Today marks the end – the early end – of my year of daily blogging. I am also taking something of a social media sabbatical. It feels like time for a break. Time to step back. Time for... Read more
As parents of little ones know, bedtime is a precious time. The perfect way to end the day with your perfect person. Stories. Snuggles. I love you Daddy. That desire for you to secure them, to look... Read more
It’s the start of the week and it’s good to feel more or less back to normal. I’m running at around 90% but that feels a million miles from how I felt over the last week or so. It... Read more
We’re getting there. Feeling brighter and stronger today. Not the same levels of pain or discomfort and a gradual feeling of all returning to normal. I have now spoken with many friends and... Read more
It’s deja vu. Another day; another blog post about not feeling great. Some progress today. More reading. More rest. A trip out – to fulfil a long-promised visit to the Lowry in Salford... Read more
Another short one today. Feeling a little better – only a little – but I am certainly feeling better than I felt this morning, when I felt awful. Lots of rest. Lots of ginger and decaf... Read more
This is going to be a short post today. I am under the weather. I’ve had this painful and recurring heartburn/chest pain for a few days which I took to the doctor’s this morning –... Read more
One of the things I learnt after my challenges – a lovely euphemism for ‘my breakdown’ – over recent times is to be clear about what makes you happy and what keeps you well and to do... Read more
Today’s biggest news story was to be found in the pages of The Daily Telegraph. Not the impending US Senate election in which a candidate endorsed by President Trump is accused by multiple... Read more
As regular readers of this blog will know, I have been teaching every Tuesday at Liverpool John Moores University (LJMU) – since September. We are approaching the end of the semester and the... Read more
I am a Liverpool Football Club fan. I am a fan of Jurgen Klopp. I know a decent amount about football – I have been watching it since I was five and talking about it, debating it. reading about... Read more
Even outside of the world of politics Michael Gove is famous for ending Boris Johnson’s leadership hopes after the Brexit referendum in one of the most dramatic u-turns in political history.... Read more
Three generations of Joneses got together for lunch today. It was a surprise treat that we were all in on, except my Dad, who turns 80 on new year’s eve, and was the target of the lunch treat.... Read more
I’ve always been something of a runner. Competing at school. Reasonably pacy at footie (first yard in the mind!). Running to keep fit as I got a little older. But today, a wonderful reminder of... Read more
For those of us who follow Irish politics north and south, there is very little about the last few days that surprised us. We have seen this all before. All too often. We know that language,... Read more
There have been days – just the odd one or two – during my year of daily blogging (we have just moved into month eight) when I would have liked a day off; a short break and for those... Read more
Depending on how you look at it, three years ago today was either the day I hit rock bottom or the day I started to turn my life around. Either way it didn’t feel like that at the time. It was a... Read more
…….of peace and goodwill to all men; of excited children’s faces when they realise that Santa has been; of the magic of the nativity story, handed down from generation to... Read more
It was a great way to end the week. Smiles of faces. Skip in step. Excited daughter. Proud Mum and Dad. Aoife was the week’s “Star of the week” in her pre-school, receiving a... Read more
Friendships are made up of all kinds of moments. Good and bad. Happy and sad. Big and small. Monumental and insignificant. It may be the time of year – we put up our Christmas tree tonight... Read more