Dad’s first beer

My Dad told me a story recently, about his first beer as a young man. This would have been in the early 1960s. He was off work with Laryngitis, bored and with nothing to do he started exploring the locality on his motorbike, probably a Triumph or a Norton, although it could have been a… Continue reading Dad’s first beer

A few days in hospital

Although I’d never stayed in hospital before and only ever had a passing need for their services, I’d always admired and supported the NHS and everything it stands for. Stupidly, I’d always imagined a hospital ward to be a Holby City-esque world of chatting nurses, bowls of grapes and happy endings. I didn’t imagine that… Continue reading A few days in hospital

19, Paul Hardcastle

I first heard this record round my cousin Paul’s house in Ipswich after it was released in 1985. Paul was a townie and a casual, unlike me and my brothers who where from a rural village in Essex. Never as well dressed, we were as unlikely to wear electric blue cords or Fila tracksuit tops… Continue reading 19, Paul Hardcastle

Keep Calm and throw all that shit into landfill

The whole Keep Calm and Carry On thing has officially run its course, it’s no longer the ‘In thing’ and is about as relevant as bootcut jeans or Snow Patrol. What was once the darling of the broadsheet gorping middle class can now be found as a staple in any shop selling cheap landfill received… Continue reading Keep Calm and throw all that shit into landfill

The Campsite Nazi

Dad was a camp site Nazi. It’s not something I hold against him, it’s a state of mind he developed to deal with children, adults and animals on camping grounds. I can’t remember when he became a Campsite Nazi, but it must have been around the time of the Welsh Holiday incident when he arranged… Continue reading The Campsite Nazi

My first kebab

We never saw Dad much when we were really young. He worked in London, left in his Capri (“Bodie and Doyle have one like this”) and was at the end of the M11 well before we got up for school. He came home late, after dark when we were in bed, usually after a few… Continue reading My first kebab