This Island Life
Friday, March 12, 2010
THIS ISLAND LIFEMOST journalists (especially those of a sporting persuasion) issue opinions as a matter of course.
Normally they are quickly forgotten as the deathless prose is awarded its place of honour at the bottom of the budgie cage.
Friday, March 5, 2010
THIS ISLAND LIFEWHEN most people make mistakes at work, their failings usually become known only to their superiors and immediate colleagues.
Friday, February 26, 2010
THIS ISLAND LIFEIT all began when my dear wife decided the time had arrived to invest in a new kitchen. It ended seven days later with both of us going to bed dressed like Arctic explorers after the central heating packed in and frost began to form on the inside of the windows.
Friday, February 19, 2010
THIS ISLAND LIFEIN recent years the Island has produced a steady stream of sports performers who have gone on to make a name for themselves on the international stage.
Friday, February 12, 2010
THIS ISLAND LIFEI’M thinking of embarking upon a new career while the dim light of creativity still gutters and flickers.
It will involve a bit of writing but, as it will mean the production of only one or two words at a time, it shouldn’t present too much of a problem.
Friday, February 5, 2010
THIS ISLAND LIFEREMEMBER that classic Monty Python sketch, when a group of stereotypical Yorkshiremen are discussing the comparative extremes of penury they endured during their childhood?
Friday, January 29, 2010
THIS ISLAND LIFECONTRARY to the popular image of most men in the bus-pass age group, I am not averse to a bit of shopping.
I’m quite content to act as a pack mule for my wife and/or daughter as they traipse around various emporia — mostly of the clothing variety.
Friday, January 22, 2010
THE VIEW FROM HEREFOR several years a pedestal stood in the entrance to Brading Wax Works Museum, on the top of which was a little glass case.
Monday, January 18, 2010
ALL this snow makes those of a certain age feel like Arctic veterans. After all, we remember the ‘real’ deep freeze almost 50 years ago — and we never allow others to forget it.
Friday, January 8, 2010
THIS ISLAND LIFEWHEN you work among mainlanders for long enough, you realise just how quirky some of them believe the Island to be.
Friday, January 1, 2010
This Island LifeBrian ‘Grumpy’ Greening enters 2010 a perplexed and troubled man. It all started when he went to the dump (otherwise known as the civic amenity site) at Forest Road, Newport, to divest himself of two small cardboard boxes full of plasterboard off-cuts.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
THIS ISLAND LIFEIT all began a few months ago with the misspelling on the new gates at Whitwell ‘cemetry’ (sic). I mentioned in passing that my great uncle and aunt, Fred and Hilda Warne, lived in the village most of their lives — and the reminiscences began to flow in.
Friday, December 18, 2009
This Island LifeI’ve always considered myself privileged that my teenage years virtually spanned the Sixties, because, in so many respects, it was an extraordinarily vibrant and memorable decade.
Friday, December 11, 2009
THIS ISLAND LIFEI HAVE no idea what the Germans think of the British, but I suspect their opinion was confused by an episode in which I was involved with my old mate Mick Bull during a long weekend in Cologne.
Friday, December 4, 2009
THIS ISLAND LIFETHAT'S the trouble with council committee meetings. Few members of the public (if any) bother to attend, so there’s always the temptation for members to relax and become a little loose-lipped.