Well, I hope I never have to go through that again. It was a supreme test of my stamina and endurance, such that I wondered if I would ever see normal life again. The ennui was as bad as the physical torture that I suffered but, at last, it is all over and I canContinue reading “Blog 126. Pressing Concerns”
Author Archives: Commander Shacklepin
Blog 125. The Baked Potato
You know, there is something about electric hedge trimmers; like their brother, the pressure washer, they become habitual very rapidly and you always want to cut off a bit more foliage with them. I reflected on this as I gave a jolly good trimming to the berberis hedge the other week, swiftly followed by aContinue reading “Blog 125. The Baked Potato”
Blog 124. Just One of God’s Little Soldiers
Red meat went on ration on 13 March 2023. This was to be the beginning of the new diet imposed by the memsahib after my diagnosis of prostate cancer. I accepted the imposition philosophically, if not exactly ecstatically. It is, of course, written that if a person is sick in body, he must also beContinue reading “Blog 124. Just One of God’s Little Soldiers”
Blog 123. Zap!
Spring has come, that is to say we have passed through the vernal equinox: the time when night is as long as the day. We are back on British Summer Time and, although our body clocks are all ahoo, it is all sunshine and light from now on. Honestly: trust me on this. A furtherContinue reading “Blog 123. Zap!”
Blog 122. Suffering is Good for the Soul
Out of the impenetrable darkness, a disembodied voice spoke: “I can’t feel my nose.”though, to be more accurate, what it actually said was:“I garnt veel by doze”,the voice being Jane’s and she being afflicted with a stinking head cold.We were back on the boat – the first visit in 2023 – and we lay rigidlyContinue reading “Blog 122. Suffering is Good for the Soul”
Blog 121. I Give You a Toast for 2023
The toast rack is back. Perhaps I should explain: proper report and all that. You see, insidiously, the breakfast routine has grown slack over the last few years – another sad consequence of the Covid19 pandemic and its associated lockdowns. Over time, the practice has been allowed to develop of the breakfast toast being served,Continue reading “Blog 121. I Give You a Toast for 2023”
Blog 120. A Little Story for Christmas
It was a bad winter that year. Rationing had ended in Britain only a few years before, but food was still scarce. Coal was in short supply and the snow was piled high in the streets, driven by Arctic blizzards. Stoically, folk went about their business as they always did, clearing the pavement in frontContinue reading “Blog 120. A Little Story for Christmas”
Blog 119. The Plum Pudding
We started on the sauce at 1100: an hour before the sun was over the yardarm, but – hey – it’s Christmas. By ‘sauce’, of course, I refer to the Harvey’s Medium Dry Sherry that we were quaffing, our traditional tipple while decorating the Christmas tree. Yes, it’s that time again. We acquired the treeContinue reading “Blog 119. The Plum Pudding”
Blog 118. Here Comes Santa Claus
“Don’t be a grump. It’s payback time”. Thus spake Mrs Shacklepin as we transited from a windswept overflow carpark, trudged through mud and gravel, and overtook droves of yummy mummies pushing prams to the entrance of The Big Garden Centre. Naturally, I terminated my mild verbal observations immediately and pondered on the reference to ‘paybackContinue reading “Blog 118. Here Comes Santa Claus”
Blog 117. At Bertram’s Hotel
In Agatha Christie’s At Bertram’s Hotel, the author describes a hotel that is still run as good hotels were years ago: plenty of smart, polite and attentive staff; roaring fires; comfortable rooms and armchairs; excellent food; an absolute delight to visit. Our experience with staying at the Victoria Hotel in Sidmouth, Devonshire last monthContinue reading “Blog 117. At Bertram’s Hotel”
"A Very Vintage Chap..." 