Monthly Archives: October 2019

An ascetic life

Posted on 28th October 2019 by Ian

The village name means “the big island,” looking at a BBC aerial photograph of the village in the winter of 2014, a picture showing the village surrounded by flood water that isolated it for five weeks, it is not hard … Continue reading →

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Batten down the hatches

Posted on 20th October 2019 by Ian

At the end of each summer, my mother would say, “it’s time to batten down the hatches.” Battening down the hatches meant putting away everything that was not needed over the winter months and firmly securing everything that might be … Continue reading →

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Story times

Posted on 14th October 2019 by Ian

Asked to sit and read quietly, most Year 7 students will take out the same reading book they have had for weeks, or simply sit and stare into nothingness: reading does not seem to capture the imagination. Perhaps there is … Continue reading →

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By boat to Ilchester

Posted on 8th October 2019 by Ian

“Bradshaw’s Canals and Navigable Rivers of England and Wales” handbook was an attempt at reviving the fortunes of canals at a time when they had long been superseded by the railways, even the ownership of many of the canals lay … Continue reading →

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No need for a map

Posted on 5th October 2019 by Ian

There wasn’t really a need to put the name of the Italian restaurant into Google Maps. It is in Ilchester and it would be possible to drive to Ilchester from here on a dark, foggy night with the headlights turned … Continue reading →

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