Barrie's Podcast

“I don’t like funerals” alongside “I don’t like hospitals” are two comments that I often hear. These comments always make me cringe, and I always feel like responding with “Does anyone?”, but I usually manage to bite my lip and smile. It is a truism that none of us like to dwell on illness and death, but both are a fact of life that we mostly conveniently ignore until it hits us when we are least prepared.

© Barrie Mahoney 2023

Join me on Facebook: @barrie.mahoney

To find out more about Barrie and his books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/

One of the many joys in my life is writing and hopefully sharing some joy and maybe amusement with others, be it in written or audio form. I have always written and, later when I became a teacher, I did my best to encourage my pupils to write too, not only for themselves, but for others. As a young teacher, I remember encouraging pupils to “Think about the audience that you are writing for.” Later in life, with more experience, I realised that the most successful writing often comes from writing for yourself; if others enjoy it too, then that’s a bonus.
© Barrie Mahoney 2023

Join me on Facebook: @barrie.mahoney

To find out more about Barrie and his books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/

One of the many delights of living in the Canary Islands and Spain is the enjoyment of a huge range of wines that are readily and cheaply available. Although wine snobs will no doubt disagree, bottles of good quality, drinkable wines are always readily available for less than five euros. As well as a growing selection of excellent Canarian wines that I always enjoy, my reliable standby, particularly when visiting the UK, is always a Spanish Rioja.
© Barrie Mahoney 2023

To find out more about Barrie and his books, please click here

Join me on Facebook: @barrie.mahoney

The cost of living and energy crisis are having a devastating impact upon many families in the UK. My mind turns to refugee families, currently living in hotels and elsewhere whilst their claims for asylum are being processed and I wonder how they cope with many often-unrecognised issues that they must be facing. I wonder how they manage to keep clean, to wash and dry their clothes? Presumably many attempt to deal with their laundry in the bath or sink of a hotel room? What about drying and airing clothes? It must be a nightmare for families with babies and young children to care for.

 © Barrie Mahoney 2023

To find out more about Barrie and his books, please click here

Join me on Facebook: @barrie.mahoney

Will you remember to put the clocks forward one hour? Sadly, I completely forgot to attend to this bi-annual nonsense last time, but thanks to my smartphone and watch it was done automatically, and so there was no need to be concerned. My laptop and other devices all managed to adjust to the new time too. It was only a few years ago when the first part of the day would be spent adjusting the time on clocks and watches. Do you remember those annoying car clocks? I never did bother to change mine and worked on the basis that they would be correct for at least six months of the year, so why bother?
© Barrie Mahoney 2023

To find out more about Barrie and his books, go to: http://barriemahoney.com/

I felt a sudden rush of excitement when I read a recent report that chocolate may be one of the best remedies for dealing with a nasty cough. Forget all those revolting cough syrups, but simply suck chocolate. Now this is the cure that I do approve of, but does it work?
© Barrie Mahoney 2023

You can find out more about Barrie and his books by clicking here 

I winced when I heard the BBC’s business correspondent being asked about the current shortages of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. “Is it anything to do with Brexit?” asked the news presenter.

“It’s all to do with the weather, nothing to do with Brexit”, came the earnest reply. I knew then that we were hearing the BBC/Tory Government’s official line, which has nothing to do with facts or accuracy of information. I knew it was time to change channels, which is becoming increasingly frequent nowadays. After all, no one can accuse the BBC of not being government biased, can they?
© Barrie Mahoney 2023

This podcast was written and is read by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author by clicking here

My goodness, staff working in charity shops in Devon are a picky lot! They certainly know how to stick their noses into the air, and reject items offered to them. I wonder if this is the same throughout the country? I hope not, because many good quality items that could be of use to someone will end up in landfill.

© Barrie Mahoney 2023

This article is part of the book 'Travelling Hopefully' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

Travelling Hopefully

After many years living and working in Spain and the Canary Islands, Barrie and his partner David return to start a new life in the UK. Challenges that they had not expected were waiting for them; Covid lockdowns, political and health challenges were just the start of it. The UK had shifted significantly to the right of politics, more jingoistic, flag waving, suspicious and unwelcoming of ‘foreigners’ and had become more divisive and inward-looking following Brexit. The UK was in an identity crisis.

This book, part of the Letters from the Atlantic series, is a humorous account, comparing Barrie’s life in Spain and the Canary Islands to his new life in the UK. It is hoped that this book will be of help to those considering a new life in Europe, as well as those returning to the UK.

© Barrie Mahoney 2023

This article is part of the book 'Travelling Hopefully' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here

After many years living and working in Spain and the Canary Islands, Barrie and his partner David return to start a new life in the UK. Challenges that they had not expected were waiting for them; Covid lockdowns, political and health challenges were just the start of it. The UK had shifted significantly to the right of politics, more jingoistic, flag waving, suspicious and unwelcoming of ‘foreigners’ and had become more divisive and inward-looking following Brexit. The UK was in an identity crisis.

This book, part of the Letters from the Atlantic series, is a humorous account, comparing Barrie’s life in Spain and the Canary Islands to his new life in the UK. It is hoped that this book will be of help to those considering a new life in Europe, as well as those returning to the UK.

© Barrie Mahoney 2023

This article is part of the book 'Travelling Hopefully' by Barrie Mahoney. 

You can find out more about the author and this book by clicking here