These days there’s no excuse for oversleeping. You can set an alarm on your phone or bedside clock or even arrange for the phone to ring with a wakeup call. But what did people do before the widespread availability of watches, clocks and electricity? They used a ‘knocker upper’.  A common sight in British mining villages, […]

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I remember many years ago the agonising pain of being in a relationship that had broken down. There was nothing I could do to restore it. Then one day I received a text message with just the words ‘I miss you.’ Suddenly everything changed. A corner had been turned and now there was hope that […]

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Speaking about the security arrangements for the latest artwork installation at Blenhiem Place, Edward Spencer-Churchill declared, ‘It’s not going to be the easiest thing to nick.’ Sadly, he was proved wrong as the 18-carat gold toilet was stolen in the early hours of 14thSeptember 2019. The toilet, called ‘America’, was fully functional and visitors were […]

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Police Scotland recently tweeted, “September is preparedness month. Emergencies can happen at any time and it’s recommended to have a #GrabBag ready containing essential items including medication, copies of important documents, food/water, torch, radio and other personal items.” The tweet caused some concern with a number worried that it might cause unnecessary panic, not least with […]

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In a famous parable explaining God’s love for the world, Jesus told a story about two brothers, the younger of whom rejects his father, demands his inheritance early and then goes and blows the lot on wild parties. Finding himself reduced to feeding pigs he sets off home in the hope of re-entering the household […]

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This week I bought a rice cooker in preparation for my youngest daughter leaving home to begin her gap year in London. The outside of the box boasts about the benefits of the cooker – ‘two perfect portions’, ‘slow even cooking’, ‘space saving design’, ‘energy efficient’, and so it goes on. It makes it all […]

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I’ve never been a huge fan of visiting the dentist. Ten years at boarding school eating too many sweets took their toll. My teenage years were spent having countless fillings, and in the years since I’ve had a root canal done twice and an extraction. But things sank to yet another level when I left […]

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Sooner or later every loving parent discovers that caring for children leads to backache. This is for the simple reason that our children are smaller than we are and that in order to attend to their needs we must be constantly bending down to their level. It begins with changing nappies and lifting crying infants […]

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My son and I were playing Monopoly on the decking outside our holiday home, when a gust of wind picked up The Strand property card and dropped it neatly through a gap between two planks. Peering through the gap the card was clearly visible but out of reach. For a few moments we debated whether […]

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As a child I fancied myself as a bit of an escape artist, but sadly with not much success. My brother records one occasion on which I asked to be gagged, tied to a chair in my bedroom and left alone to free myself. Things didn’t go to plan. In my struggle to be free […]

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