In a time almost forgotten, before the first lockdown, galleries and exhibitions inspired and uplifted me, leaving me in awe of past and present artists and how many suffered for their art and were not recognised until after they’d died.  

And so, when I read at the weekend the long list of 1^st class exhibitions opening up next month, I felt elated, remembering the thrill a good exhibition gave me. But soon I wondered if I was being too optimistic, asking myself if galleries were safe to visit so soon after restrictions had eased.

My anxiety is not unique, I realise. After two lockdowns and sadly over 130,000 lives lost, many in the country will be feeling the same. But we have to go forward. Almost half the population, including myself, have been vaccinated with one dose and by the end of July the rest of the adult population, also. The vaccines have proved to be effective. Israel, who have inoculated almost the entire population, are seeing better days with life as near to normal as possible. In the UK, infection rates have fallen to around 2000 a day with hospitalisation down to 3500, a dramatic drop from nearly 40000 daily infections in mid-January.     

We haven’t beaten Covid yet and I understand people’s fears and concerns, but we really do have a better future in front of us, and by the end of the year life will look a whole lot different from last year’s end. I’m not going to rush out and be carefree and foolhardy, but I will be going to one or two of the exhibitions and begin, bit by bit, start returning to normal.

Best wishes to you all. 

~

My recent publications

Otto and Frankie, my latest novel, is a study in grief and determination and about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter. 

Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit. 

amazon.co.uk. amazon.com.

Life in four stories 

Recently I donated a substantial sum to the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) from the proceeds of this little book of shorts. ICRC help the most vulnerable communities fight COVID – 19.

Four shorts: two about life, love, and death; one a poignant and disturbing memory that dangles a question unanswered; and one a wild fantasy – plus the first chapter of my latest book, Otto and Frankie.

By buying this book you are helping fund ICRC in its valuable work.

Thank you.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

These two bears made me smile, helping me escape from the pessimists and doom spreaders who tell us every day how Covid will affect our lifestyle for sometime. How negative! Man has an admirable history of overcoming adversity and bouncing back, better and wiser, mending and rebuilding the damage done both to our buildings and to us. We possess an innate quality to heal and improve. 

The casualties and scars of any disaster are many. Covid is no exception, and I feel for those who’ve lost a loved one, those who’re affected by long Covid, and the many who’ve had their livelihoods diminished. My heart goes out to all of you.

It’s easy and could be mistaken as patronising to say life will get better. But it will. Man is not content to stand still. Going back through time, humans have always sought to improve their lot, and because of this I remain optimistic, dismissing the doom mongers and focusing on a better future after Covid, even if we have to live with a few restrictions for a while.

I’m repetitive. My last blog was on similar lines, but I sincerely believe governments and world leaders will work together more and more to do whatever is needed to keep the virus at bay, or best eradicate it, and make the world a better place.    

So, stay optimistic, keep smiling, and have fun, like the bears.

~

My recent publications

Otto and Frankie, my latest novel, is about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter. 

Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit. 

amazon.co.uk. amazon.com.

Life in four stories 

Recently I donated a substantial sum to the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) from the proceeds of this little book of shorts. ICRC help the most vulnerable communities fight COVID – 19.

Four shorts: two about life, love, and death; one a poignant and disturbing memory that dangles a question unanswered; and one a wild fantasy – plus the first chapter of my latest book, Otto and Frankie.

By buying this book you are helping fund ICRC in its valuable work.

Thank you.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

‘The valley garden of Glendurgan on the banks of the Helford River in Cornwall is already bright with spring blossom – vivid pinks, deep purples, the purest of whites. “It’s an extraordinary sight after the tough winter we’ve had,” said the head gardener, John Lanyon. “It feels inspiring, blissful.”

The blossom comes early in this sheltered spot in the far south-west of England, and over the coming days, weeks and months the spectacular colours will steadily spread east and north.

To celebrate the explosion of brightness, the National Trust is launching its second BlossomWatch campaign, encouraging people to begin a new UK tradition emulating hanami, the Japanese custom of relishing the fleeting sight and scent of blossom…’ Read more at The Guardian.

 Explosion of Kashmiri Goats

‘The goats of the Great Orme headland in Wales were a worldwide sensation during the first Covid lockdown last year after they were pictured roaming brazenly around the deserted streets of nearby Llandudno.

This year there has been a population explosion of the kashmiri goats in their north Wales headland home after the Covid crisis forced countryside wardens to cancel a planned contraception campaign…’ Read more at The Guardian.

~

My recent publications

Otto and Frankie, my latest novel, is about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter. 

Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit. 

amazon.co.uk. amazon.com.

Life in four stories 

All proceeds go to the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) to help the most vulnerable communities fight COVID – 19.

Four shorts: two about life, love, and death; one a poignant and disturbing memory that dangles a question unanswered; and one a wild fantasy – plus the first chapter of my latest book, Otto and Frankie.

By buying this book you are helping fund ICRC in its valuable work.

Thank you.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

Like a mountaineer nearing the mountain’s peak, a long-distance swimmer metres away from their end point, a marathon runner close to the finish, a sportsperson close to their goal, and many others battling to overcome adversity, these last weeks before the Covid restrictions start to lift seem endless, and for many sow negative thoughts and feed doubt as to when it will all come to an end. 

It will, and soon.

Vaccines, believed by many a year ago to be way off in the distance, are with us now, being injected, and proving to work, and that’s in just over a year since the first Covid case was diagnosed. With just 1% of the world vaccinated, a herculean effort by the WHO and world leaders and politicians is needed to immunise the entire planet. It will come. New vaccines will be approved, more doses will become available, non-vaxers will diminish, rich governments will help poorer countries, and tweaks of vaccines to counter virus mutations and variants will be developed, some already are. Covid-19 may not be entirely gone by the end of the year, but the world will look a whole lot different, and by that, I mean better. See excellent Guardian article by Pascal Soriot, CEO of Astra Zeneca: At Astra Zeneca, we know that until everyone is safe, no one is safe.

You may ask, why am I so optimistic?

There are many reasons. Here are the main three:

• Man’s instinct for self-survival. The virus – the most serious global health emergency of our lifetime – has shut the world down in ways we could never have imagined, and caused an economic downturn not seen since World War 11. Man will not tolerate such a catastrophe. Soon, if not already, world leaders will come together to find a way to immunise most of the world from Covid in record time – and find a joint economic way forward. It’ll be a plan of global reach on a global scale. 
• Medical science, bathing in its success with the vaccines, will not stop there. More effective vaccines will be developed together with a massive increase in manufacturing capacity.
• Covid treatment. There weren’t any treatments for Covid a year ago. News presenters would often say in sombre tones, There is no known treatment. Now there are several – reducing symptoms and lessening the disease’s fatality rates. And there will be more, together with treatments for long-covid.     

So, like most of us, I look forward to meeting up with family and friends again, eating out, going to a theatre, gallery, gig, having a haircut, and many other things we took for granted, but I’ll be patient. 

We’ll beat this virus, normality will return, of that I’m sure.

~

My recent publications

Otto and Frankie, my latest novel, is about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter. 

Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit. 

amazon.co.uk. amazon.com.

Life in four stories 

All proceeds go to the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) to help the most vulnerable communities fight COVID – 19.

Four shorts: two about life, love, and death; one a poignant and disturbing memory that dangles a question unanswered; and one a wild fantasy – plus the first chapter of my latest book, Otto and Frankie.

By buying this book you are helping fund ICRC in its valuable work.

Thank you.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

Hardly surprising in these anxious times. With many of us kept awake by the worry worm, wriggling its way through our nocturnal thoughts, making each of our concerns seem worse, I thought I’d share a few helpful tips on dropping off, ones that I’ve used and found to work.

• Imagine you’re standing on a sandy beach, close to the water’s edge, and the sea begins to gently lap around your feet. Is it cold or warm, a pleasant sensation? Are you getting deeper?

• Walking alone along a windy clifftop on a clear day. What’s the sea like? Do the crushing waves engulf the black rocks with sparkling white spray?   

• Looking at a map of the world, working from left to right, try to name the capital of each country. Likewise, try to figure out the population of each country, hopefully you drop off to sleep before you reach 7.2 billion. 

• Starting at A, run through the alphabet thinking of as many foods as you can starting with each letter, then move on to the next one. E.G., A – avocado, apple, apricot, anchovy, aniseed. B – beetroot, blueberries, blackberries…

• Work through a list of US presidents or British prime ministers backwards. E.G., Biden, Trump, Obama, Bush, Clinton…, or Johnson, May, Cameron, Brown, Blair, Major…

• Try willing yourself to sleep, think of sleep and only sleep. Imagine what sleep is like. Is it fluffy with warm breezes wafting around your face? Your eyes going to sleep, your mouth, your nose, neck, shoulders, working slowly down your body…

• Something mathematical, like doubling figures, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96, 192… See if you can get to a million. 

They’re all mind games. Try making your own versions, anything to stop you tumbling into an endless vortex of worries, one thing leading to another. Just don’t go there!

If none of these work, try reading for a bit. You may end losing your place in the book, but you’ll get some sleep.

~

I’ve just started writing a new novel, based on a short story I wrote last year – The parents I did not know.

In the novel, A life turned (working title) a man looks back on his troubled past and his unusual relationships with his parents to consider the impact on his life. 

To read the first chapter go a, A life turned.

~

My recent publications

Life in four stories 

All proceeds go to the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) to help the most vulnerable communities fight COVID – 19.

Four shorts: two about life, love, and death; one a poignant and disturbing memory that dangles a question unanswered; and one a wild fantasy – plus the first chapter of my latest book, Otto and Frankie.

By buying this book you are helping fund ICRC in its valuable work.

Thank you.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

My latest novel, Otto and Frankie, is about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter. 

Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit. 

amazon.co.uk. amazon.com.

Each day, as I drink my first cup of tea and start to make porridge, I try to find at least five big or small things to look forward to. I write them down. Today I listed:

• More and more daffodils in bud

• The snowdrop clumps seem to grow larger every day

• A new visitor to the bird table – a tiny wren. I haven’t seen one for some time

• A zoom call with friends later

• Cooking a new recipe from a new cookbook

Being a ‘glass half full’ person I always search for the positives in the media.  It’s hard, but here are a few. 

Covid vaccines 

This must be the most applauded achievement of the last decade. To develop a vaccine that protects us from infection or reduces the severity of the virus in less than a year can only be called outstanding. Most vaccines take three or four years to develop, and then have to be tested. Smallpox took ten years. Malaria is not yet there, although it’s close, but that’s after several years in the making. And the scientists developing the Covid vaccines are not stopping. More efficient vaccines are being developed as are modifications to existing ones to deal with the variants. 

Diversity in space 

‘Europe launches recruitment drive for more female and disabled astronauts. European space chiefs have launched their first recruitment drive for new astronauts in eleven years, with particular emphasis on encouraging women and people with disabilities to join missions to the Moon and, eventually, Mars.’ The Guardian. 

Green energy

Several big car makers, Ford, Jaguar, and others have stated they will not be making any petrol cars after 2030. Most companies will follow.

Electricity. The UK produces over 50% of its electricity from renewables. For some months last year, no coal was burned to produce electricity. It’s likely that within three years all the UK’s electricity will come from renewable sources. 

Endangered species

There are many, unfortunately, and due (mainly) to man’s destruction of nature to satisfy his own greed. The good news is there are many projects around the world that are reintroducing to the wild some of the endangered or almost extinct species with success. As each day passes, more projects begin. Take a look at the WWF website.  

Coral reef rebuilding

Coral reefs are being destroyed by the rise in sea temperatures due to climate change. Coral is essential to the health and welfare of the oceans’ ecosystem. Without coral most sea life would be wiped out. But there’s a fight-back. Throughout the world several successful projects have regrown and replanted coral. See: Can new science save dying coral reefs?      

Rewilding

Across the world, many natural forests and savannahs have been destroyed by humans to grow crops, in the process, depriving wildlife of its natural habit.  Rewilding efforts aim to create ecosystems requiring passive management, and the stepping back of man. There are an increasing number of these projects around the globe, Rewilding Britain is one such project.

Man will continue to discover new ways to solve the climate crisis, it won’t be easy, and we don’t have much time, but I’m optimistic and hopeful we’ll succeed. And the same goes for Covid. Medical science will prevail.

~

My recent publications

Life in four stories 

All proceeds go to the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) to help the most vulnerable communities fight COVID – 19.

Four shorts: two about life, love, and death; one a poignant and disturbing memory that dangles a question unanswered; and one a wild fantasy – plus the first chapter of my latest book, Otto and Frankie.

By buying this book you are helping fund ICRC in its valuable work.

Thank you.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

My latest novel, Otto and Frankie, is about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter. 

Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit. 

amazon.co.uk. amazon.com.

1: Cooking and finding new recipes and techniques. I’ve found a new cookbook I recommend, The Doctor’s Kitchen 3-2-1 by Dr Rupa Aujla – a whole new, delicious way of cooking and eating. 

• ‘As a busy doctor, I know that one of the main reasons people choose not to cook at home is lack of time as well as the effort to cook it. In my new book – I promise you flavourful dishes that consistently look after our bodies, helping to beat illness by optimising our food choices. This is a prescription to fill yourself, one plate at a time.’ Dr Rupa Aujla.

2: Sour dough splatter. Those hours of abandon, flour and dough-splattered clothing and the kitchen, the mind-cleansing processes of stretching, kneading, shaping and baking, and the delicious, unique taste of the finished loaf.

3: Lye ins and not feeling guilty. There’s nothing to do, nowhere to go, anything that needs urgent attention, so why rush and stay an extra hour in bed. 

4: An extra chunk of chocolate or two and a smallish (or not so small) glass of wine to uplift the spirit. It works.

5: Binge watching of Netflix and finding shows I didn’t think I’d like, although the cupboard is nearly empty!

6: Reading. There are a whole host of good books out there, and most I haven’t read!

7: Wearing pyjamas well into the morning and I confess, sometimes all day!

8: Lighting an extra fire.

9: The availability of many more online talks and live performances, and at a minimal cost. These started off quite clunky, now the producers have discovered the right formula and the shows are much smarter.  

10: Zoom chats with friends and family. For me, with my family spread all round the world, Zoom’s been a tremendous benefit. Of course I’d prefer the real thing, in the flesh, but that’ll come. In the meantime, it’s wonderful to be able to link-up live with loved ones. 

Lockdown has been no picnic, we all agree on that, and for some it’s been life-changing and a huge challenge. I’m thankful and grateful to have a home, a roof over my head, and food to eat.

Stay well and safe.

~

My recent publications

Life in four stories 

All proceeds go to the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) to help the most vulnerable communities fight COVID – 19.

Four shorts: two about life, love, and death; one a poignant and disturbing memory that dangles a question unanswered; and one a wild fantasy – plus the first chapter of my latest book, Otto and Frankie.

By buying this book you are helping fund ICRC in its valuable work.

Thank you.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

My latest novel, Otto and Frankie, is about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter. 

Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit. 

amazon.co.uk. amazon.com.

Chocolate cures the blues, helps you through lockdown, and certainly brings joy. I’m a self-confessed chocolate addict and happily experienced that particular feeling of joyousness when on Sunday, my birthday, I started to consume several gifts of chocolate that had been sent to me. Today, with my birthday a couple of days behind me, my chocolate pile just a mere bar or two, and a feeling of withdrawal beginning to immobilise me, I stumbled across this article in The Guardian. ‘Handmade bars you may not wish to share.’

The article tells how pâtissier and chocolatier, Gabriella Cugno makes a selection of ‘gourmet filled chocolate bars’ about four times a year, as well as other specials (Easter eggs) that you pre-order, which I’ve done, hoping Gabriella might sense my desperation and dispatch some of my order early. It’s not cheap, but like fine wine and good whisky, it seems to a chocoholic like me essential to have one or two of Gabriella’s products stashed away somewhere for when you might need them.   

Thanks to all who sent me birthday greetings. It was strange, with lockdown confining me to home, but with Zoom and social media I managed to make contact with friends and family, enjoy a special meal and some excellent wine and watch a couple of movies. And of course, chocolate, but I’ve already mentioned that. 

~

My recent publications

Life in four stories 

All proceeds go to the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) to help the most vulnerable communities fight COVID – 19.

Four shorts: two about life, love, and death; one a poignant and disturbing memory that dangles a question unanswered; and one a wild fantasy – plus the first chapter of my latest book, Otto and Frankie.

By buying this book you are helping fund ICRC in its valuable work.

Thank you.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

My latest novel, Otto and Frankie, is about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter. 

Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit. 

amazon.co.uk. amazon.com.

Like a signpost pointing to sunny spring days, a walk in the countryside, better times, and doing more of the things we’re not able to do at the moment, snowdrops have always been a symbol of better times to come. In normal years, their simple beauty heralds spring and summer. This year they mean much more. As each day passes and another 250,000 people in the UK alone receive a Covid vaccination (I had my first this week) the infection rate will drop – proof is Israel, where 30% of the population have been vaccinated and the infection rates have dived – and we’ll begin to return to life as we knew it. 

Soon snowdrops will be joined by crocuses, daffodils, tulips and other flowers. And soon buds will appear on trees, and then without knowing it spring and summer will be all around us, while Covid infections keep dropping. 

Snowdrops are the white flag of hope, pointing to a brighter future, telling us not to give up, giving us pleasure, and so significant.

I’m thankful for my garden and being able to pick the snowdrops in the image from there, and to my wife for making the vase I put them in. 

~

My recent publications

Life in four stories 

All proceeds go to the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS (ICRC) to help the most vulnerable communities fight COVID – 19.

Four shorts: two about life, love, and death; one a poignant and disturbing memory that dangles a question unanswered; and one a wild fantasy – plus the first chapter of my latest book, Otto and Frankie.

By buying this book you are helping fund ICRC in its valuable work.

Thank you.

Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk

My latest novel, Otto and Frankie, is about a dying man’s fight against injustice, his wife’s unusual affair, and the love from his long-lost daughter. 

Otto and his daughter Frankie could not be more different. He’s rich, an acclaimed author, human rights activist, and lives in England. She lives in New York, just about survives from one pay cheque to the next and hasn’t seen or spoken to her father for twenty years. Dutifully reunited by his impending death, she’s amazed to find him a kind and noble man who, while grappling with his wife’s bizarre affair, champions for the world’s forgotten and dispossessed to his last. After Otto’s death, Frankie’s admiration for her father leads her into a dangerous and life changing pursuit. 

amazon.co.uk. amazon.com.