Marcus Aurelius

In the development of my next volume (WIP) Fairy Hanny and the Knights in White Satin, one of the Time Travellers claims to have met Marcus Aurelius. Which reminded me – in his famous collected work Meditations the great stoic philosopher wrote about his bum. ‘Life can be a pain in the arse. In myContinue reading “Marcus Aurelius”

Brisket and Politics

Barbarossa Restaurant, Sanur. A great place with an unfortunate name. To me when I see the word ‘Barbarossa’ it conjures up the German invasion of Russia in June 1941. That invasion led to mass murder by German SS units as they tried to kill off all those ‘under men’ they saw as not being reallyContinue reading “Brisket and Politics”

The Tapha, slight return.

I wandered up the back roads and into what could be central Sanur. Lots of resto/bars filled with Europeans and Aussies. I found a good supermarket which also has an ATM outside – 20 minutes’ walk from my hotel. I followed the road down to the beach, past the Holiday Inn and the Intercontinental; theContinue reading “The Tapha, slight return.”

Tales from the poolside, Sanur

Old jokes. That last post about Dr. Who reminded me of a joke I told my sister, but for many years she just didn’t understand it. I’m not talking about a sister as a child but as an aduklt professional nurse. The joke; ‘What do Eartha Kitt and Dr. Who have in common?’ It wasContinue reading “Tales from the poolside, Sanur”

Dr Who?

Ramblings. Watching the sun go down from the Resto restaurant on Sanur Beach. I suppose that having recently celebrated a birthday that puts me into my seventieth year on this planet, it is inevitable that I will reminisce. A former colleague likes to post on Facebook about his love of Doctor Who, the epic sci-fiContinue reading “Dr Who?”

Food glorious food

Just a Restaurant, Sanur, Bali. I suppose they like to call it an Indonesian restaurant, and the menu has many Indonesian meals on offer. Though the breakfast menu is mostly offering variations on the Full English breakfast, albeit with chicken sausages and turkey bacon, which is my normal offer back in Oman. Yes they alsoContinue reading “Food glorious food”

69th Birthday reflections. I’m a grumpy old git

Sanur July 2026 Watching the world today I see the beauty in nature and the sadness in humanity. Sitting at a restaurant on Sanur beach at the Retro restaurant. The wind in the trees that are part of the canopy of the restaurant; beautiful flowers offering us insights to nature; and dogs chasing their ballContinue reading “69th Birthday reflections. I’m a grumpy old git”

Puberty

When I was in St. Kevins Roman Catholic High School back in the 60’s and 70’s, we had 2000 adolescent boys. Sex was the dominant chat. Puberty included the joke; ‘What did one leg say to the other?’ ‘I see shorty’s growing a beard!’ We longed for the site of that first pubic hair. OneContinue reading “Puberty”

Jimmy B.

Writing about R.A. Ladd took me back to some of the other daftness of growing up in Kirkby in the 1960’s. Some of the reflections still have me crying with laughter, especially things like my brother thinking Nightation meant a bad gas, as in a fart, until I clarified his error as Nitrogen. Then otherContinue reading “Jimmy B.”

R.A. Ladd – my father and farts

I am tempted to use this as a pen name for some of my writing in honour of my father. His name was not R.A. Ladd – it was one of his expressions, though I might have to put that into context in the Liverpool of the 1970’s. My father had the misfortune in thoseContinue reading “R.A. Ladd – my father and farts”