Tag Archives: Memoir

What will 2026 bring?

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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.

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The Draft is Finally Done

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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.

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Durban winter is the best time of the year

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I have just had 10 glorious weeks in Durban. I travelled over in mid-May and came back to the UK at the end of July. I barely left Durban during this period. The only trip from the city was to Hilton, just outside Pietermaritzburg for lunch with people who attended Waterford. Most were a year or two younger than me, and I had not seen some for more than 50 years. It affirmed the value of the Waterford education and values for all of us.

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Warm by day and cool by night

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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).

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Cool Nights and Warm Days

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May is one of the best months to be in Durban. The day-time temperature is in the low to mid-twenties, it is cool enough at night for a light blanket, and the days are gloriously sunny. Having said that, I recently started my day in a short sleeved light shirt and shorts, by lunchtime I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and trousers and wondering if a jersey might be necessary! Fortunately, the day warmed up.

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Summer is Starting

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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.’

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Finally, the Memoir’s First Draft is Finished

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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’.

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Spring Rains

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This is going to be a rather bitty blog post. Last week Durban had a few days of very welcome heavy rain. The weather fronts move up from the Cape, bringing rain, and the temperature falls. This last front was extreme. The main roads from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng were closed due to heavy snow. It must have been desperate for the many people who had to spend the night in their vehicles, and there were several deaths from hypothermia. We are just not geared up for this type of weather.

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Spring ends, damply

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I come to the end of another, personally, inconclusive month. This occasional blog provides me with both motivation and punctuation. When I review events and plan the post, I realise there are things that have been interesting, amusing, and noteworthy. So here goes.

On the 2nd May England went to the polls to elect local government representatives in some areas. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland did not have elections. We live in the district of Broadland just outside Norwich. The only election in our area was for the Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner. In nearby Norwich there were city council seats being contested, as well as the County Police and Crime Commissioner.

I am a card-carrying Liberal Democrat while Ailsa is a member of the Green Party. As there were no seats being contested in our ward Ailsa got very involved in the Green’s Norwich campaign, mainly delivering leaflets. I was happy to help as it was a productive way of getting a walk in. Some of her ‘rounds’ were long, but it was good exercise and, in the end, was worthwhile.

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Museums in Spring

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Spring is here. The days are longer; the crocuses have come and gone; the daffodils are out; there is blossom on many of the trees, indeed the first leaves are emerging; and it is slowly getting warmer. However, the welcome sunny days have been intermittent, the overwhelming feature has been grey and chilly periods. The temperature will rise in time.

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