This morning, as the bright winter sun struggled to lift temperatures above zero, I decided to take my bike on its inaugural 2023 road trip. My ride took me to the village of Croxton. According to our re-hashed political boundaries the village sits in what is now designated as North Lincolnshire. I, however, prefer to acknowledge the shire network established by King Athelstan, rather than those of our irrelevant Westminster Parliament. So, to me this is and will remain simply Lincolnshire. Athelstan was, after all, ‘the very celebrated king who by the Grace of God ruled all England, which pr ..read more

My daily dog-walking exercise often takes me through our village’s churchyard and its cemetery. As I meander among the graves, my past interest in researching my own family history often causes me to stop and read some of the headstones. Inevitably, these often raise questions in my mind. Who were the characters whose names live on engraved in stone, and what roles did they play in this small north Lincolnshire village? One headstone, larger than most, caught my eye Yesterday, one particular headstone, larger than most, caught my eye and I decided to investigate. As I neared the grave I re ..read more

The post that follows was written late in 2020 and posted to my blog at that time. The blog then was based on a theme of living a Christian life. However, the writer in 2020 was somewhat different to who I was to eventually become. One fundamental reason for what may be called a change of direction was the realisation that the message being delivered from the pulpit and through the pages of the Bible (in its current format) was simply one of many lies woven to disempower, manipulate and control humanity. In my ‘About‘ page I explain how this recognition led to my stepping away from the church ..read more

Until recently I was an avid bowman, and would regularly take part in the popular sport of Field Archery. In this post I explain how Field Archery differs from ‘conventional’ target archery. I also explain the distinctive shooting style and show the equipment that I used. For many people, a typical archery bow will be the sort of monstrosity seen in events such as the Olympic Games, bedecked with all manner of doohickeys and thingamabobs such as counterweights, optics, spirit levels, and an intricate pulley system, top and bottom. Olympic-style Compound Bow – an ugly, ‘Heath Robinson’ affa ..read more

If you’re a regular visitor to this site and have already read my two posts Set on a Pilgimage and A Delayed Departure you’ll already be aware that I’m a big fan of Tolkien’s classic novel, ‘The Lord of the Rings‘. You’ll know, too, that I regularly follow in the footsteps of Frodo and his fellowship, and have done for many years, each journey beginning when Autumn’s leaves begin to fall. The epic story is a heart-warming tale of a small band’s struggle against formidable odds; a tale in which their successful endeavours result in good vanquishing evil. It is also one laced with many fine e ..read more

In my post of August 10 I announced that I was set on a pilgrimage, one which I also confidently declared would commence the following month. Such was my certainty, I was quite specific about the date: The twenty-third of September. If you’ve not yet read that offering, you may wish to do so before continuing with this one. Clicking on the above link will take you there directly. In that post I also explained the significance of such a date and revealed that this particular day had triggered my departure countless times since my first such quest in 1980. Sadly, in the surreal stage-show calle ..read more

‘We felt lost souls, who had forgotten that men are made for something else, that time exists and hope, that the earth can be used for something other than burying the dead.’ Guy Sajer 5th Panzergrenadier Company, Grossdeutschland Division Eastern front, 1944/45 A year or so following completion of the Fallen Eagle screenplay I was again called on to write a further, much shorter script. Despite Fallen Eagle not being filmed, such had been my enjoyment in writing it, I agreed. By this time, world war two re-enactment group 21 Infanterie had changed their impression to that of a late war com ..read more

When tasked to write a feature-length World War Two action drama, I knew my childhood diet of Commando comics and classic war movies would come in handy. I have recently embarked upon a new and fascinating writing project. In so doing I had occasion to resurrect my old scriptwriting material, such as sample scripts, tips and resources. The documents hadn’t seen light of day in over three years. The cache included two scripts I’d written for one of the UK’s leading and well-respected World War Two re-enactment groups. 21 Infanterie World War Two Re-enactment Group The 21 Infanterie WW2 Re-enac ..read more

Several days ago my wife and I visited a small craft fair in a nearby market town. Held each month, the fair draws artisans from across the region and is a popular attraction. We’ve attended it several times. One regular stallholder offers an impressive and varied array of decoupage art pieces. However fancy-sounding it may be, decoupage is simply the art of decorating an object by gluing paper cut-outs onto it. I use the term ‘simply’ in reference to the explanation only. It’s a skill I don’t possess. Of those items on display that day, the common feature was that they were all created on sla ..read more

As I walked my Border Terrier, Freyja, along field edges bordering the village this morning I listened to a recording by Native American musician, Robert Mirabal. Such an event wasn’t unusual, and as always the music served to compliment rather than muffle the surrounding sounds of nature. ‘Riders of the Healing Road‘ produced under Mirabal’s alias Johnny Whitehorse, is a captivating mix of contemporary Native American music – flute, drum, primal percussive instruments and haunting melodies, laced with the characteristic backbeat of the wide, open plain. The result was a spellbinding soundtra ..read more