Archives

  • East or West?

    My wife is Swedish and for almost 40 years I have been travelling to and from Sweden. Sometimes several times a year and occasionally a year or two with no visits. Short period stays for a few weeks up to one period where we lived and worked in the country for 2 years. It has

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  • Whilst in Sweden visiting family my wife planned to visit a relative in another town, Ulricehamn. It is situated at the north end of Åsunden lake, about 100km east of Gothenburg, Sweden’s second largest city. The idea popped into my head that rather than jump in the car what about running there instead and then

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  • The other day I sat outside for a couple of hours and just enjoyed being. The late summer sunshine was warming but not so much that it became uncomfortable. There was a freshness to the little wind that there was which gently made it’s presence known in the rustling of the trees. There was no

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  • City of Many Faces

    There are many great world cities each with their own character and peculiarities. All shaped by its history and people. To spend several weeks or months in any metropolis leaves a lasting impression from the particular time visited. One such place for me is Calcutta (now named Kolkata) in West Bengal, India.  My first visit

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  • Valley Thoughts

    Over almost the last decade my wife and I have made several visits to the lovely French town of Chamonix and the valley named after it. Situated at the foot of Mt. Blanc, the Aiguille du Midi at 3,842m towers over the town. You need to crane your neck to see it. The valley on

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  • Over the years part of my journey has been to learn some basics of the languages in the countries where I have worked. My schoolboy French was useful when I spent time in the south of France. It surprises me to think that for a time I was even reading from a French Bible.  Living

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  • Come in Number 6!

    In an earlier post I related some of my flying training with the University Air Squadron. One of the perks was that once or twice a year cadet pilots went on camps to Royal Air Force (RAF) bases. You could be assigned to operational squadrons for a week or two. It was often a time

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  • As with most technologies they can be used for both good and bad purposes. When the printing press was invented ideas were disseminated at a hitherto unprecedented rate. It aided the spread of the Bible and good books that have been a blessing to mankind as well as propaganda for wars and revolutions. Earlier tools

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  • They say getting to the start line is half the battle. In these pandemic times especially so as nothing could be taken for granted. Added to that about 10 days before I experienced back pain. I could walk but not run so it really played on me whether I could take part. Now think it

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  • Ready to Go

    Getting ready for the big day (and night) tomorrow! It was 10 years ago I first ran the West Highland Way. I told myself that main thing is to finish. However my competitive spirit (mostly against myself) planned to do it in 28 hours. Then and in subsequent races I have never achieved this. The

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