life – The only man in the room

Dear Teddy

Today is my 41st birthday. When you woke up, you ran through to me in the kitchen with my birthday card. It was a lovely one, featuring a dinosaur. You were very excited for me to open it, even though I am not really sure you knew what it was for! You were also excited byContinue reading “Dear Teddy”

Transience

I’m sat in the sun with a foaming pint of ale in a handled, dimpled glass. And it’s bliss. A dozen or so metres away, people pass by, stepping onto or from the trains that make up our transport network. I’m at Lancaster Station on the West Coast Mainline and as I sit and reflect,Continue reading “Transience”

A love affair, pure and simple

Like all love affairs, it must come to an end. At 11am on Sunday 27 February 2022, after three and a half years of mostly joy, the end did come. Marcelo Bielsa has been relieved of his duties as Leeds United manager. Some, like Adrian Pope at BBC Radio Leeds suggest it should never haveContinue reading “A love affair, pure and simple”

Hello from your dad

Inspired by an idea that was once on a TV advert, I’ve set up an email account for Teddy and will occasionally send him thoughts and pictures. Here’s my first message, sent earlier today. Hello Teddy This is your first email from your dad. We’ve set up this account so that we can send youContinue reading “Hello from your dad”

Thanks

My last blog was particularly sad. It was written with tears in my eyes. For both my own benefit, and perhaps yours, I wanted to follow it with something brighter. We all know that a crisis is the true measure of any friendship, and what is clear from our experience is that we have someContinue reading “Thanks”

My reading for Tilly

Tilly’s funeral on Friday was a success – if that’s the right word. To be honest, it’s hard to know what to say, and it’s hard to find the right word or phrase. ‘Went well’ doesn’t seem quite right, ‘nice’ and ‘happy’ don’t reflect the sadness of the event and ‘ok’ is too lacking inContinue reading “My reading for Tilly”

The day(s) we say goodbye

Today is my daughter’s funeral. That’s a sentence you never want to write. Of all my experiences in life so far, saying goodbye to me daughter, has to be the worst. In fact, I really, genuinely hope that I don’t have to go through another thing as difficult and painful as this. And the worstContinue reading “The day(s) we say goodbye”

The only man in the room

Hello everyone. As you’ll notice, I’ve not blogged for some time. Previously, I largely blogged about my weight-loss journey (I’ll let you know if I ever find the right route for this), and the name of the blog reflected the gender-balance at weight-loss groups. I’ll likely blog about this again in the future, but nowContinue reading “The only man in the room”