Some way past Ellon, following the now muddy path which the Formartine and Buchan Way had become after a night and a day of successive bands of thunder storms, I asked her: “So, this walk of ours, from Aberdeen to Mill of Aden, if it’s something of a pilgrimage as you suggest, then why are … More Drostan’s Tears
The first time I actually spent money on a piece of furniture was while living in Fez, Morocco. The estate agent had given a few days to running us around town in his old Renault 4, showing us one grand apartment or villa after another. He couldn’t quite bring himself to believe that this young … More My first piece of furniture
So there we stood, a little past 8:00 on a windy but dry Tofino morning. Gathered around us was an ever thickening crowd of runners of all shapes and sizes and, no doubt, experience. Renata was nervous; she had done this the year before and knew what to expect from a marathon. As for me, … More Edge to Edge, Tofino to Ucluelet
My father was of the generation of WASP men for whom cooking was decidedly a woman’s task. He could make a good peanut butter and jelly sandwich and could even make you believe it was a feast, but beyond that he never learned to prepare any food at all. Being my father’s son, I left … More A good meal
We live just around the corner from a barber shop, where I have my hair cut about every 6 weeks. It’s one of those old-fashioned places which operates without appointments; as you wait your turn you can help yourself to coffee and the daily newspaper. No donuts though. I’ve been a regular customer for five … More Haircut
Thirty years ago, a set of unexpected family circumstances conspired to force my departure from Brazil when I was 17, in the summer of 1979. I’ve never been back. It was, however, a good idea to leave before my 18th birthday: at the time there was still a military government and military draft in … More Rio
Cycling back from church today I saw a billboard advertising Magnum ice cream on a stick. The really expensive ones, which I’ve never bought, filled with all kinds of delicious chocolate goo and nuts and stuff. I still feel guilty every time I see one of those. Andrew and I were messing around with firecrackers. … More Firecracker
