Martyn OffordFeb 194 minFebruary 19th Having a Spiky BallOnce in 2020 there was that balmy golden age of early lockdown when we were all going to maintain laudable regimes of fitness, personal d...
Martyn OffordFeb 104 minFebruary 10th The Only Goth in the VillageAt last a jewel of a morning – a sky of sapphire blue and crystals of frost and snow crunching underneath. The puddles were frozen and th...
Martyn OffordFeb 24 minFebruary 2nd In Search of the Right Leg of VenusToday I found myself talking to a tea towel. The burden of the conversation went something like this: “Is it absolutely essential for you...
Martyn OffordJan 264 minJanuary 25th Toboggan or not TobogganI was delighted to wake up Saturday morning to snow. I realise that not everyone shares my enthusiasm for it. There are some who find tha...
Martyn OffordJan 215 minJanuary 21st Biden, Bog People and MeFor much of yesterday we watched the Presidential Inauguration of Joe Biden. American patriotic ceremonies of this sort I always find mov...
Martyn OffordJan 163 minJanuary 16th Wincing and Mincing with the VikingsI had a particularly thoughtful shower this morning. It was particularly thoughtful because the alternative would have been to have been ...
Martyn OffordJan 114 minJanuary 11th The Brittleness of PoppadomsFor our American readers, the story so far. Our local police force has achieved some national notoriety for the excessive zeal with whic...
Martyn OffordJan 63 minJanuary 6th A Few EpiphaniesWhat shocks me most at the moment is the discrepancy between the awful National News and a walk out onto the local hills and through the w...
Martyn OffordJan 33 minJanuary 3rd Outwitting JanuaryTry as I might, I can never get a grip on January. Every Spring, Summer, even Autumn, even during that limbo week between Christmas and N...
Martyn OffordJan 14 minDecember 31st New Year’s EveThe old year is on the turn and ailing away into a pale evening sky. All our attempts at plotting a way of celebrating have been sent fly...
Martyn OffordDec 23, 20203 minDecember 23rd God of Men and Elves“Ye have seen his Natal Star,” the Angels proclaim from their Realms of Glory. And so have we. Three days before Christmas we wandered up...
Martyn OffordDec 21, 20203 minDecember 21st Having a Neolithic MomentJust for tonight I have turned pagan. I’ll touch up my woad, brush off my mammoth skin and rehearse my shamanic skills by the light of th...
Martyn OffordDec 17, 20203 minDecember 17th Ding Merrily DongYesterday I got up early with an exciting day awaiting. A real outing! Ok it was only to Alfreton to a Diabetic Eye Screening, but so con...
Martyn OffordDec 15, 20204 minDecember 15th A Star Without a PointOne of the few joys of this time of year is that I can watch a sunrise without having to rise too early myself. In the summer I have to r...
Martyn OffordDec 10, 20202 minDecember 10th Lights and Letter BoxesThink back to a baking summer in 2016 when we are having our sunroom built, a remarkable instance of forward thinking occurred. It was de...
Martyn OffordDec 8, 20202 minDecember 8th An Old School SongEvery day is a significant anniversary of something. Florence Nightingale and Beethoven must have been very disappointed that Covid preve...
Martyn OffordDec 3, 20202 minDecember 3rd Systole and DiastoleToday I’m sitting listening to rain on the roof and imagining the mud rising and yesterday’s sunshine flowing away. There won’t be a lot ...
Martyn OffordDec 1, 20203 minDecember 1st Dunkirk, DunCaring, Dun-inAbove is an example of the witty word-play Deirdre and I indulge in when out walking. Today as we conquered High Tor above Matlock it was...
Martyn OffordNov 30, 20203 minNovember 30th Lighten our Darkness we Beseech TheeIn Helsinki we were once told, alcoholism and suicide rates have increased during the dark winter days since global warming has resulted ...
Martyn OffordNov 29, 20203 minNovember 29th On Becoming Mutants.“Dog bites man,” “Man bites dog.” This is a common example to show how word order can determine meaning. Doing on-line Yoga this morning ...