This year I’m spending Christmas at home on my own – and I’m quite happy about it. In fact, once I realised that this was my Christmas scenario, I actually started to look forward to it and get down to some planning. My menus for 3 days are finalised, the shopping list almost purchased, the[…]

“Will you help me boys and girls?” The journey to put on a panto where I live is strictly long haul. We start in July with a meeting of interested participants and, after around 40 rehearsals, we end with 2 performances for other residents, family and friends in mid-December. We chose Dick Whittington (with Beatles’ songs)[…]

I was born and raised in a market town so I know a thing or two about markets. I readily admit that my fondness for them these days, especially at Christmas, is based on nostalgia. A past time when busy, weekly markets were the heart of local trading and reflected the seasonal changes and festivals.[…]

I ticked off Amsterdam, as a European capital city I had visited, in 1988. I was curious about the city that had legalised marijuana and prostitution, because it had novelty value and a free-wheeling reputation. My companion and I frequented the Brown Bars for ‘coffee and cake’, and tried not to look in the eyes[…]