a song that regularly haunts all England supporters and reminds them of West Ham United’s glorious World Cup win in 1966. But […]
01
Nov
Nov
Ahem The month featured a lot of wind-sweeping wettish rain, streaming curtain-sleeves large and long. However, at the start of the month, haunting traces of summer hung on desperately rather like liver spots on hands, or an unwanted ex-colleague trying to re-connect even as I laced my bootstraps, felt in pockets for my gloves, and […]
02
Oct
Oct
Ahem The month started with a family visit to Southampton to watch cricket in its new and popular form of the Hundred at the Agea Stadium. I was immediately converted. I venture to suggest this is how many of today’s cricket audience would, openly or secretly, prefer cricket to be like: a game of highlights […]
05
Aug
Aug
Ahem Laurie, my father-in-law, died just a week ago. He was a close friend before he became my father-in-law as we were in neighbouring offices in the Belliard building in the European Parliament when I first arrived there in 1982. He befriended me straight away, showed me around and patiently answered all my stupid questions. […]
02
Mar
Mar
Ahem A small section of the road outside the house was resurfaced one day without warning, with a lorry, a paving machine, several vans, and a team of hi-vis jackets. This stopped all traffic, including ours, from using the road. It followed a similar instance a few weeks ago, when a footpath signpost just outside […]
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 […]
01
Oct
Oct
Ahem, By general agreement Alli’s birthday this year was more of a birtholiday. We had first visited the sceptred Isle of Wight 25 years ago and I am the only one to remember any of the key details which included a magical day in Blackgang Chine. This time Alli and I started by looking around […]