Category Archives: travel

Like Ma Bell, I got an ill deceleration

Posted on February 21, 2015 by

I’m sat here planning a journey again: tomorrow, heading up north, 150 miles there, 150 back. I’m sat here feeling ill again: a cold, traceable to a client meeting I didn’t want or need to go to. Sometimes it feels … Continue reading →

Posted in cars, emotions, environment, family, far_away, fear, health, illnesses, injuries, journeys, location, person, transport, travel, weather | 2 Comments

Christmas days

Posted on December 27, 2014 by

The tendency for Christmas over the years has been for it to spread out, much like my waistline. When I was younger—even ten years or so ago—I saw Christmas as a landmark day. There were celebrations either side, of course: … Continue reading →

Posted in age, christmas_2014, cliques, consumption, drink, entertainment, family, far_away, fatigue, food, intoxication, location, made_our_own_fun, person, society, time, travel | Leave a comment

Near and Loire

Posted on July 12, 2014 by

I’ve just come back from a trip to the Loire. A friend is currently trialling working from Lille rather than Oxford (his commute to near Stevenage remains the same time, and roughly the same level of shlep) and he decided … Continue reading →

Posted in body, buildings, food, france, freelance, holiday, location, occupation, person, tourism, travel | Leave a comment

I was young once, but the youth are young forever

Posted on June 22, 2014 by

This weekend we went to see friends in Sheffield. For a change, the (outrageously expensive) train journeys changing at Birmingham were almost entirely faultless: certainly nothing we could complain about. That is, only if you consider what the train companies … Continue reading →

Posted in age, art, cliques, cultural, dickheads, education, emotions, experience, far_away, humanities, intuition, location, loss, opinion, overheard, painting, person, public, rants, research, society, trains, transport, travel, understanding | Leave a comment

The year ends with a twist

Posted on December 23, 2012 by

I write this gingerly, my wrist recovering from a bad sprain sprain acquired a week ago today. It was a mould-covered wooden bridge that took my bicycle tyres out from underneath me, tricking me into landing palms first. A trip … Continue reading →

Posted in cars, cliques, diary, emotions, experience, far_away, friends, health, hope, injuries, intoxication, journeys, location, loss, near, person, public, service, society, trains, transport, travel | 2 Comments

Behind the clouds is the sun still shining

Posted on August 12, 2012 by

To me, this has seemed a lovely summer so far. There’ve been occasional downpours, but also lots of clear, bright days, and several remarkably sunny ones. While this weekend itself has been lovely, lots of the past week has been … Continue reading →

Posted in anger, body, cars, climate, cotswolds, discomfort, emotions, environment, experience, far_away, holiday, location, occupation, opinion, person, rants, scotland, seasons, time, tourism, transport, travel, weather | 2 Comments

To travel hopefully

Posted on January 6, 2011 by

We made it to my parents’ house for Christmas. We shouldn’t have. We should have got stuck at any number of stages on our journey—as West Oxfordshire shut down, then Oxford train station, then St Pancras, then Calais, Cherbourg, St … Continue reading →

Posted in anniversaries, body, drink, environment, far_away, france, friends, health, illnesses, location, love, loyalty, person, public, roads, services, society, spain, time, tourism, trains, transport, travel, understanding, weather | 1 Comment