Monthly Archives: February 2022

Dressing gown days

Posted on 14th February 2022 by Ian

Bought in TK Maxx, it is hard to guess the original price of the dressing gown. Red, white, blue, yellow and black stripes, it reaches the calves and is invaluable on a February morning when the darkness outside offers no … Continue reading →

Posted in Unreliable memories | 5 Comments

A boy from the streets

Posted on 12th February 2022 by Ian

“Sid was a boy from the streets.” My mother recalled the conversation at her first meeting with my paternal grandmother some sixty-five years ago. My grandmother had been dismissive of my mother’s interest and had steered the conversation in another … Continue reading →

Posted in The stuff of daily life | Leave a comment

Watching the candidates

Posted on 10th February 2022 by Ian

Invigilation – do they still use that word? Invigilation always seemed a good word. People keeping vigil over you, it made them seem like protectors, guardians, rather than the stern figures charged with seeing that you did not contravene any … Continue reading →

Posted in Unreliable memories | Leave a comment

Falling down a hole

Posted on 9th February 2022 by Ian

The market research survey was on expenditure in health care. A question asked how much I had spent on prescription items the previous month. It then asked what medications would still be bought if the amount had to be cut … Continue reading →

Posted in The stuff of daily life | Leave a comment

Chewing gum and a football match

Posted on 8th February 2022 by Ian

The taste of spearmint sweets and all at once it is a Saturday afternoon. Chewing gum was, of course, banned from school. To have a packet of Wrigley’s was not considered as great an offence as having a packet of … Continue reading →

Posted in Unreliable memories | Leave a comment