Formula

Assam in a pot pre-warmed rinsed not washed piping hot leaves not bags don’t over-mash milk just a dash red as brick drunk quick twice a day twelve hours apart leave it neat nothing sweet let it fire up the heart let it scald the osophagus and make you frown forcing you to sit up

The angel in the bracken – an appreciation of David Cobb

A quarter of a century ago, as a geology student, I spent the best part of my summer mapping Ordovician volcanics on a mountain in the Snowdonia National Park. With only the local wildlife and the occasional sheep farmer for company, and with the sun slowly blistering its way through the sky, I’d enjoyed the

Cragside

Every now and then She checks in on me I know when she’s there Because I close my eyes and I feel it. The other day I found a spot A spot by a small fountain A small fountain in a herb patch A herb patch in a formal garden At Cragside I was tired

Tulips and roses

My back’s a bit stiff cos I slept funny. Spent half the night worrying ’bout money, I overcooked my eggs and I like ’em runny but you ain’t bothering me today. No, you ain’t bothering me today. My razor’s blunt and it made me late. I can’t seem to get my sideburns straight. Now every

One year on…

I finally made it to my local MS Group’s social evening and AGM the other night. Great to meet people and compare notes. Funny to be in a room full of people who, for the most part, look like they would rather be at home taking it easy. Also funny to hold a conversation about

MS Awareness week – Limboland haiku sequence

Hello all It is Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Awareness Week across the globe. To mark this, I have written the following haiku sequence. Regular readers will know that I was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting MS in 2008. Limboland was inspired by the journey to diagnosis. Limboland no hint of a smile –for once my doctor says“take