Category: UK

guaranteed

I had to have some shoes repaired recently and since all the local independent cobblers seem to have been swallowed up, there was no alternative but to go to a national chain.

Actually, although I baulk at the idea of chains buying up independents, I do like Timpson’s. I heard the chairman, John Timpson, speak at a business event a few years ago and there is little doubt that the organisation has clear and laudable values and that they practise what they preach about delegating authority while retaining responsibility.
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A closer look

Autumn is quite definitely here and the plants that grow in pots in my yard are looking decidedly the worse for wear. Yes, there is still a fair amount of greenery out there, but the flowers are all gone and there’s precious little sign that any more will come.

Well, I suppose “all gone” is not strictly true. There is a single blossom on one of the geraniums.
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(not) visionary poetry

This week I failed to celebrate two fairly important days.

Wednesday, 30th of September was International Translation Day, and Thursday, 1st of October was National Poetry Day in the UK. (I’ve mentioned before that I don’t understand why the UK has a different Poetry Day and a different Book Day from other countries, but I’m not going to chase that red herring today.)
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fruits of the earth

Autumn means different things to different people.

Summer is over and the sun has lost its strength, so every warm day seems like borrowed time and the chance to step out into the sunshine must be snatched whenever possible. Even in the twenty-first century, there’s still a feeling of Harvest Home: a desire to gather in and stock up, ready to weather the long winter ahead.
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let’s not talk about it

I’ve mentioned before that, despite the restrictions to normal life, I’ve been doing quite a lot of travelling on public transport recently. I’ve waited quietly at the station, keeping as far away as possible from other travellers and felt very much like Dick Turpin about to waylay a stagecoach or a highwayman about to hold up the mailtrain as I’ve pulled my mask over my face when the train approaches.

I don’t particularly like wearing a face mask, but I think it probably makes sense to do so, not just because it’s a legal requirement.
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