Shorter posts, links, or thoughts. No schedule, not heavily considered.
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P.M.A.
The ever evolving state of Gordon McLean and how he’s finally found his identity.
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What’s Next?
The last two weeks have been a whirlwind. The day of my parents 50th Anniversary – 30th of July – was when Dad fell ill and was taken to hospital with stomach pains. I visited him, the sole visitor that was allowed due to COVID restrictions, on the Friday, he was taken into the ICU…
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Saying goodbye to Dad
It was my Dad’s funeral this afternoon. It was a short service at a local crematorium, with only 18 attendees allowed, all of us sitting in socially distanced seats with our masks on. Surreal. That aside it was, as my Uncle Nigel said, a dignified service. The Rev Ian Miller led the way, and I…
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The wilfully inconsiderate
I can’t recall where I saw it, or heard it. It might have been on the radio, it might have been on Twitter, or it might have been a line an article I read somewhere. Annoyingly I can’t recall the exact phrasing but given I can’t even find it to quote it I don’t think…
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Finding the fun
It helps that we live part way down a hill, so the minute I get on my bike I can pump the pedals a few times and head down it to get that instant burst of speed and feel the wind in my ha.. well, you get the picture. It had been a week or…
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Happily Happy
It was a fairly standard evening. We’d had our dinner and were watching a little TV together, it’s part of our routine to unwind and destress from our working days, we chat over dinner and then spend a few quiet moments sitting together, distracting ourselves with (currently) episodes of Modern Family. As soon as she…
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Focus
Over the past few weeks I’ve been trying to be more mindful and considerate of where I spend my time. As such I’m not on Facebook all that much, I find Twitter holds less and less appeal, and only Instagram remains as my main ‘idle scrolling’ habit these days. I guess it’s easy to fathom…
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The Recap: June 2020
Stasis, is that the right word? It feels like the last few weeks have slipped by largely unnoticed. Watching Black Lives Matter news, reading and learning what I can, the start of the end of lockdown, the return of sports and more, it’s all been a bit of a blur. That said, it does feel…
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What’s next?
Work is busy, which is good. I invested in a stand/sit desk and spend most of my day standing which, oddly, seems to keep me focused and productive. Outside of Work I have a few other things going on AKA “small w work”; I’m finishing a rebuild of a large website which should go live…
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Black Lives Matter
It’s overwhelming It’s overwhelming because I’m white It’s overwhelming watching all these images all the brutality and hatred watching a man kneel on another mans neck until he dies he can’t breathe It’s overwhelming because I haven’t experienced it first hand It’s overwhelming because there are so many other forms of hatred to fight but…
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21 years
On the 2nd of June, 1999, I wrote about Sunglasses. Once I’d written it I opened an HTML page template I had created by hand, pasted the text in, formatted it using the few HTML tags I had available, updated all the site links to include the new post (I had a sidebar back then…
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The Recap: May 2020
And lo, it was June and the sun was shining and, all of a sudden, just as the world seemed to be slowly getting itself back on track, America exploded. Everything else seems somewhat removed from the reality we are living in yet we must continue. And yes, I have more words, thoughts, and emotions…
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Life without news
After school the rush to get home was palpable, mostly for those blissful moments from 4.30 to 6pm when the TV was mine and mine alone. All those childhood programmes I consumed and which still hold a special place in my pop culture heart; Battle of the Planets, Dungeons & Dragons (did those kids ever…
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Drafting a new normal
I keep sitting down to write and before I know it the moment has passed, my attention has slipped elsewhere. Somewhere, between the act of deciding to write about something and the physical machinations that are required to start that process, I lose complete track of what I was going to say, the thoughts flitter…
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The Recap: April 2020
And just like that April is done. How strange to have spent a month with every day following a similar pattern. It’s not been bad, it’s not been good, it’s been odd. We are lucky to have each other, lucky to have the dogs to keep us entertained and give us a focus, and lucky…
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The Other Side
I have a long rambling post drafted that I can’t seem to finish, mostly because it’s long and rambling and has no real focus, very much a stream of consciousness style waffling which, rightly, hasn’t been shared with the world. That post is mostly me trying to capture my thoughts as we enter week whatever…
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Easter
Rumour has it that, a few years back, a young man was brutally killed and a few days later came back to life. There’s something about a big rock being rolled about too, hence why all over the country people are over-spending and over-indulging in chocolate eggs. Ohh and there is a magical bunny but…
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Routines
I’ve tried many times to build a routine, and it’s usually been about improving my health. You know the type of thing, the grand plans to become a ‘morning person’ and rise at 6am to go to the gym before work. Part of my aims for this year had me pondering such things and I…
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The Recap: March 2020
Safe to say that March will be memorable for one thing and one thing only. Coronavirus and lockdown. It’s meant adjusting routines, and whilst I’m working the hours are dropping. We remain in good spirits though and if nothing else it’s given me time to crack on with some other things, including a revisit of…
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Chocolate Raisins
I’m guessing it all started with Sun-Maid Raisins. If you are of a certain age (shut up at the back!) they were a staple part of your packed lunch, sitting right next to the tuna paste sandwich and, if you were really lucky, a carton of Ribena. Ahh yes that little red cardboard box that…