Will Once's Blog, page 2

I don’t know you

I don’t know you. You are the product of all your life’s experiences. Of your parents. Your education. Where you live. What church you go to, if any. The politics you live by. The things you love, the things you hate. All of these things have made you what you are, just as all of…

Passing away

My mum died a few days ago. Of course, we don’t say “died”, do we? We say that she passed away. Or that she is no longer with us. Or that we have lost her. Or some other such fluffiness. But my mum was a plain talking lady. She never liked to mince words. So…

The hobby trap

There comes a time in a man’s life when he fancies … a little something that he doesn’t need. A little obsession that is going to cost him money for little outward gain. Something that his family might not understand. Something that is simultaneously frivolous and deadly serious. When I say “man”, I am not…

Invisible punctuation

Do you have an electric hedge? You see, it’s a family joke chez nous. Whenever we see “electric hedge trimmer”, the automatic question is …. “that would be very useful if we had an electric hedge.” This is not restricted to garden topiary. We could also buy an electric beard trimmer … for electric beards.…

R.I.P. Tech

A strange thing happened the other day. I was robbed but can’t call the police. I know who robbed me. I know when they robbed me and how they did it. And there is not a itsy bitty thing I can do about it. But before we get on to that, I’ve been thinking about…

Greece is the word

There are little gems hiding in the most unlikely of places. Right now if you wander into the search engine of Spotify and type in “Greece” you find a playlist of songs from … ahem … the movie Grease under the title of “Greece”. Forgive me if I am wrong, but the movie isn’t set…

I wish I was a Pip

I sometimes think about jobs I would have liked to have done. Superhero. Fireman. Policeman. International spy. Commander of the Felix Legions. You know the sort of thing. A job that you can casually drop into the conversation and the other person will nod appreciatively. A polar explorer? Now, that is interesting. Tell me more.…

Clothes maketh man

Sometimes – most times – change happens so slowly that you hardly notice it. That belt gets a little tighter. The barber finishes a little bit quicker. Politics gets a teensy bit more depressing and baffling. Changes stalks past us like a stealthy ninja. But then along comes a change so big and sudden that…

Fluff – part two

You never know where a story will take you. You lace up your trusty walking boots, stuff a mask in your pocket in case you should find a shop and throw open your front door. And then the time-old question – do you go North, South, West or East? That’s the question. Well, that’s one…

Fluff – part one

This is a true story. I would like to introduce you to an old friend. The picture above is the computer keyboard that I have been using for quite a few years. I’ve written at least six novels on this keyboard. Run a consultancy business. Written this blog. Played the occasional game of minecraft and…