Jack Scott's Blog, page 27
December 31, 2020
The Lost Year
Come the stroke of midnight we’ll warm the last of the mince pies on the top of the wood burner and pop open the fizz, not to see in the new year but to make damn sure the old one leaves. Let’s hope 2021 brings a return to normality and I can symbolically remove the … Continue reading The Lost Year →
December 26, 2020
Top of the Pansy Pops 2020
What a year. Who would have predicted that 2020 would have brought a pandemic to strike us down and trash the global economy? Unsurprisingly, the coronavirus dominated the pansy charts this year. And there was death too but not because of the virus. Professionally, I lost a fellow author in a horrific murder and, personally, … Continue reading Top of the Pansy Pops 2020 →
December 19, 2020
Christmas Cheer from a Fine City
Let’s face it, 2020 has been a tough gig for everyone but I think I spot a dim light at the end of the tunnel. So time for a little festive cheer from Norwich, a fine city, as they say.
December 12, 2020
Staying Safe
Just because we can doesn’t mean we should. We usually fit in a jolly to the big city just before Christmas to see family. But not this year. Instead we’ll be hunkering down and staying put. My old girl will be one of the first in line for the vaccine as it’s rolled out, so … Continue reading Staying Safe →
December 5, 2020
Cheers from Chedgrave
Liam and I enjoy a tipple or three and we’re all for supporting local businesses. So to celebrate the end of the latest lockdown, we’ve combined both passions with a few bottles of Chet Valley wine from our local vineyard, supplied by our local farm shop, Cannell’s. Cheers! Postscript After the original post went out, … Continue reading Cheers from Chedgrave →
November 28, 2020
What’s in a Name?
The twin villages of Loddon and Chedgrave have ancient roots. Both are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086, that great asset register commissioned by that great asset stripper, William the Conqueror. Bill the Bastard wanted to know how much tax he could squeeze out of his newly acquired kingdom. The earliest written mention of …
November 21, 2020
Testing, Testing 1-2-3
By chance and completely at random, we were invited to participate in a national COVID-19 research study being run jointly by the Office for National Statistics and Oxford University. The aim is to track a large cohort of people from different ages, backgrounds and regions for a year to follow the progress of the virus. … Continue reading Testing, Testing 1-2-3 →
November 14, 2020
Gone Fishing
The wettest October since the Great Flood finally gave way to crisp brightness, and so to prevent the second lockdown becoming more of a lock-in, Liam pushed me out of the front door for a Sunday morning constitutional. We ventured along the Wherryman’s Way to the River Chet, past booted dog-walkers, a catch of socially … Continue reading Gone Fishing →
November 7, 2020
A Trip Down Malaysian Memory Lane
In 2016, I wrote a little piece about my semi-colonial life as a forces child in Malaysia back in the swinging sixties. The post – Reflections of an Army Brat – featured a blurry old black and white image I found online of Mountbatten Primary School, the school I attended. It started quite a conversation … Continue reading A Trip Down Malaysian Memory Lane →
October 31, 2020
Smoke-free by Thirty
I’m a dedicated and sometimes not very subtle eavesdropper. When we were travelling on the London Tube a few weeks back, two hipster types were sitting opposite chatting away. Naturally, I listened in. ‘Called the doctor today to get my hands on some Champix. I really need to quit the fags. He asked me if … Continue reading Smoke-free by Thirty →
