Over four nights, I read The Old Man and The Sea to the two brothers, twenty-five pages before they went to bed. I did wonder at their eyes staring into corners of the room, seeming to follow spiders, or shadows, sometimes a hand reaching absently for another Ginger Snap. Were they listening at all, or were they … Continue reading Destroyed but Not Defeated
Heat shimmers on the ocean and the ferry pulls away from the land and dolphins dive the length of Lough Ryan only to disappear when we reach the wide-open Irish Sea. Once docked, I drive to the Antrim coast, arriving before dark, dizzy from not having drunk enough water on the journey and I fall … Continue reading July Holidays
On the fun to be had in falling into water.
Here I am at the seaside, again. Torquay this time. Home to Fawlty Towers, and the inimitable Manuel (Qué?). Maybe we’ve hit on a particularly good weekend but I get the feeling it is often like this in Torquay: hot and sunny with endless blue skies. Eternally tanned pensioners watch knots of youngsters crabbing at … Continue reading The Running Tide
I drove down the east coast from Edinburgh to North Yorkshire yesterday afternoon. It was a stunning spring day; clear, with good visibility for miles. I love the parts of the journey after Dunbar, beyond Berwick (upon-Tweed) and just south of Sunderland, near Peterlee. Those are three of the spots where the North Sea comes … Continue reading I See The Sea
I had thought that sometime this week I might write something to make you envious; an account of how warm and sunny it is where I am on this island off the west coast of Africa. How I am lying in the sun during the day and letting the heat leach into my bones. As … Continue reading Deluge
My Edinburgh Press 