Just a touch of blue sky and a shed load of cold. There are not enough layers for windy Yorkshire days like this. Who am I…. Seems like an easy question. Not for me. My immediate answer is…. A single parent, Or maybe I could say widow. Ask me that question say a decade ago and I probably would have answered, A parent or maybe a working parent. Ask me that question more than a decade ago and I think I would have answered, An Accountant or my job title. NO NO NO. I might have well as answered a Newcastle Supporter. It’s not WHO I AM. My personality, my heart, how I think, my hopes, my loves, my ..read more

It’s funny how those long hidden memories suddenly decide to reawaken. We were on our way to Switzerland by train, a day after an incident on a train from Amsterdam to Paris. Armed police were swarming everywhere. Usually a wonderful, restful trip from London to Paris, then Paris to Strasbourg, then Strasbourg across the border to Switzerland. This time it was distinctly edgy. Just out of Paris, a young mother got really spooked by soldiers patrolling up and down the train with a machine guns. This upset her young son. Step forward a French passenger who was clearly a cartoonist. Out of his ba ..read more

Three….. 3……. Stood on Saltburn Pier today and it was 3C. As the wind howled across the North Sea, I dread to think what the wind chill factor was. Apparently it’s still Spring here. Thermal T-shirt, thick jumper and a down jacket simply wasn’t enough. We were FROZEN. But then again as Basil Fawlty once said when told there was always someone worse off than yourself “REALLY, I’d love to meet them as I could do with a b…..y laugh” We weren’t those poor souls trying to SURF. We heard frequent bloody curdling screams as they entered the water and that wasn’t a monster JAWS shark causing that. I ..read more

More storms, more rain, more wind. The Farmer’s hard stacking efforts are now completely wrecked. A cold often, grim, winter like day. Not much fun, a day that felt like hard work. But you never know what is round the corner. Forced ourselves and the very reluctant mad dog out for a cold, windswept, late evening walk. The clouds cleared just enough for a few, brief light show moments. The Northern Lights never fail to be thrilling. If only my old phone could capture the beauty just a little better. It can be such a wonderful life ..read more

This week I’ve got round to something which has been nearly EIGHT years in the making. A few years back was the start of the world changing for us. Since then Hawklad has experienced losing his mum, two grannies, an uncle and a niece. Not to mention several pets. Hard enough for a grizzled, well weathered muppet like me, unimaginably tough for a child who was only 8 when the world started changing. I’ve always tried to find the right words for Hawklad, being open to whatever he needs to get through this but being brutally honest, I’ve tended to skim over some really important areas when it com ..read more

Muddy paths everywhere. At this time of year this should be a nice, dry way through the local woods. Not this year. In fact part of the path is closed off as it is flooded. Early morning runs through here are currently a slide FEST. Hopefully it can dry out as the bluebells will be out real soon, maybe they can swim. As my muddy legs got even more muddier this morning, I was pondering on something a work colleague had said in a meeting. ‘Daughter will be going to University September next year. That’s it, most of my full time parenting will be definitely over. She wants to go to St Andrews, t ..read more

It’s a steep old walk out the village.. try that when it’s icy. More tropical Yorkshire weather, more time by the coast. This time beautiful, old Robin Hood’s Bay. Welcome to the eighteenth centuries busiest Yorkshire smuggling port. Maybe the name came from this being the legendary ‘give to the poor’ hero’s seaside refuge, maybe it came from local fairy folklore. One thing is for sure, if it was Robin Hood or a Forest Elf, I hope they got wrapped up warm. It’s a place to blow away the cobwebs, it’s a place for the thickest of thick woolly jumpers. Many many years ago, a young me came here on ..read more

Switzerland has so many wonderful adventures to offer. Such a small country offering so much. Yet there is one thing that Yorkshire has over that LANDLOCKED Alpine Paradise. SEASIDE If your thing is bleak, windswept sprawling beaches and a frigid North Sea, followed by Fish, Chips and Mushy Peas, then it’s the Yorkshire Coast for you. Case in point….. On a typically tropical Easter Day, donned in a million woolly layers, we bravely ventured to just North of Whitby. To Sandsend Beach. Cold YES, worth visiting, MOST DEFINITELY ..read more

That’s a proper bridge. So far it’s kept my feet dry this season but has provided a few too many wobbly moments. Work had a few too many wobbly moments today as well. This morning was an important work Teams call. I was up and raring to go. Ok not so much raring as rusty, but at least I had a coffee at hand. Sat at my home old desk, just logging on when POWER CUT. PANTS. Ok no panic, I will access Teams on my mobile. But clearly the wind is in the wrong direction. No 5G, no 4G, not even 3G, only 2G. PANTS, mobile internet is going to be really slow. Not much will load up. Even bigger PANTS. I ..read more

We were watching an old James Bond movie with a long scene filmed in Switzerland. “Dad, even James Bond stuff looks better in Switzerland….” I couldn’t disagree. That set me off again thinking about how amazing a life in that beautiful country would be. Fast forward to early this morning. Sat outside with a coffee trying to cool down after more exercise torture. Yorkshire was grey, misty but at least almost dry. Did I mention that Yorkshire is great for COOL DOWNS, no need for ice baths here, just hot drinks…. Then a thought hit me, even the coffee tastes better in Switzerland. Deep sigh ..read more