Again but not forever
Again but not forever DM 16th January 2024 So JN-1. You showed up at my front door, invited yourself in, unpacked your bags, and presented me with your latest variation of viral gifts – leaving my head in a spin, and my body on fire, and chills and fevers coursing through my bones. And finally […]
If a hammer is your only tool
If a hammer is your only tool DM 28th December 2023 I’ve spent the last few weeks tripping around Iceland, soaking up the scenery, but avoiding the cold; both of which are entirely possible, when the mode of travel is a book. Interestingly, my travelling companions, the authors, have weaved their itinerary with the old […]
A Noisy Night
A Noisy Night DM 20th December 2023 “‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring; not even a mouse.” Well, that’s not your typical night before Christmas for anyone I know, especially people with kids. Like my brother-in-law who tried to assemble a trampoline on Christmas eve, in […]
One chirping bird
One chirping bird DM 11th December 2023 That ‘12 days of Christmas’ song includes a lot of birdlife. Seven swans are swimming. Six geese are laying. Four calling birds, three French hens, two turtle doves, and a partridge in a pear tree. That’s quite an assembly of avian choristers chirping out the carols. But for […]
The Christmas dragon
The Christmas dragon DM 4th December 2023 I was picking up some Christmas decorations for church at one of those big Christmas shops, when I espied a huge inflatable dragon standing among the santas and snowmen and reindeer. Not having seen a dragon before in the cast of Christmas characters, I asked the attendant, who […]
Managing the manger
Managing the manger DM 27th November 2023 It’s nearly that time of year where we again celebrate celestial mathematics (‘Hark the herald angles sing’), and laundry sessions (‘While shepherds washed their socks by night’), and appearances of Mary Shelley’s monster (in the presentation of gold and Frankenstein and myrrh). They’re the grammatical glitter of Sunday […]
Gobsmacked
Gobsmacked DM 20th November 2023 How long would you wait in line? The other day I lasted a whole four minutes at my local post office, before abandoning the queue. At the front of the line was an old bloke, trying to pay a bill. He was fumbling with his glasses and looked like he […]
Falsely Accused
Falsely Accused DM 13th November 2023 “You’ve been smoking!” was all that I could hear. My mother’s words, spoken long ago, when she caught me smoking in the shed below the kitchen. But this time the explanation for the nicotine-looking stains on my fingers was different. Really and truly, I was picking stinkbugs off my […]
Death on the Nail
Death on the Nail DM 7th November 2023 That Hercule Poirot is one clever chap. Crime after crime, the great Belgian detective steps forward, and with a twirl of his famous moustache, puts the clues together, solves the mystery, and saves the day. And Agatha’s ability to have her famous character reach his conclusion on […]
The disappearing squeak
The Disappearing Squeak DM 30th October 2023 I hate that. It’s so unfair. For months my car has had this high-pitched screech, that to my ears, sounds like a noise coming from one of the rear wheels in rotation. And no, it’s not the sound of a stone caught in one of the tyres. And […]