A couple of weeks ago Douglas and I went to see the movie Hamnet, which is based on the book of the same name by Maggie O’Farrell. Hamnet was William Shakespeare’s only son who died of the bubonic plague aged 11. He contracted it after his twin, Judith, fell ill with it. In the film he lay next to her and asks God to spare her and take him instead. This is what happens, he dies and she recovers.
Tag Archives: Family
What will 2026 bring?
This monthly update was started a couple of days before the new year. I finalised it just after New Year’s Day, but took a few days to proofread it.
I find the period between Christmas and the new year to be rather melancholic. However, Christmas day was unique and very special as Rowan, Ben and four-month-old Ledger joined us for lunch. Of course, Ledger does not have much idea about what is going on, but it was a joy and delight to have the little boy present. He is as bright as a button and is beginning to smile and chuckle (although not at me yet!). He has turned into a little person very quickly and clearly has strong opinions.
The Draft is Finally Done
It is hard to believe that it is over six years since we first saw cases of COVID-19, although it was some months before we realised the enormity of the event. By March 2020 the world had entered a lockdown that was enforced with different levels of enthusiasm, restriction and periods depending on the country.
There were many dreadful consequences of the pandemic. But I will be the first to admit that I did not suffer as many people did. There was loss of livelihoods; deaths of family and friends; and psychological impacts, for many being cooped up in a flat or similarly small living space and not sharing significant events with others.
Theatre and Short Breaks
This somewhat meandering blog began in Paternoster, a small former fishing village on the Cape West Coast. My contribution to grandparenting is limited at this stage, so I decided to head for South Africa for a spell. As people who read this regularly know, I avoid Durban from January to April/May; it is just too hot and humid, so this was the last chance to visit for a while.
The dog days of August
A goal of my blogging is to not write too much that is personal. However, this month I must break that rule. A couple of weeks ago my daughter gave birth to her first child, and therefore our first grandchild. The boy and mother are doing well, and we have seen them briefly. This new life is quite miraculous. I had forgotten how tiny and fragile newborns are!
Warm by day and cool by night
The weather in Durban has been glorious, warm days (22-24°C) with cool nights. One bonus of this is there are few mosquitoes, which is unusual. What normally happens is I am just dropping off to sleep when there is a piercing hum in my ear. A mosquito, and it can’t be ignored. The little bastards are persistent, and action has to be taken. I have spray and mat to deter them. I had a friend and former colleague stay with me for just under a week. He is a good friend whom I have known for over 40 years. We played touch rugby with academics, trade unionists and people who wanted a good run around, once a week for many years. He and I did a couple of road trips which appear in blog archives (here and here).
Finally, the Memoir’s First Draft is Finished
In the last week of February, I finished the first draft of my memoir. It is nearly 90,000 words and has 15 chapters, but is far from complete. I must read it through a few more times and, ideally, get it to a professional editor.
I am not precious about having someone pull it apart constructively. I know how very helpful it can be! In 2008 I wrote the Very Short Introduction on HIV and AIDS for The Oxford University Press. When the manuscript came back from the editor there was not just a correction on every page but every paragraph. I felt offended thinking: ‘But I know how to write’.
Theatre and Books
It has been an intense month for international events, most emanating from North America. As I write it seems that there may be a trade war brewing thanks to the tariffs Trump’s government wants to impose on Canada, Mexico and China. Lenin is reputed to have said “there are decades when nothing happens, and then weeks when decades happen”. That is how January felt to me. I begin this blog with some reflections on the situation the world finds itself in. Then, because this is all quite depressing, and beyond my control, I will move on to events, books and other things that have made life in Norwich worthwhile.
At the end of the year
The Norwich Anglican Cathedral is massive, ancient, and central to the city. On Christmas eve it was absolutely packed for the 3.30 pm service and procession. Ailsa and I were early enough to get seats, albeit ones where all we could see of the procession were the tops of banners and the bishop’s mitre! Technology means I can share a link. The inability to see did not detract from the occasion.
As we move to the end of the year
Christmas is only a few weeks away and it is time for an update to my blog. I don’t want this to become purely a record of health issues, but I have had a rotten time recently.
The reality is that, as we age, ill-health becomes more likely and recovery is slower. I am, again, suffering from an abscess in the fleshy part of my backside. This is technically a peri-anal abscess, not, as I said to my shame at one consultation, a peri-natal abscess. It is a second instalment of the same malady that put me in hospital in Durban a year ago.1
Alan Whiteside 