Whatever happened to shirt tails? I was pondering on that sartorial deficiency the other day as I unbuckled my belt and adjusted my trousers for the third time that day in order to tuck in my shirt. Shirts just aren’t what they were. I can remember when shirt tails stretched halfway down your thighs, providingContinue reading “Blog 146. Egg Nog Anyone? Or Cheesecake Perhaps?”
Tag Archives: DARTMOUTH
Blog 143. Does Your House Have a Number?
Roland is back. That is to say, Roland, his live-in partner, his mistress, his children, and his children’s children have decided that our home is a very desirable place to live (plenty of food and water, good schools, liberal policy towards down-trodden and much-maligned creatures, immediate accommodation with H&C etc). They have, therefore, moved in. Continue reading “Blog 143. Does Your House Have a Number?”
Blog 138. Finished With Main Engines
Frankly, I blame the manufacturer of the claret-coloured corduroy trousers. I had bought the rather daring aforementioned items in the Spring because I thought it was time to be a little more adventurous in my sartorial habits, and claret seemed a sophisticated colour. But I had hardly worn the trousers before what is laughably calledContinue reading “Blog 138. Finished With Main Engines”
Blog 128. Call me Sir
Mount Crushmore is back. Regular readers will recognise that this soubriquet was first attributed to the enormous pile of rubble left over from the demolition of the old Philips shipyard buildings at Noss Marina in Kingswear, where my boat is moored. Despite the pile being subjected, for over a year, to the attentions of anContinue reading “Blog 128. Call me Sir”
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 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”
Blog 114. It Felt Good To Be Out Of The Rain
The heat was hot and the ground was dry, as the tautological lyrics by the pop group America say. And, behold, the British establishment and its media have found something else to terrify us with. Yes, the UK has experienced a ‘heat wave’ and we are all doomed. Health warnings are broadcast, schools are closed,Continue reading “Blog 114. It Felt Good To Be Out Of The Rain”
"A Very Vintage Chap..." 