I’ve never forgotten the day I walked into a remote village, high in the mountains of Lesotho in Southern Africa. A small boy about 3 or 4 years old took one look at me, burst into tears, ran to his father and hid behind him, burying his face in his legs. This was not exactly the reception I had been … Read More

I love the scene in CS Lewis’s book, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, in which Lucy runs into the wardrobe to hide from her siblings. They have been having enormous fun playing their game, and as Lucy pushes to the back of the wardrobe she faces the door certain that there can be nothing behind her. But to … Read More

Built in 1965 the BT Tower was for some 15 years the tallest building in London, open to the public with viewing galleries, a souvenir shop and a revolving restaurant. Bizarrely, however, because it housed sensitive communications equipment it was designated an official secret – no one was really supposed to know it was there, and for thirty years it … Read More

Returning to the changing room, after a relaxing sauna and Jacuzzi, I was dismayed to discover that my locker key was not in the pocket of my swimming trunks where I always put it. There was only one place it could be – it must have floated out of my pocket while I was in the Jacuzzi and now be … Read More

As I kid I used to love being taken to the theatre by my mum. I particularly liked messing around with the opera glasses – small binoculars that allowed you to see the stage more clearly; especially if you were way back in the cheap seats as we usually were! Used properly the glasses bring the action on the stage … Read More

Some years ago a homeless gentleman turned up on the doorstep of one of Britain’s YMCA’s. Disheveled and smelling to high heaven he sat in the doorway and sheltered from the rain. The following day he appeared again and took up the same position, and then the day after that. Soon the staff became accustomed to his presence, and despite … Read More

I wonder how you might be feeling now that Christmas is fast becoming a distant memory and the credit card bills are on their way? A few years ago we gave my youngest daughter a gift for Christmas – she tore off the wrapping paper to reveal a large colourful box, which she opened… to reveal another smaller box… which … Read More

In 2013 intrepid aviator Tracey Curtis Taylor flew a 1940’s bi-plane from Cape Town, South Africa to Goodwood, England. It was a flight not without mishap and adventure. Coming in to land in Uganda she was informed by the control tower that a passenger plane was coming in behind her and that she must abort her landing and make a … Read More