I’ve been to Japan several times on business over the years – airport, hotel, airport. My male hosts were courteous, but inscrutable. I couldn’t get beyond the façade. Recently, I travelled to Japan with four running friends, one of whom, Marti, lived there and is fluent. That was invaluable. We landed in Kyoto, immersed as […]
There are some poems that just keep on giving. This long poem is such a poem. Every reading encourages me to revisit Snap, the Deserted Village which is behind Liddington Hill on the path to Aldbourne in Wiltshire. Spring is the best time to visit before the couch grass and nettles get out of control.
The Village of Snap Read More »
You should never admit to being retired. It’s the quickest way to end conversation and watch your interlocutor search the room for someone more interesting. At one stage I thought of describing myself as a professional athlete as I run a couple of marathons every year – and I do come in the top three
Several villagers got Covid recently, none badly. Vaccination works. In conversation, everyone harks back to 2020 and their faded memories of insisting we followed the rules. My recollection is that we stretched them – a village of elderly anarchists. I loved the innovation. The Village Inn closed which meant the end of morning papers. A
Liddington – Remembering COVID Read More »
We decided we’d too many books and made a mountain. But what to lose? I’ve a decent collection of poetry books that I visit regularly and use pieces of paper to bookmark poems. The shelves are a rainbow of prayer flags. Those books were going nowhere. It was the same with collections – Steinbeck, Hemingway,
Flirting with Downsizing Read More »
Friday 6 October Nigel and I landed in Kathmandu after midnight from Dubai. I’d been here before and smiled inwardly at the memory of Nepalese paperwork. First queue was to pay for a visa. They only accepted cash, in any currency. Then the queue to get through immigration and show the visa. It wasn’t too
Annapurna Circuit 1 – first few days Read More »
Wednesday 11 October Nigel and I shared a room at each stop. He’s not good in the morning. “Are you awake, Nigel?” “Huh!” “Would you like to use the bathroom first?” “Huh!” “Shall I order breakfast for you, Nigel?” “Huh!” He was fine after breakfast and opened like a flower as the trek began, chatting
Annapurna Circuit 2 – from Chame to the Summit Read More »
Wednesday 18 October Today was the start of the festival of Dashain when everything closes, and the Hindi people go home to their families to celebrate. The Muktinath bus station was crowded, the short-wheel busses requiring a pre-booking. We had our seats so just sat there and watched the pantomime. Luggage was placed on the roof
Annapurna Circuit 3 – from Muktinath to Kathmandu Read More »
We haven’t had a living poet dominate the English-speaking sector since Seamus Heaney’s death left a huge gap ten years ago. His 1995 Nobel Prize was one of many honours. I’ve been reading his “Letters” book that came out in December. It is page after page of wonderful writing. It gave me a lift in
I served on the Liddington Parish Council twenty years ago when Gordon Wilson was chair. It was fun and frustrating – until the latter got the better of me. The fun was the Parish Plan. We’d an inaugural public meeting. I invited the pub landlord at that time to speak for ten minutes on why