Sunday, 25th January, 2026

On this bright and sunny Sunday, I missed church and worshipped at the altar of political discussion. I was watching Trevor Philips show on Sky as he quoted some of my favourite lines from the Irish poet, William Butler Yates writing during the First World War:

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world

The Second Coming – William Butler Yeats

You don’t need too interrogate those lines too closely to understand their relevance to our current world. It feels as if everything one has taken for granted in life is ceasing to hold true.

There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.”

― Vladimir Lenin

This morning, we have Trump (A Draft Dodger himself) rowing back on his ill informed comments on Allied troops contribution in Afghanistan. We have America going full-Fascist with ICE militias intimidating the citizens of Democrat towns, hauling them off the streets and, with impunity, shooting dead those who resist. We’ve had a Nato member threatening to invade another Nato country and take possession of it. We’ve had an American president threaten to impose tarrifs on his ‘allies’ who refuse to bend to his will.

Netanyahu in Israel is continuing to kill Palestinians in spite of a supposed ‘peace’. Putin in Russia is continuing to kill Ukranians in spite of current ‘peace talks’. And Trump is proposing to Head a Board of Peace which includes all these right wing warmongers as an alternative challenge to the United Nations.

At home, we have had Andy Burnham bidding to re-enter Parliament and to challenge the Labour Leader. We are witnessing the rise of an extreme Right Wing, Racist Party in the minds of the dispossed who see it as some way to kick the established order. Scottish Nationalism and Welsh Nationalism are on the rise. There is a groundswell in the country to reassess the Brexit debacle which has left us poorer and more isolated as we predicted. It is either the best time to be in politics or the worst time to be in politics as Keir Starmer is finding.

If you want a bit of tranquility, you couldn’t find a better place than the South Coast. I know they are quite common but I just loved the sight of this scallop shell swept up on to the sea wall and now basking in the sunshine. That’s what we should all be doing, Dear Reader, basking in the sunshine away from the world of turmoil.

There is no respite. We are just hearing at Lunchtime today, that the Mayor of Greater Manchester has been denied the chance to re-enter Parliament and challenge the Prime Minister. They think it is a way to keep the show on the road. It may be the match that lights the blue touch paper. This week should tell us.

Monday, 26th January, 2026

Dull Monday. At least it is warm and dry. I am cleaning up my databases of photographs on my computer. They are all saved in the Cloud so available on Desktop, Laptop, iPad and smartphone from anywhere I am. They are invaluable records but they can take over if you’re not careful.

I’ve always enjoyed photograhy both for itself and as an historical record. I’ve had a string of cameras from a Box Brownie in the 1950s/60s, a Polaroid Instant and a Ricoh SLR camera in the 1980s to a Digital SLR Canon in the 1990s/2000. The cameras chart the History and record the History similtaneously. I am particularly suited to it because I only have sight in my right eye although I do have a struggle with myself between recording or just enjoying the moment.

Incidentally, I wrote recently of having to visit a Consultant at theSussex Eye Hospital. I had been referred by the Diabetic Eye Screening Service where my eyes are checked twice a year. They thought I had a detached retina. I have always worried that my sight would deteriorate and stop me driving and that eye sight tests for older drivers is current in Government at the moment. The letter I received this morning from my Consultant put all those fears to bed. He reported that I had no detached retina and that I had 6/6 vision in my healthy eye which is the equivalent of the American 20/20 vision. I can read the whole chart at the opticians although I struggle a bit with the bottom line.

Anyway, this morning I found these old Polaroid shots from 1980 but they are so much more than photographs. They remind me of the early days of my marriage when we were decorating our first house. My wife wanted wallpaper everywhere and not just any old wallpaper. She had seen this Osborne & Little William Morris Willow pattern in a magazine and was desperate to have it at £50.00 a roll (in 1980!!). It was in a design magazine and also featured the ‘latest’ colour television from Philips. So, the deal was that she got her wallpaper and I got the TV. Goodness knows how I watched it at that size.

On the right, the polaroid featured the one and only Nissan (Datsun Cherry) car I have ever bought. It was brand new and only lasted about a year. It was bought to replace the mini which had been destroyed in our big accident. We picked it up and immediately drove back to Old Nathans farmhouse parking it proudly on the drive. We were both still recovering from time in hospital and recuperating at Old Nathans. The car was badly built and the wing mirror fell off as we drove it to a Honda showroom to buy something better.

You see (and I can.), there is life in cameras and photographic records. They revive the past and on a grey, empty day there aint no sunshine when your gone.

Tuesday, 27th January, 2026

Here comes the rain again
Falling on my head like a memory
Falling on my head like a new emotion 

Unless you’re down with the kids like me, you won’t get this reference but don’t worry. We can’t all be eternally young. It rained torrentially all night and continued until mid morning. It is raining all over the country and all over Europe.

On the Greek island where we lived, it has been positively biblical in its quantity. They will be rejoicing because it will refill the aquifers and supply the island with much needed resources for the coming summer.

Of course, in the Mediterranean it changes as quickly as it arrives. The residents may be still bailing out but the world has moved on and beauty has returned.

I’ve been continuing to trawl through my Polaroid memories. I’d forgotten that I used to be James Bond. It has all come as a bit of a shock. These photos come from 1980 when I was only 29 yrs old. What were you doing in 1978, Dear Reader? What ever it was, I hope you’ve stopped. It’s not good for you.

A sign of the times, I’ve just received a couple of new, Office Chairs. I spend so much time in there that the current ones are fraying a bit at the edges. As you will know, Dear Reader, we can’t afford frayed edges at our age. This will be our third set over the past decade. I should be nearly 80 yrs old by the time I need some more. Anyway, they need to be constructed this afternoon with the gas struts inserted and the leather seats and backs built around the mechanism. I have done it so many times now it is almost instictive.

Wednesday, 28th January, 2026

Lovely, sunny day although I will not really get out in it. In fact, it is a bit of concern that I am not getting enough sunshine on my skin at the moment. Exercise has been largely in the Gym. Yesterday, I was so tired after 3 hours workout in the Gym, I couldn’t face the chairs. This morning, I’ve unpacked one and laid out all the parts.

This is the plan and I’ve got two of them to construct. It is not my favourite activity, I must admit although I am better at it and more methodical now. In my youth, I always went at it like so many things as a bull in a china shop. Typical Aries. It often ended up broken rather than built. Unfortunately, I’ve got two of these to complete this morning. Then I have to book a slot at the tip to get rid of the old ones and the packaging.

I’m a writer and researcher not a builder, mechanic or scientist. I was listening to an interesting article on Radio 4 this morning about a group of UK scientists who had found signs of Dementia Onset were much earlier than formerly thought. They believe that the conventional signs of memory loss are preceded up to a decade earlier through language and writing. Dementia is often described as a condition of memory loss, but this is only part of the story. In its earliest stages, dementia can affect attention, perception and language before memory problems become obvious.

They focussed on Terry Pratchett’s writing because the author famously suffered and died of Dementia and because they believe Language offers a unique window into cognitive change. The words we choose, the variety of our vocabulary and the way we structure description are tightly linked to brain function. Even small shifts in language use may reflect underlying neurological change. Across Pratchett’s later novels, there was a clear and statistically significant decline in the diversity of adjectives he used.  It was a subtle, progressive change detectable only through detailed linguistic analysis.

My relationship with language has been a joy to me throughout my life. Having a wide vocabulary has given me a real sense of power and understanding. The further I went with my own education, the more developed my vocabulary became. I realised that understanding and concepualisation is intimately tied up with language and vocabulary. You know, it is impossible to understand a concept without the vocabulary to describe it.

My word power appears to have strengthened with age. Partly it is confidence that counts. As I get older, I am less worried about making and admitting mistakes. Who cares. I have nothing to prove. Also, I have Google at my fingertips. Something fascinating to me has happened in recent years. I do some writing and pluck a word out of the air because it seems appropriate. I look at the word having used it and think, I’m not even sure what that word means. I look it up on Google and find it means exactly what I needed it to mean. I think we all have a much bigger store of words than we realise but you have to use them to avoid losing them.

Perhaps you should keep a Blog, Dear Reader? They are all the rage. I’d read it. Maybe a podcast. Now, I’d definitely listen to that.

Chairs installed and they feel younger and firmer. That’s what we need, younger and firmer! They look good too so that is a bonus.The old ones are in the back of the car with the packaging from today and the tip is booked for 9.30 am.. And I’ve actually exposed my body to the sunshine. Been outside for a long walk this afternoon down through the park and the skeleton Silver Birches reflected in the lake. Felt good. Walking encourages conversation.

Thursday, 29th January, 2026

It is 7.00 am on a dull, lowering morning. It feels cold out there and only measures 7C/45F. I have an appointment at Phlebotomy at 8.20 am. It is prior to a Review with Oncology next week. I had my full body scan almost two months ago and have not had my review brought forward so I’m hoping that bodes well. The blood tests this morning check PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) and Hormone levels.

I can tell you at least one of them is back to normal and I’m fairly confident that the other will be alright as well. I will report next Friday. Everything for the rest of the year depends on a good result. Twelve weeks in Europe, and a week in the North of England are what we are working towards. I can’t find room for medical emergencies at this stage.

Met a lovely girl this morning in the Plebotomy Office. She told me she was Brazilian and had come to UK by mistake. Her sister won a competition when they were living in the Amazon Rain Forest. The prize was a trip for two to London. She came over with her sister. It was in their University holidays. They visited Brighton while they were here and found the University was somewhere they could complete their studies. She did exactly that and meanwhile fell in love with an English boy. She never went home. She has two kids and her 85 year old parents visited last year all the way from the Amazon Rain Forest where they still live. Oh, and she took two phials of blood from my left arm. I was in there for less than 5 minutes.

I went on to the Fish Outlet down at the beach. I bought 2 kilos of Cod Loin – quite expensive at the moment at £35.00 per kilo. That does 4 meals for two people. Still it is wonderful quality and will be served wrapped in Pancetta and roasted with asparagus.

Exercise will definitely be in the Gym today. I have been gradually ratchetting up each week over the past month the amount I do by 10 mins per day. So, from today, I have to achieve 2 hrs 20 mins each day. I will increase again for the next 2 weeks until I have achieved 2 hrs 30 mins per day. That will be enough. The job then will be to maintain it at that level through the rest of the Winter. I am watching a compulsive espionage drama involving the Whitehouse going through a cross between a Kennedy, Clinton and Trump Presidency.

Scandal is an American political thriller broadcast over 124 episodes in 7 Series on Disney+. It is centred around Washington DC and the Whitehouse and involves a ‘political fixer’ who used to work for the President and had an affair with him. There are times when I think it is a little bit light weight and then I am suddenly brought up short when I hear echoes of Trump’s first Presidency. Even the heroes are corrupt and the philosophy underlines that it is almost essential to break the rules to gain and maintain one’s grasp on the levers of power. In that sense, it could be considered quite depressing. I find the relationships compelling.

Friday, 30th January, 2026

A nice, bright sunny morning of 10C/50F. Yesterday, I took the old computer chairs to the local Recycling Tip. There is something about that process that appeals to me. Out with the old and in with the new and I feel the house breathing more comfortably. Today, having established that the new set of cooking pans are right, a number of the perfectly serviceable but superfluous to purpose older pans and roasting trays are going to Age UK along with a bag of the constant flux of my wife’s clothes.

Someone will find use for high quality cookware being sold off very cheaply. I understand these things are no longer secondhand but pre-loved and it is ‘a thing’. It is part of the reaction to my throw away culture. As we move towards 75, it is a charity worth supporting, Dear Reader. They’ll be leaving US there for sale soon. They appeared delighted with the pans.

I read a very sad post on our village’s Facebook page yesterday. It was a working couple who had been renting a house for quite a number of years but were being made homeless because their Landlord was wanting to sell the property. They were struggling to find a one bedroom flat at a rent they could afford. There is something wrong when two, working adults cannot afford a home in the area that they work. It made me sad as they pleaded they were good, reliable people. It made me feel how lucky I am to never feel that insecurity.

If you are a regular reader, you may know that I have an undimished antogonism towards organised religion – well, religion in all its forms but I am comfortable in seeing others delude themselves if that is what they need to get by. What I am not prepared to accept is the influence of organised religion – Church of England, Roman Catholicism, etc – on the state and on society. The Church of England is still formally part of the apparatus of the British state through the monarchy and the House of Lords. The claim throughout my life has always been that we are a Christian country. In reality, we haven’t been for a long time but now it is factually demonstrable and disestablishment of the church would recognise that.

Since 2018 the United Kingdom has been classified as a secularised, post-Christian society that is predominantly irreligious. Surveys since 2018 have indicated that a large majority of Britons do not believe in God, an afterlife, or regularly attend religious service. A 2020 YouGov poll found that just 27% of Britions believed in a “a god”. Churches are empty and falling down. The Catholic and Protestant organisations have been rocked with scandals which their hierarchies have sort to cover up to maintain some semblance of reputation.

Politics is a powerful influencer. Last year we were told by the Bible Society that there was a new, revival in faith and church attendance led by Gen.Z – those born between 1997 -20012 so now aged 14-29. This was hailed as the future proofing of organised religion and maintaining church buildings and clergy stipends along with political integrity. Media outlets including the BBC just parroted this belief as if it was fact. I must admit I was shocked and doubted it from the outset. It felt like wishful thinking then and now we know it was.

The National Centre for Social Research – an independent research organisation of 50 years experience – produced its annual British Social Attitudes Survey results which categorically refuted the Bible Society assertions. The long term trend of the decline in religious belief and affiliation continues at pace.

I have rarely been able to understand the need to create salvation through myth. If our intelligence tells us that it is not testable, verifiable or believable without suspending all, human scrutiny then it is not worth what is claimed for it. This is the only eternity that I recognise and need – the world in which I live and die.

Saturday, 31st January, 2026

Seeing January out with a beautifully sunny day and blue sky. It’s 10C/50F which apparently is about average for the time of year down here. Actually going outside for a walk again today to soak up the sunshine and the Vitamin D crucial for bone, teeth, and muscle health.

I was chatting over the net to my dear old friend, John, yesterday. We shared digs for a couple of years in the early 70s. I have to say that we didn’t have too much in common back then. He was/is Northern, religious, quiet and thoughtful – gentle even. Back in 1969 I got drunk for the one and only time of my life under the influence of my other digs mate, Nigel, and John was there to hold my head over the toilet while I was sick. It was my first bottle of red wine but not my last. I blame Nigel for many things.

John is an all round good person who puts me to shame. He pushed himself to achieve the Doctorate that I should have but wasn’t prepared to commit my time to. He spends a restless Retirement – speaking and raising money for good causes like this One World Welfare Mission in Pakistan. He plays in a Folk Group called The Dales Folk and has done for years.

He takes parties of tourists around his beloved Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal near his home in North Yorkshire. And just to prove he is not entirely paraochial, he travels regularly to South Korea, of all places, to visit his son who teaches out there. After 50 years, we met again for coffee in Ripon and it was a lovely reunion where I saw him in a different light through my more mature eyes. I’m looking forward to catching up with him again this year.

I must admit Folk Music was never for me. People tried to get me down to the Folk Music sessions in a local pub. Unfortunately neither the environment or the music was my sort of thing. I really don’t do pubs. I probably haven’t been in more pubs than I can count on the fingers of two hands over the past 50 years. I find them uncomfortable and not very friendly places. This music is what does it for me with a glass of red wine and some olives but then it would be a boring world if we all liked the same.