I normally make notes for my monthly post jotting down interesting or unusual events from life or world news. This month I pondered my opening paragraph and decided to begin by talking about ‘the yips’. It is a phrase I have not heard in an age. In one of his more bizarre statements Donald Trump referred to peoples’ responses to his curious policies as ‘getting the yips’. The Miriam-Webster dictionary defines it as ‘a state of nervous tension affecting an athlete (such as a golfer) in the performance of a crucial action.’

This is an unusual term that I have applied to myself. Effectively one messes up an action such as a putt or service, which is normally second nature. In my case it was serving at squash: I would throw the ball up, take a wild swipe and miss it completely. It was frustrating and embarrassing. My solution was to negotiate two goes at serving, I would say ‘practicing’ on the first go and then ‘serving’ once I had had my ‘yip’. Fortunately, my regular partners were accommodating of this foible. It is humbling to remember this weakness; not a story I have thought of recently.

That brings me to my memoir/autobiography which has been simmering for a long time. I am extremely fortunate to have had excellent feedback. The best advice (and most complicated) is to think carefully about the style in which I am writing. The first draft was a very straightforward chronological account of my family and my life to the age of 24. It might be interesting to family and friends but not beyond that. I have been given some valuable ideas on how to reframe it and am keen to try them. I have also attended some outstanding workshops run by the National Centre for Writing, which is conveniently in Norwich at Dragons Hall.

I decided to divide my life into two volumes, the first goes up to my taking a job in Botswana. The current one is nearing completion, but will need professional editing. The second will focus on themes: work, colleagues, friends, countries, politics, sport and so on. There is little controversial in the first, the second may have to use pseudonyms and perhaps even disguise some people and events. Maybe there should be two versions for volume two: the public one and another that can be published and distributed when I am dead and gone!

The weather in Norwich is glorious: warm and sunny. I sit in my office with the door wide open. I scatter mealworms in the garden just outside to attract the blackbirds, and indeed any birds, I don’t discriminate. Mind you magpies, ravens and crows are not that welcome as they are large, loud, boisterous and discourage the smaller varieties. It still gets cold in the evenings, but we have a couple more months when the hours of daylight will increase. A few days ago, I woke up and saw it was light and sunny. I nearly got up and began my day. Fortunately, I looked at the clock and saw it was only 5:40, not 6:40. This would not have been the first time I made this mistake.

I have mentioned before that having a bus pass, as well as a bus stop less than 50 meters from the front door, and a regular service means going into the city is a relatively costless activity. On Monday I intended to get a dozen eggs and fruit and vegetables from a stall at the market, visit the library, and have a cappuccino and chat with the staff at my favourite coffee shop in Norwich: St Giles Pantry. Of course, I did everything but get the eggs, and as I had set off with the empty egg boxes in my bag it was annoying. It seems lists need to be part of future trips.

The market in Norwich is one of the oldest and largest outdoor markets in the UK, with nearly 200 stalls. When I first visited it as a student, over 50 years ago, the majority of the stalls sold fresh produce. Today the preparation and sale of food is the chief occupation. The range of cuisines is remarkable. I occasionally meet Rowan for lunch and recently we have been patronizing the Indian and Chilean stalls, but there are plenty more to choose from. The only issue is there are not many places to sit, so inclement weather can be a challenge.

At the top of the market, opposite the City Hall, are memorial gardens designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens (1869 to 1944) after the First World War. There is a huge open area underneath these: vaults or an undercroft. These were used for storage by market traders. When I walked past I noticed it had been turned into an exhibition area and went in. The space is amazing, a long, spacious and very light room. There was an exhibition curated by Shelter. The organization was formed in 1966 in response to the massive housing crisis and ‘to speak for the millions of ‘hidden homeless’ living in overcrowded slums’ in the UK.

The exhibition was sobering; one memorable part was in the middle of the floor. It was what a homeless person expects to carry with them all the time. This included a rucksack, sleeping bag, mat and food. In Norwich most homeless people live in the city sleeping in the doorways, but there are some who camp in an area known as Train Wood next to the river. Access to safe and clean housing is something most people take for granted, but as Shelter points out it can be precarious.

As I initially wrote this Canada was going to the polls and the results being counted and declared. The turnaround of the Liberal Party has been quite remarkable. In July 2022 the Liberals trailed the Conservatives in the polls, the largest gap was in January 2025 when the Liberals stood at 20.1% and the Conservatives at 44.8%. The last poll before the election suggested the Liberals had 42.8% and the Conservatives 39.2%. It has been a quite astonishing reversal in fortune.

The next government will be formed by Mark Carney and the Liberals, but it is not a majority government. There can be no doubt that the bizarre interventions by Donald Trump played a huge role in this victory: calling Canada the 51st state, Justin Trudeau (the last Liberal party leader) the Governor and talking up the Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre, was a real kiss of death for them. It seems Trump is serious in his territorial ambitions, wanting to take over Greenland and have Canada merge with the USA, as the junior partner.

There are imminent local government elections in the UK, unusually the first round is on the 1st May and the second on the 15th. Ailsa (with some small help from me) has been delivering Green Party leaflets and canvassing in a couple of areas. I am happy to deliver because I consider that to be a way to add purpose to walking, but I won’t canvass. There was also one parliamentary by-election. The commentators here are predicting that two, three or even four party politics are a thing of the past. The consensus is there will have to be coalitions and alliances.