I went camping this summer, in Dorset with my eldest, Miriam and my youngest, Silas. We pitched camp in our usual busy field a couple of miles outside Swanage, but then on our way to town for fish and chips, we passed a beautiful, empty, wide-open site, and our heads were turned. So back we …
When I was a little boy, every time I went to a birthday party, my parents would say the same two things to me: “Remember what your name is and remember who you belong to.” I found this very confusing. How could I forget my name? And who did I belong to? I thought it …
I was cutting my hair last week. It helps that I have almost no hair to cut because having nothing to cut alleviates the problem of having zero expertise. However, I’ve been doing it for many years, with electric clippers, much as I imagine I might shear a sheep, and I’ve become fairly adept at …
Morning, Chris. Let me start by saying that I’m very happy to be here. Happy to be out of the house, glad it’s Monday. Part of this, obviously, is that I love my work, my colleagues, my students. But it’s also something else. You see, it has emerged, over the past couple of days, that …
I was eating a piece of cheese the other night, late on in the kitchen, alone after clearing the Christmas decks. Cheese is the thing that comes out when you know you've had enough but even so your eyes light up and before you know it you're half a pound of stilton to the good …
One of the big questions at this time of year, obviously, is are you a Strictly house or are you a Factor house? We are a Factor house so I’m afraid that last weekend I was moonlighting for the opposition. This week is Faith in the World Week and it struck me as I watched, …
We watch movies in our house, and they enter our language. Crying, for example, is known as ‘Going a bit Sound of Music’ after my habit of weeping uncontrollably whenever Captain Von Trapp sings Edelweiss. The key Christmas movie, though, is It’s A Wonderful Life, which was released seventy years ago this week. Jimmy Stewart …
Our house is full of arguments. In this, I’m pretty sure we are no different from most families. We argue over who sits where in the car. We argue over who has the most roast potatoes. We argue over football, homework, housework, and scrabble. We argue mostly at table, when we eat, where the conversation …
I’ve been thinking about marathons. I watched my friend Jonny Taylor run the London Marathon some years ago and yelled encouragement on the approach to Tower Bridge before bursting through the crowd to run with him for a moment. I must have been so annoying. Now I've run half a marathon but at the end of that, …
I went out for dinner on Monday night with my three children, Miriam, Esther and Silas. Miriam’s away at university now and Esther heads off in September, so the opportunities for us all to be together are increasingly limited. This dinner was special though, because until my birthday later this month, we are 100 years …