Shorter posts, links, or thoughts. No schedule, not heavily considered.
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The First Father’s Day
It was Father’s Day a few weeks ago in the UK. I wanted to capture my thoughts, it’s just taken me a while… My first one as a Dad, with all the emotions that brings with it. Every single day I tell my son I love him and Father’s Day was no different. It’s part…
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Things I’ve read
Fighting the Shame of Skin Picking /// A Bicycle Is an Anti-Poverty Machine /// Is Your Brain Foggy? Here Are Five Ways to Clear It /// Ukraine war: Putin has redrawn the world – but not the way he wanted /// How to have less stuff /// How Sweden Sends Just 1% of Its Trash…
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Hello again
If in doubt, write about what you haven’t written about even though you’ve been trying to… In the past when I’ve struggled to find time/motivation/words for this blog I’ve resorted to some cliched posts and, well, here’s another one. I had planned to write about Father’s Day, given it was my first one as a…
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When plans change
I’ve been goal driven most of my adult life, it’s part of who I am and over the last few years I’ve been slowly changing my approach to it so I’m confident that these days it’s a healthy thing, not a potentially self-sabotaging mechanism. Which is just as well as, somewhat predictably, my goals for…
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A Great Day
Yesterday we had a Naming Ceremony for Jack. Just us and a small group of friends and family, the people we know will be in his life for years to come. Alas some people weren’t able to be there, but we know he was in their thoughts on this special day. We all gathered at…
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Stalled
Entry 582 of an ongoing series of posts about how minor injuries and life events continue to get in the way of carefully made plans. Safe to say it’s been an eventful year so far, in no specific order… At the end of January we had booked in to a hotel for a night to…
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Life is good
Life is Jack. That’s pretty much my update. There is so much more to it than that of course, it’s a whirlwind ride of sleepless nights, smiles and giggles, nappy changing, pram walks, and those moments when he looks at me and my heart melts all over again. It’s magical. We are finding a balance…
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Daisy is 1
Dear Daisy, How are you one year old already? Doesn’t time fly when you are such an adorable, cute and funny little person! Admittedly it’s taken until about now for you to stop frowning or crying when you see me but don’t worry, your sister was exactly the same so I didn’t take it to…
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Lucy is 6
Dear Lucy, Right. You can stop now. Stop all this growing up and going to school and becoming a young woman already. I will not stand for this nonsense! I jest, a little, but your Aunt Becca and I were just saying the other day how sometimes we see photos of you and can’t believe…
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My A to Z of cycling
Over the past couple of years it’s fair to say that cycling has become my main hobby. Like most hobbies it started out innocuously enough but quickly became a focus that consumed more and more of my time and thoughts. Safe to say I’ve been on a learning curve (and still am) and I often…
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Rescheduled
I’m still not sure how I feel about going and standing in a busy venue, next to hundreds of other people, especially given the current (re-?)rise of COVID instances but given how many gigs I had booked that got rescheduled thanks to the pandemic, it’s something I need to figure out. I have some time…
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Welcoming Jack
Hello Jack, my son, You arrived early, but safely, and the last few weeks we’ve been getting to know you, figuring out your needs and wants, and mostly just gazing at you in utter adoration. You seem to be settling into life well, and I think your Mum and I are doing a pretty good…
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NOT more to life than this
At present, I really only have three topics of conversation. 1. The dogs.2. The baby.3. Cycling. And no, they aren’t in a specific order. Of course, there is more to life than those three things (apparently?) – those on my Instagram can attest that I’m still treating myself well with delicious foodstuffs if nothing else…
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Congratulations to me
I’ve never been very good at praising myself. Achievements don’t land, or sit, for very long. It’s something I’ve learned the hard way, and whilst my tendency to just brush things off once I’ve done them is my default so in an effort combat that I’m just going to say this. Well done me! Yesterday…
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Becoming Dad
Nope. Even writing that title seems weird. I’m not ‘Dad’. Not yet. But soon and I guess I’m already starting to feel paternal, I guess this is common for most parents to be with a baby arriving in 2 months, I guess we all go through these same thoughts. Hopes that the baby will be…
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Thoughts from my sickbed
I’m on the mend but last week saw me struggle with some food poisoning/a tummy bug that left me in bed from Friday evening through to this morning. A few slices of toast, some isotonic drinks, were all I could stomach. I slept a lot too, as I am prone to do when ill, but…
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I iz a cyclister
It’s fair to say that I’m enjoy cycling way more than I expected and as someone who has the habit of jumping into new hobbies quickly (and deeply) I’m even happier that the simple joy of exploring the local countryside has yet to abate. I’m also happy to find myself capable of much more than…
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6Music app
Well not really, more a quick hack. Working at home I’ve been enjoying listening to the radio. For a while it was BBC Radio 2 – the joys of Popmaster far too often interrupted by meetings! – but I’m back to 6Music which always feels like ‘my’ radio station. I have a work laptop that…
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Sad comforts
I’ve always admired poets, admired with envy as I gaze upon their words, the way they flow, the imagery they conjure, the emotions captured and delivered with subtle grace and ingenuity. Hell even just getting a few paragraphs that follow some form of cadence is a miracle to me. Oh yes, I’ve tried my hand…
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Anti-career advice
A few years ago I moved from permanent salaried jobs to contracting. Ostensibly it was a shot in the dark as I needed a job, any job, at the time, and I thought why not?! It was (and still is) a means to an end. Like you I have bills to pay and so, having…