Shorter posts, links, or thoughts. No schedule, not heavily considered.
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Happy 3rd Birthday
Well look at you, three years old already! You really are growing up far too fast, before long you’ll be a sulky teenager! What a joy it’s been, spending time with you at this age. For the most part you are all smiles and giggles and mischief with the occasional tantrum thrown in, they don’t…
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Hello 2019
I’m not a fan of New Year resolutions. I’m more of a mind to do things as and when I want to do them, knowing that if I try and force a new habit, or a change to my life, based on an arbitrary date it’s more than likely to fail. This is based on…
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Six by Nico: Childhood 2.0
What better way to greet the New Year than in the company of your closest friends, over a fine meal of delicious wares? Well how about if the meal was made to evoke childhood memories as well? Back to Six by Nico for our first visit of 2019 and they were revisiting a previous menu…
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No plans for 2019
I’m not a fan of New Year resolutions. I’m more of a mind to do things as and when I want to do them, knowing that if I try and force a new habit, or a change to my life, based on an arbitrary date it’s more than likely to fail. This is based on…
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Dance your cares away
I’m not always in the mood for dancing (sorry Nolan Sisters) but when I am, I do enjoy throwing some shapes, even if they are slightly awkward and inflexible looking ones. The rush of endorphins when a favourite song comes on and you lose yourself to the beats and rhythms never fails to make me…
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Christmas is coming
It’s December! For many people, including me, that means Christmas is approaching and with it comes the annual cramming of the calendar with nights out and events, the eating and drinking of all the things, and the subsequent hibernating because, frankly, I think I’ll need a couple of quieter days. I don’t have that many…
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Life is too short
I need to stop making excuses. Life is too short. I need to stop over-thinking things. Life passes too quickly. A recent and very sudden death has plunged my life into contrast. The sister of my ex-wife passed away unexpectedly, she was 49. She was a loving, fun, smart woman. She brought up four kids…
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Man Up
#InternationalMensDay has been the rightful target of ridicule. A firmly established, if wobbling, patriarchy makes the notion of a day specifically for men an utter irrelevance. Isn’t every day is International Mens Day? But whilst Yes, All Men is the cry, some people have taken this hashtag to point out that the very idea of…
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Buying better
As those of you who have met me in ACTUAL REAL LIFE (cos hey, us Bloggers also exist in the real world) can no doubt attest, I am not the most fashion conscious person. I’m aware of high street trends but my exposure to that is largely what I see out and about, I don’t…
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Six by Nico: Middle East
Back to Six by Nico for their latest menu – MIDDLE EAST – and I’ll admit upfront that of all the world cuisines this area is my least favourite (it’s all those olives) but as ever I entered the restaurant with a quiet optimism that my opinion would be swayed. MEZE PLATTER – Falafel, Caper…
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IDLES
If you’ve not heard of them, then sod off and give them a listen as a lot of what I’m about to write won’t make much sense if you haven’t heard their music and ideologies. Done? OK good. When you tell people you are off to a gig at the weekend, people always ask you…
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Fit and fat
I stepped out of the shower the other morning, dried myself off, wrapped the towel round my waist and turned to face the sink. I reached up to retrieve my electric toothbrush from it’s charging point and caught my reflection in the mirror. I don’t really look at myself all that often, I’m not exactly…
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Reading to escape
There were two routes I used to walk to my primary school, both of them down main roads that spanned the top half of the town. One took me down Townhead Road and offered the chance to nip in to a corner shop for some illicit sweeties, the other took me off Bonhill Road and…
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45 miles
My first bike was a Boxer. It was royal blue, with chunky tyres and these days would probably be called a mountain bike (for kids, it was tiny). It was the smaller version of the Grifter, which itself was a BMX/off-road kinda thing with the most totally awesomest twist-handle gear shift just like an actual…
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Gigs for the soul
“Fry your onions in garlic!”, he shouted. It was another evening in the Barrowlands, the ageless dance hall turned gig venue. It was late December, 1991, and I was there to see the Silencers, ably supported by the wonderful Humpff Family (wonderful in both name and in their rock/ceilidh stylings). As we were waiting for…
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An ode to the slow cooker
It looks like summer is fading away and, as we head into my favourite season, it’s time to look out the blankets and (far more importantly) my old friend the slow cooker. Ohhhh wonderous maker of stews and soups! I know you can do more – I have the books that tell me this –…
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Six by Nico: The 70s
Another menu, another visit to Six by Nico. This time round a menu inspired by the joyous food of my childhood in the 70s. I was tempted to don my flares and cycle there on my Chopper, but I was wary of being in some freak headline accident, ‘Man gets flares trapped in Chopper chain,…
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Turn off the TV
“I saw this advert in a window that said: ‘Television for sale, £1, volume stuck on full.’ I thought, ‘I can’t turn that down.’” Do you remember the TV series “Why Don’t You?”. It had a really catchy theme tune, the type that stuck in your brain for the rest of the week, I bet…
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Euro2018
When the Commonwealth Games finished, 4 years ago, I took with me many fun memories and a real sense of pride in my home city (I wrote about it too). So when the chance to volunteer to help out at another major sporting event being held in Glasgow, I leapt at the chance. I was…
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The baseball
A few days ago a short video clip went viral, in the way short video clips do. It was taken during a baseball game and showed a foul ball (a hit that lands out of bounds) landing in the front few rows of the stand. A child scrabbles under his seat to get it but…