Cherry Blossom

When I was 10 or thereabouts - in all probability younger - I was initiated into the secret, male (at least in our household) art of shoe cleaning, as taught by an ex Army Sergeant - my dad!The modern approach to the task where one takes an applicator with a foam end and applies polish to the shoe which then miraculously turns shiny hadn't been invented. This was the old fashioned method where a tin of Cherry Blossom...

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Time Travel

When I was younger, so much younger than today, I used to believe in time travel, fuelled no doubt by many episodes of Dr. Who viewed carefully from behind the sofa. Then I got older, and while not losing my hair, I left the things of childhood behind, or so I thought.Break through the space / time continuum? Impossible! Well, no, it's not. On Sunday afternoon I managed to travel over 40 years back in time...

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Hens, Hens, and more Hens

It's funny how the mind works sometimes. How one thought triggers a memory seemingly unconnected. On a recent cycle ride with my ten year old son we passed a stall in the countryside selling free range eggs. This resulted in a conversation about the difference between free range and battery hens during which I told him about the time I had to fit CCTV cameras at an egg farm in Wales. On my first visit there weren't  any...

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