Clockwork Motorboats

I had planned to write 1,000 words last night, part of a plan (perhaps a stupid one) to write daily. It all came about because of Monday night’s writing. But I was distracted. Rory Stewart , a Conservative Party leadership candidate , was putting forward his plans should he become the next Prime Minister. I’m following his Twitter feed and he uploaded the whole performance. It lasted for one hour and 17 minutes. There was nothing worth watching on television. In fact, last night was pretty boring. I didn’t start watching TV until 10 o’clock and hit the sack around an hour later. I slept well until the early hours, waking around 0330hrs and then trying to get back to sleep. I managed it because I remember a dream, that a couple of dissident republicans in a pick-up truck, the sort of truck capable of towing away automobiles, turned up at my doorstep and stole my car. They then drove past, my car in tow, and I had the opportunity to respond in some way. I think I said ‘thanks, guys’ in ...

It’s early on Saturday morning. June 22nd. The day after the Summer Solstice . The longest day, making today the second longest day. I’m worried that life is simply passing me and my family by. It’s as if I’m sitting in a window seat on an express train and as I pass through stations I notice they have names I can briefly glimpse as the train whizzes past: Christmas, New Year, Easter, Summer Time, the Summer Solstice, Wimbledon , Summer Holidays, all things I allow to pass me by because they’re all things that other people do, especially holidays. There are ads on television depicting families splashing around in swimming pools and running hand-in-hand on the beach or enjoying an evening meal, but it’s not me and hasn’t been for a while. And it’s not because we can’t afford it, it’s because we’re unorganised and indecisive. We leave things to the last minute and I always hear myself saying: “Every year I say we must book it up in January, but we never do.” That’s because there’s someth...

Time flies whether you’re enjoying yourself or not. It’s late March and we’re coming round to lockdown anniversaries. Time really has flown by but nobody’s been doing a great deal. Kids have just gone back to school, but have spent most of the last year at home being ‘ home-schooled ’, which has meant more for some than others. I’d imagine there are plenty of kids who have had no education over the past 12 months and others (right little swots) who have probably been better educated than they would have been at school. Loads of us have been working from home. Some of us love it, others hate it and I’m somewhere in the middle. Perhaps, for me, having the best of both worlds: two or three days at home and then two days in the office, would be preferable. I need a change of scenery. I used to be a freelance journalist and I can’t say I really enjoyed it, stuck at home waiting for the phone to ring. It did ring and I did okay, but the first opportunity to take a full-time position and I ju...