Friends, relatives and clients alike have been amazingly supportive over the last couple of months as my course of radiotherapy for locally advanced prostate cancer has progressed. Today, I underwent the 34th out of 37 treatments, which means that next Tuesday, 4th August, will be my final treatment. It’s been…
Last week, I was given a diagnosis of locally advanced prostate cancer. After getting over the initial shock, I decided that the best way to cope and also to share information that would encourage other men to get themselves checked, would be to make a video diary of my experience,…
I was prompted by a competition to write this short story. It didn’t win anything – in retrospect, it’s probably not story competition material, and I’m no expert in writing short fiction – but it means a lot to me for two reasons. Firstly, it was one of the few…
A departure for me: a photo gallery based on an art exhibition. But what an exhibition! I confess I have never been a fan of Damien Hirst, but his monumental – and I mean that most sincerely – Treasures from the Wreck of the Unbelievable is a truly breathtaking outing…
I’ve been thinking and talking about creativity quite a lot lately. First of all, I participated in a podcast which veered a long distance from its normal subject matter (wargaming with miniatures) because my co-host and prolific blogger, Neil Shuck, has decided to retire from his role as a regular columnist…
I’ve never posted about politics before, but this is far too important an issue to ignore, so here’s what I have to say about the EU Referendum. Naturally, your opinions may differ. Less than three weeks from now, citizens of the United Kingdom will be given the chance to alter…
It’s been a momentous few days, folks! On Sunday, I hit the milestone age of 55 (so technically I could start taking my pension, if I had a pension worth taking!) and I decided to take stock of where I am in life, and where I want to be. As…
Does this ever happen to you? You decide on a course and set out with the best of intentions, only to find yourself overtaken by life events, work, health issues and a general sense of weariness. Well, that’s what’s happened to me. Just emerging from a cold, but still swamped…
It’s that time when we look back over the previous 12 months and start thinking about the coming year. What have I done? Where am I now? Where am I going? To be honest, I gave up making new year’s resolutions a long time ago, when I realised that convincing myself…
The last time I posted here was just after the appalling bombings in Paris. The shock of those events, and the intensity of the subsequent debate about the appropriate response, both for us as individuals and collectively as an international community, left me somewhat lost for words in the form of blog…