Monday 20 May 2019. What a weekend! Thursday to London Seminary. Friday delivered 3 bioethics lectures. Saturday chased Mr Bunyan around Bedford. Sunday witnessed our eldest grandchild, Esther (aged 15), and her father, Simeon, being baptised at Monyhull Church, Birmingham. Soli Deo Gloria.
Friday 17 August 2018. While my
dirty, polluting, petrol-guzzling Renault Clio was in the
repair garage, I was lent an eco-friendly, electric Renault
Zoe. What fun and a taste of the future when we shall
all be driving such two-pedal, silent cars. I was
impressed - how the milk float has advanced.
Tuesday 7 August 2018. The
Brumettes (Esther 15, Rachel 13 and Naomi 11) are with us for
the week. Yesterday, we climbed Pen Dinas and swam in
the sea off South Beach in Aberystwyth. Today, an early
start to climb Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales (1,085
metres or 3,560 feet). It was a 2.25-h drive there,
then a 3.5-h ascent (via the Llanberis path), a 1-h lunch and
photographs at the summit, a 3-h descent, plus a 2.25-h drive
back. We were bushed. There was 100% mist going
up, but the sun came out on the way down. Lovely
all-round experience. Tomorrow, Machynlleth market then
crabbing in Aberystwyth harbour.
Saturday 14 July 2018. Out
fishing in
Cardigan Bay
for the first
time this year
- calm, blue,
bright and
hot.
Caught 8
mackerel to
eat with the
first of our
runner beans
and black
cherries from
the
tree.
This is
summer.
Friday 13 July 2018. Up
at 06.00 and
out by 07.00
to the harbour
to launch Lazy
Lady - all
calm and
lovely.
Hoping for
some serious
fishing during
the next few
weeks.
Wednesday
27 June
2018. The
current heatwave hit a peak this afternoon - the mercury
rose to a staggering 39ºC by our backdoor. Some
cooling rain would be nice.
Tuesday
19 June
2018. Caught
the 05.30 milk train to London to arrive at Euston at
10.13. I had a meeting from 11.00 to 14.30.
Then it was the 15.43 train back to Aber at 20.20.
A new adventure!
Friday
15 June
2018.
Romeo and Juliet at the Royal Shakespeare
Company's
theatre at
Stratford-upon-Avon.
Thrilling,
gripping and
at times
frightening -
what a
wonderful
production
despite the
modern dress
and some trans
characters.
Saturday
26 May
2018.
Renovating a tired lawn - over the last 10
days, I've
scarified,
fertilized,
mowed,
over-seeded
and
top-dressed
it. It
now looks
awful, but in
a week or two
it should look
lush, like
Wimbledon
centre
court.
Thunderstorms
are forecast
for tomorrow -
excellent,
just on time.
Tuesday
8 May
2018. Finished painting
Tyrolean end wall of the house with two coats of
Weathershield masonry paint - 8 litres in total, up a
ladder, for 3.5 hours each coat. Phew!
Friday
27 April
2018. Today marks 50 years since the
Abortion Act
1967 came into
force – since
then, there
have been
almost 9
million
abortions in
Great Britain.
Friday 13 April 2018. A day in London. Free concert at St James's Church, Piccadilly by the Solem Quartet (Haydn and Bartók - wonderful), Charles 1: King and Collector exhibition at the Royal Academy (OK, a bit dull) and dinner at Bentley's Oyster Bar & Grill (nice, but overpriced).
Friday 6 April 2018. The
first grass
cutting of the
year - despite
the cold
Spring, this
is about the
usual time to
get out the
Flymo.
Friday 30 March 3018. At last
the Prunus
nigra has flowered,
albeit sparsely thanks to a
pair of hungry bullfinches -
this is the latest date ever
for our tree. Could that
be because of global cooling?
Wednesday 21 March 2018. Collected a Renault Megane
replacement key for the
one we lost somewhere, sometime. It cost an
eye-watering £217.83 - that won't happen
again.
Tuesday 20 March 2018. The
Spring equinox, when the
length of day and
night are equal, and
it's goodbye to winter and
hello to spring. It was
-2.5ºC
here this morning, but that is
irrelevant.
Monday 5 March 2018. Our way out, the
A44 between Aberystwyth and
Llangurig, has been impassable
for the last four days - the
snow drifts were cleared last
night. We've returned to
'civilisation'.
Friday
23 February
2018. Today I have painted the top of my desk with floor paint
(yes, it's
brilliant
stuff) and
replaced the
valve
cartridge in
the shower
(slightly
tricky, but
gratifying) -
the triumphs
of DIY.
Monday
12 February
2018. The Big
Clearance begins - long overdue,
we have bitten the bullet by
sorting, saving or shedding 40
years of household 'stuff'
including toys, clothes,
electronics and pure junk, even
my fishing rod and reel that I
bought when I was ten years old.
Monday
1 January
2018. A
happy New Year
to all my (few
and special)
readers.
My cold is
abating, the
sun is out and
a pheasant has
just strutted
up our garden
- a happy New
Year indeed!
Monday 25 December 2017. Oh no, not again! I have started a cold on Christmas Day. This time, despite the malady, we have eaten well, with thankfulness.
Friday
22 December
2017. Wendy's big
Christmas present arrives - a tumble
dryer. Our house is now looking
even more like a Bosch showroom with
five such big German appliances in the
garage and three in the kitchen. Bitte schön.
Wednesday 6 December
2017. Two
men from Carpetright came and laid vast expanses of
beige carpet throughout about half of the house.
It looks gorgeous. But now it’s shoes off at the
front door and all eats/drinks in the dining room -
well, for a couple of months.
Monday 20 November 2017. Mr
Oil came early this morning. 1,500 litres for
£691.43 - considerably more than last time, but that was
21 months ago. We're now dreaming of a warm, white
Christmas!
Wednesday 8 November
2017. First
frost of the autumn/winter. It was -1.0ºC
this morning, but wonderfully sunny. The
long-range forecast is for an Arctic winter.
Wednesday 4 October 2017. 'The length of our
days is seventy years ...' (Psalm 90:10). Yes indeed,
today mine are. And I am
both content and thankful.
Wednesday 20 September 2107. After 13 years, my last day sitting on the magistrates'
bench. As everyone knows, those approaching 70 are
quite incapable of making sound judgements.
Tuesday 19 September 2017.
After CT scans, multiple tests and numerous
examinations, Wendy was discharged from Bronglais
Hospital. She is OK, dog-tired, but cheerful. The
headaches and aphasia continue but the former are
readily controllable (paracetamol) and the latter is
improving.
Friday 15 September 2017. Yesterday, while I
was lecturing at the Wilberforce Academy, Cambridge, Wendy
had a sudden headache and lost her speech and
comprehension. When we arrived back at Aberystwyth we
went straight to A&E and the diagnosis was an aneurysm
in an artery of her brain.
Monday 21 August 2017. An unusual purchase today - a bath and
taps. Yes, that old cast-iron bath is finally
going to be replaced by a sleek Carronite model with
smart Bristan taps and a cute pop-up waste.
Friday 11 August 2017.
Just back from a jolly week with the family (8 adults and 8
children) at a farm cottage (sleeps 22) in the Brecon
Beacons. The area, quite unknown to us, is scenically
beautiful.
Tuesday 1 August 2017. Ordered a new carpet for the hall, lounge,
landings and stairs. It will be fitted in October,
after the bathroom has been renovated. Is there no end
to home improvements?
Saturday 29 July 2017. Exactly
45 years ago we were married. We celebrated in the Crickhowell area by
climbing Table Mountain and staying at the Gliffaes Country
House Hotel - wonderful grounds, decent food.
Friday 14 July 2017. Sent off my driving licence application
form (confusing and ambiguous) for the over-70s together
with my old green licence (issued in 1977) and a truly awful
mugshot.
Saturday 1 July 2017. The
pictures have been rehung, the doors have handles again, the
sockets and light switches are back on the walls and two new
smoke alarms have been installed. Now onto the lounge!
Monday 26 June 2017. Ah,
the joys of home decorating. The repairing and preparing
and painting of just the hall and two landings have taken 3
weeks - those architraves, window frames, balustrades, skirting
and ten doors. Soon be over!
Friday 9 June 2017. At long last we have a replacement for our written-off Clio. It's another Clio, same shape, same colour, just with more updated gismos. The registration is CV10 NLC to be remembered as Naomi Likes Cake.
Monday 5 June 2017. To London, despite the
terrorist attack on London Bridge two days
ago. Now a subdued city. A National
Gallery tour with Gayna Pelham - the best so
far. Dinner at Clos Maggiore (advertised
as the most romantic restaurant in London) - one
of the best so far.
Thursday 1 June 2017.
The official
start of Summer. Today we joined the 21st
century and installed a dishwasher. I have
mixed feelings - I shall miss the nightly
post-dinner tryst with my wife as she washed and
I dried and put away!
Wednesday 24 May 2017. Ran to Jones' drive and back in 25 minutes and 15 seconds - a new target to beat. I've not run this route for 7 whole months and now I'm just 7 seconds slower.
Wednesday 17 May 2017.
Back to my
young ways - twice round the village in 11
minutes 56 seconds, a BMI of 21.98 and a weight
of 11 stone 3 pounds. Some times I feel
like Benjamin Button.
Saturday 22 April
2017. My
first run since 22 December, 4 months ago.
Once round the village in 6 minutes and 5
seconds - very pleased with that as a decent
baseline on which to improve.
Saturday 15 April 2017. My Easter present, a Flymo
hover lawnmower - a replacement for a
17-year-old model which 'died' last week.
I really wanted a ride-on mower - maybe next
time!
Monday 3 April 2017. To London - Apollon Musagète
Quartet (Haydn and Arensky) lunchtime concert at
the Wigmore Hall - wonderful. Three seats
along was a student I taught at University 30
years ago. Then to Tate Britain for the David
Hockney exhibition - mixed. Finally
to Pollen Street Social for dinner - superb and
great fun.
Monday 20 March 2017. Our very useful Renault Clio was written off today - a young driver rammed me nearside at an Aberystwyth roundabout. Thankfully no-one was injured, but it was not the jolly First Day of Spring I had hoped for.
Thursday 16 March
2017. A
musical evening with the National Orchestra of
Wales and Simone Lamsma playing Mendelssohn's
violin concerto in E minor - superb.
Wednesday 15 March 2017. A spring day - I mowed the
grass for the first time this year.
Saturday 11 March
2017. After a three-month break due to
illness, I'm back swimming on Saturday mornings - a
cautious 10 lengths for starters.
Wednesday 1 February 2017. The Prunus nigra flowered - neither early nor late. Perhaps global warming is neither here nor there.
Tuesday 17 January
2017. Message
from JustGiving, 'John, you were in the top 5%
of fundraisers for 2016. Well done on
raising so much for your cause.'
Monday 9 January 2017.
At last,
emerging from a two-week humongous cold having
sampled the full pharmaceutical panoply,
including three mega-doses of antibiotics.
Sunday 25 December
2016. A not so merry Christmas.
The Queen missed the Christmas day church
service, and so did we. We’ve both had
shocking colds. We managed scrambled eggs
for lunch and a Waitrose curry for dinner.
So we have postponed Christmas Day until at
least tomorrow. And we haven’t opened a
single present yet.
Tuesday 20 December 2016. I gave evidence at the coroner's inquest into the death by drowning of William Davies - see entry for 31 August 2016. It was a moving hour with tears. The verdict - death by misadventure.
Friday 18 November 2016.
This is the first
anniversary of my running training - who'd have
thought? Today, twice round the village in 12
minutes 1 second. Twelve months ago, I did once
round the village in 8 minutes. That's progress!
Thurdsay 17 November 2016. A 94-mile-an-hour storm hit Aberystwyth
this morning. I was in court (on a 2-day trial) by
the marina and saw/felt the full force. This
evening, a National Orchestra of Wales concert - Die
Fledermaus Overture, Elgar's Cello Concerto (Leonard
Elschenbrioch, soloist) and Brahms' Symphony No. 4.
A very mixed day.
Monday 31 October 2016. I've never caught anything by beach
fishing - until today. This afternoon I hooked three
dabs at Borth - just as the sun set. Beautiful.
Wednesday 26 October 2016. First frost of the winter - down to -1.5ºC so I had to scrape the
windscreen
before
attending
court.
Monday 24 October 2016. Today I learned that my Bioethical
Issues in now available as an ebook - https://www.dayone.co.uk/collections/ebooks-2/products/bioethical-issues-ebook
Tuesday 18 October 2016. The tree surgeons - Joe, Stuart and
Tristan from Arbcore - came to
chop and trim several of our 30+ year-old trees, front and
back. Not the cheapest, but (apparently) the best.
Monday 10 October 2016. Affinity
meeting in London followed by You Say You Want a
Revolution? Records and Rebels 1966-1970
exhibition at the V&A and dinner at the Ritz.
Tuesday 27 September 2016. Wendy and I attended Uncle Jack's funeral
in Long Buckby, Northamptonshire. About 280 people
were present. I read Psalm 23.
Thursday 22 September 2016. It was exactly 40 years ago today, 22
September 1976, that we moved to Aberystwyth - how times
flies! It was a Wednesday. And then it rained
for a month.
Monday 12 September 2016.
My favourite (and only) uncle, Uncle Jack died peacefully in
his sleep this morning at 10.20. He had cancer. We
visited him at Northampton General Hospital last Monday.
Wednesday 31
August
2016. This morning, I spotted a powerboat circling wildly
about 500m
offshore.
I thought the
crew had been
thrown
overboard.
I raised the
alarm with the
harbour-master.
The RNLI
launched and
recovered two
men from the
sea.
Sadly, one of
them died.
The
RNLI said that
I saved one
life - I wish
it could have
been
two.
This episode
has had a
sobering
eff
dire. We
caught just
six mackerel,
but the
sunrise was
glorious.
On raising the
outboard back
in the
harbour, the
tilt mechanism
died. Lazy
Lady
is now due for
a major
operation at a
nearby marine
engineers and
it's probably
a premature
end to our
fishing season
this
year.
Monday 1 August 2016. Back
from a couple
of days of
walking and
eating in the
Lleyn
Peninsula
celebrating
our 44th
wedding
anniversary.
Also Esther,
our eldest
grandchild,
became a bona
fide teenager
today – happy birthday, Esther!
Thursday 28 July 2016. Most, if not all, of the
sponsorship money for my Wolf Run is now in. It reads like this:
online donations, £1,359.30 + Gift Aid, £224 + offline, £105.00
= a grand total of £1,688.30.
I always hoped I could raise £1,500 so I'm delighted. And thank you again you
generous donors. And
remember, it's never too late to add to the pot!
Monday 25 July 2016. Picked all the cherries - hardly a bowlful, the poorest crop ever. Most had rotted on the tree because of the wet, wet June.
Friday 22 July 2016. We went fishing early this morning for the
first time this season. It was slow going, but we
managed to land seventeen of the mackerel beauties.
Guess what we’ve got for dinner tonight?
Wednesday 20 July 2016. Put
Lazy Lady
on her
moorings early
this
morning.
Five-minute
cloudburst
just as we
launched.
Plop! as I
dropped my
glasses
overboard in
the harbour -
surprisingly
found them
later at low
tide and
Specsavers
cleaned them
for me.
Tuesday 5 July 2016.
A nice email message today, 'Your
JustGiving page was one of the most successful of
June. Out of 67,626 fundraisers, you were in the top
5%!'
Monday 4 July
2016. First training since the Wolf
Run, about 23
days
ago. The
severe
contusion and
'the mother of
all bruises'
on my left
thigh have
subsided.
Once
cautiously
round the
village in 5
minutes 50
seconds - I'm
pleased with
that.
Friday 1 July 2016. While
we were
watching A
Midsummer
Night's Dream
at the Royal
Shakespeare
Theatre,
Stratford-upon-Avon
(wonderful
play), Wales
were beating
Belgium 3-1 in
the Euros 2016
(wonderful
play).
Friday 24 June 2016. The
Referendum
votes have
been counted –
the UK is to
leave the
European Union.
A landmark
decision
indeed.
From now on,
23 June is the
UK's
Independence
Day.
Monday 18 June 2016. Yet
another
cultural day
in
London.
Affinity
meeting, Russia
and the Arts
exhibition at
the National
Portrait
Gallery and
dinner at
Scott's - we
shared a
turbot!
Saturday 11 June 2016. The Wolf Run
- did I finish
course?
YES, of course
I did!
It was tough,
but great
fun. I
have never
seen so much
mud. See
and read all
about it here
Wednesday 8 June 2016. My last training session before the Wolf Run.
Twice round
the village in
exactly 12
minutes.
Pretty pleased
with that -
the foot is
feeling
good.
Now two days
of rest before
the big event.
Thursday 26 May 2016. My
first
tentative run
for 17
days.
Once around
the village in
6 minutes,
fifty-six
seconds.
My ankle held
up - I am
delighted (and
relieved).
Monday 23 May 2016. Another cultural day in London
- Pekka Kuusisto (violin) and Nicolas Altstaedt
(cello) at the BBC3 lunchtime concert at the
Wigmore Hall,
a guided tour
of the
National
Gallery and
dinner at Quo
Vadis.
All lovely.
Sunday 22 May 2016. The Golden Anniversary of my baptism. See the
address I gave
at Carey
Baptist
Church,
Reading,
here.
Wednesday 18 May 2016. In the last three days I've had
private
physiotherapy,
an x-ray and
NHS
physiotherapy
- nobody
thinks the
damage to my
left foot is
too
serious.
Exercise and
stretching are
needed.
Maybe I'm
optimistic,
but it is
beginning to
feel somewhat
improved.
23 days to the
big event!
Saturday 14 May 2016.
Rather
than running
I've been
swimming each
morning for
the last four
days, even as
early as 07.15
on
Friday.
It's been fun
and hopefully
beneficial.
Wednesday
11 May 2016. In the last
two days I have seen my own
GP as well as an A&E nurse
and consultant. None of them
thinks my foot problem is a stress
fracture. They have prescribed
rest, gentle exercise and
analgesics. I am frustrated.
Monday 2 May
2016. A
standard training run around the
village ended up with bad, bad pain in
my left foot. Oh dear, is this
the beginning of something serious?
Monday 11 April 2016. A busy day in London. BBC3 lunchtime concert by I Fagiolini at the Wigmore Hall, the Delacroix and the Rise of Modern Art exhibition at the National Gallery and dinner at Koffman's restaurant at The Berkeley.
Friday
25 March 2016. Another
barrier has been broken –
this time the
30-minute trail at Nant yr
Arian. My time was 29 minutes,
fifty-eight seconds.
Wednesday 23 March
2016. My
life has changed. The Exchange Store has
re-opened, after 20 years, in Capel Bangor ... and
it takes the vouchers for The Times
newspaper. No longer will I have to drive 8
miles every day into Llanbadarn Fawr to collect my
copy, from now on it's a brisk 250m walk.
Monday 21 March 2016.
That 12-minute barrier has been
broken –
twice round the village in 11 minutes, 42 seconds.
Thursday 17 March
2016. Went for another 5km run on the Nant yr Arian trail –
this time I followed the correct route. Time –
30 minutes, 34 seconds.
Friday 11 March 2016. Somewhat inadvertently I've downloaded Windows 10 onto my PC. Seems OK, so far. A couple of glitches, easily fixed. Postscript: loading Windows 10 onto my netbook was an entirely different experience. The Uni Help-desk team tried and failed. The problem is the machine's small memory because 10 needs about 13.5GB of space to download. Anyway, eventually, and surprisingly, the Knowhow boys at Currys did it for a mere £20.
Thursday
10 March 2016. Went for my first 5km run on the Nant yr Arian
trail – gorgeous day, beautiful scenery, soft, muddy running
surface, but with some killer slopes. Time –
26 minutes, 41 seconds. Postscript: in my enthusiasm
(and ignorance), I missed some of the route direction markers,
so this was a truncated run.
Monday 7 March 2016. It is exactly two years since my Bioethical Issues - Understanding and Responding to the Culture of Death was published. Thankfully, I don't have to live off its royalties.
Thursday 3 March 2016. The day to increase my training run to 10km (six miles), the distance of the forthcoming Wolf Run. I had hoped to run it in less than 60 minutes – I did it in 55 minutes, 54 seconds. It’s a new landmark for me.Wednesday
24 February 2016. The oilman delivered a bargain fill up -
£401.63 for 1,500 litres. That's over £335 cheaper
than last time, 16 months ago.
Thursday 11 February 2016. Twice
round the village in 12 minutes, 29 seconds - my fastest ever
and my hip is much improved.
Thursday 14 January 2016. The Prunus
nigra flowered - is this the earliest ever?
It must be a benefit of global warming.
Wednesday
13 January 2016. As the Beatles sang, 'It's getting better all the
time.' Once round the village now in under
6 minutes, in fact, in 5 minutes, 48
seconds.
Saturday 9 January 2016. A week of interval training - 10 x 90m sprinting followed by 10 x 90m jogging, plus a 5-minute starting and 3-minute ending of jogging. Today was my best time, 19 minutes 45 seconds.
Friday
1 January 2016. I
celebrated the New Year by running my new 3-mile
training route in 26 minutes 21 seconds. That's
just less than 9 minutes per mile - not bad for an
elderly beginner.
Friday 10 April 2015. After a long break, and a switch to another server (123-reg), and a nightmare of computer-upgrading problems, my website is again active, sort of.
Thursday 19 March 2015. A day of computer hardware upgrades. Bought a new Acer PC, a new Asus netbook and a new Netgear router. And moved from Windows XP to 8.1, from Office 2003 to 2013 and from IE7 to Chrome. Was I not asking for trouble?
Monday 2 March 2015. The Prunus nigra flowered - quite late this year.
Saturday 21 February 2015. A whooping 5.7m high tide at Aberystwyth - the highest for many years.
Tuesday 24 February 2015. The vote on 'three-parent' IVF in the House of Lords is lost by 280 votes to 48. Horrible!
Monday 23 February 2015. Sex-selection abortion vote in the House of Commons lost by 292 to 201. Incredible!
Monday 9 February 2015. To London for an Affinity meeting and the Rubens and His Legacy exhibition at the RA, followed by dinner at Wilton's with one of my PhD students, who I'd not seen for 30 years.
Tuesday 3 February 2015. The vote on 'three-parent' IVF in the House of Commons is lost by 382 votes to 128.
Wednesday 7 January 2015. A belated but happy New Year to all my readers!
Monday 24 November 2014. The first frost of the winter, down to 0ºC. That will knock the remaining leaves off the trees.
Friday 7 November 2014. A mixed day. It started with 50 minutes in the dentist's chair having root canal work. Then followed a mammoth watching of the Committee Stage of the Assisted Dying Bill from the House of Lords on the internet.
Thursday 6 November 2014. The Worcester Bosch man came to service the boiler. He spent about 1.5 hours here and replaced parts worth £173. That's not bad for a service contract price of £204. Incidentally, the boiler was measured to be 91.6% efficient.
Tuesday 28 October 2014. The oilman delivered another 1,500 litres this morning. It cost only(?) £737.88 which is more than £200 cheaper than the last delivery 20 months ago.
Wednesday 2 October 2014. Back from Poland - 16 addresses on bioethical issues in 9 days and two days relaxing in Krakow. Wonderful.
Wednesday 10 September 2014. Took Lazy Lady off her moorings. It's been the most miserable summer fishing ever - just 14 fish from 5 trips.
Friday 8 August 2014. Up at 04.30 this morning to catch the 06.30 tide to launch Lazy Lady. All went well. And we did go fishing this evening - and caught enough mackerel for three meals. It was a gorgeous, balmy evening in Cardigan Bay. Pity the forecast for the next 10 days is so poor.
Saturday 2 August 2014. The Big Kitchen Project is finally finished, after just 10 weeks. Hooray!
Friday 1 August 2104. Goodbye Black Clio, hello Stone Clio. Our 15-year-old Clio was creaking a bit. Its replacement is a Clio Dynamique 1.2 TCE 100 BHP, 5 DR. Nice!
Friday 13 June 2014. The Big Kitchen Project has ground to a temporary halt - too many other calls on my time. But all this physical work has meant that my weight has dropped to 11 stone and my BMI is a mere 21.6 - that is about a 20-year low.
Friday 6 June 2014. Of course the Big Kitchen Project is going slowly - what else would you expect?
Monday 19 May 2014. This is big - we are replacing the 35+ year-old kitchen. So far the ripping out is going well.
Saturday 17 May 2014. For the first time in 30+ years the dining room is silent - no hum of the air pumps, no bubbling of the water in the aquarium. The pet fish have found a new home.
Tuesday 8 April 2014. Oh dear, today Microsoft pulls the plug and ends technical support and security updates on its Windows XP. What to do? I need to chat with a geek. On a cheerier note, today I finished The Times Quick Cryptic crossword for the first time. Am I getting more eccentric?
Tuesday 11 March 2014. Today we said goodbye to our 10-year-old faithful friend, the Laguna, and hello to a rather brash upstart, the Mégane. It was quite a sad farewell. The Laguna had history - several weddings, a few funerals, myriad other events and over 77,000 miles on the clock. The Mégane has done just 17 miles and has an instruction pack as thick as a Bible with a 12-page section just on 'Opening and Closing the Doors'. How will we cope? We shall try.
Friday 7 March 2014. Over 100 copies of Bioethical Issues - Understanding and Responding to the Culture of Death arrive by courier - good, at last, to see them.
Monday 3 March 2014. Today I bought a new car - an event that occurs only about every 10 years. It is a black Renault Mégane Dynamique TomTom dCi 110 S&S. It is meant to do something like 80 mpg. I am not overly excited!
Thursday 20 February 2014. Another Red-Letter Day - Bioethical Issues goes to the printers.
Thursday 13 February 2014. Violent storms and hurricane force winds all day yesterday. Late this evening our electricity supply was restored after a 30-hour outage. The first day without power is fun, like camping. The second day that fun evaporates rapidly.
Wednesday 12 February 2014. That harbinger of spring, the Prunus nigra tree has begun to flower.
Wednesday 1 January 2014. A happy New Year to all my readers! This is another Red-Letter Day - I've just sent off the updated manuscript of Bioethical Issues - Understanding and Responding to the Culture of Death.
Thursday 21 November 2013. This is like a belated catch-up. What happened to October? Today our first Christmas card arrived. A few days ago the first copies of Când începe viaţa umană?, the Romanian version of my When Does Human Life Begin?, arrived. And last night the temperature dipped to below zero, confirming that winter has arrived.
Friday 20 September 2013. Lazy Lady is now in the back garden after a good fishing season - 233 fish caught in 14 trips.
Wednesday 14 August 2013. With regard to my entry on 1 January 2013, after just 7 months of operation, my sample of 'the world's toughest shredder' has broken. I collected its replacement this morning. I suppose Fellowes' boast still holds if other makes bust after about six months.
Tuesday 6 August 2013. In 15 years of boating, we have never been out fishing on the two tides in one day, until today, on the 0838 and 2048 high tides. We caught a total of 29 fish and the sunset was glorious.
Wednesday 23 July 2013. Put Lazy Lady on her moorings yesterday. Went out fishing early this morning - gorgeous sea and sun. Caught 18 mackerel and had some for dinner with home-grown potatoes and mange tout, followed by cherries from our tree - we're sort of self-sufficient (for a day).
Monday 10 June 2013. Back from 10 days in Poland, flying to Łodź, speaking at the Together for the Gospel Conference in Spała, preaching in Piątków, travelling to Żywiec, visiting Auschwitz and Birkenau, sightseeing in Warsaw. Fascinating, educational and productive.
Friday 17 May 2013. At 08.03, Caleb Zephaniah Ryman was born in the Royal Berkshire Hospital, Reading to Anna and Christopher - a brother for Mia and Joshua. He weighed 9lb 2oz with strawberry blond hair. All are well - Deo gratias!
Wednesday 1 May 2013. It's May Day and for me it's a Red-Letter Day - today, at last, I finished writing my book, Bioethical Issues - Understanding and Responding to the Culture of Death. Whatever can I find to do tomorrow?
Monday 8 April 2013. Spring is late this year - only just planted Swift early potatoes in containers today, a month later than last year.
Sunday 10 February 2013. The Prunus nigra flowered.
Thursday 31 January 2013. The oilman delivered 1,500 litres this morning - I am now £944.21 poorer.
Tuesday 22 January 2013. The phone rang mid-day. It was the garage - I'd taken our 14-year-old Clio there earlier for its annual MoT. Last year it cost me £434, so I answered the phone, 'Oh dear, this is going to be expensive!' 'No', came the reply, 'Your car has passed and ready for collection.' This year it cost just £54.85.
Tuesday 1 January 2013. I always like to start the New Year with a good spend. The post-Christmas days were taken up, as usual, shredding the previous 12 month's paperwork, receipts, letters, etc. The Lidl's shredder - the third free replacement in four years - could not cope and came to a grinding halt. So, today I purchased a Fellowes P-48C and so far it's going well. The makers advertise their products as 'The World's Toughest Shredders' - that's a boast I look forward to testing.
Friday 30 November 2012. A few copies of Kiedy zaczyna się ludzkie życie? arrived in the post - I don't understand a word.
Thursday 29 November 2012. Three days, three examinations. Teeth, car and boiler - all passed with flying colours.
Monday 5 November 2012. Received the first payment of my State pension - now I feel like a proper pensioner.
Thursday 4 October 2012. We are a pensioner - 65 today! I am now officially an old-age pensioner, though I don't get my State pension paid until November, one month in arrears.
Saturday 22 September 2012. Kiedy zaczyna się ludzkie życie? This is my When Does Human Life Begin? translated into Polish - the proofs arrived last night attached to an e-mail. Three 'z's and one 'ż' in the title - pretty impressive, eh?
Monday 3 September 2012. Just a month after launching, Lazy Lady is back in the back garden. A very short, but successful season - only six trips out, but 149 fish caught.
Saturday 4 August 2012. First time out fishing this morning and 21 lovelies caught in just an hour. We raced a storm back to harbour. Mackerel for lunch and dinner today, and lunch tomorrow. Yum, yum.
Thursday 2 August 2012. Put Lazy Lady on her moorings this morning - about a month later than normal because of adverse weather. Oh, for some sunny, calm days, then it will be fish for lunch and dinner.
Sunday 29 July 2012. It was 40 years ago today.... we got married on a sunny day in Abingdon. Who would have thought that the pretty, young thing would still be my sweet wife? See here. Today, I shall wear the very same tie to church!
Tuesday 17 July 2012. The penultimate computer crisis - upsetting my mug of hot chocolate over my keyboard! How many times have I told you not to drink and type at the same time! The ultimate crisis, of course, is losing files. Anyway, a quick dash to the sink and a spray with water onto the inverted keyboard, plus some judicious drying, seems to have done the trick. Actually, the keys now feel more solid, and they are certainly cleaner.
Monday 16 July 2012. It's mid-day in mid-July and I have just switched on the central heating. Weird or what? It's just 15ºC outside, windy and pouring with raining. The summer Olympics start in 11 days.
Saturday 9 June 2012. We had over 5 inches (125 mm) of rain in about 36 hours and floods like nobody can remember. Capel Bangor became a news media hub for the day. We were fine, high and dry, but several nearby homes were deluged.
Tuesday 29 May 2012. Spent an hour this morning with our MP, Mark Williams, discussing, at his request, the government's intention to redefine marriage. He is uneasy about the proposal and I think I made him even more perturbed by its potential ramifications.
Monday 28 May 2012. Down to the promenade at 07.30 to see the Olympic Torch leave Aberystwyth. Quite exciting!
Wednesday 9 May 2012. Some 20 years ago, Auntie Marguerite gave us one of her glass paperweights - it's been stuck on a shelf ever since. Today I picked it up, turned it over and discovered (with a little help from Google) that it is a Moineau Timide by René Lalique, the great Art Deco glassmaker, who personally signed each one. Today I cleaned it!
Friday 27 April 2012. Today is the 44th anniversary of the implementation of the Abortion Act 1967. The Act received the Royal Assent on 27 October 1967 and then, six months later, on 27 April 1968, the killing started. And now, a total of some 8 million and 200,000 abortions each year, we are still putting to death our unborn offspring. How could we have ever let such a practice start, and then continue for so long? Shame on us all!
Saturday 31 March 2012. A Red-Letter Day - after 35.5 years of working at Aberystwyth University, I have finally and officially retired. I am a free man (sort of). I am reminded that the job was first advertised on April Fool's Day 1976! Today I got my P45 in the post.
Tuesday 6 March 2012. Mowed the lawn for the first time this year and planted Swift seed potatoes in two containers.
Saturday 18 February 2012. That bell-wether of spring, the Prunus nigra tree has begun to flower.
Wednesday 15 February 2012. Divided three overgrown rhubarb plants into twelve - we love the stuff.
Monday 13
February 2012. To the David Hockney RA - A Bigger Picture
exhibition at the Royal Academy. The colours were at times
outrageously vivid, but his genuine enjoyment of his native
and childhood Yorkshire countryside, through the seasons of
the year, was all too evident. And his innovative uses
of an iPad plus some multi-screen filming were
fascinating. Ah, the beauty of creation.
Sunday 1 January 2012. Happy New Year to all readers - at least those dependent on the Gregorian calendar. If you use the Julian, Hebrew, Chinese or any other calendar, the sentiment is still the same.
Monday 19 December 2011. Today I sent my formal letter of resignation to the University. I've been on the payroll for 35 years. I asked that if I'm entitled to a clock, may I have one without a tick and a tock!
Tuesday 6 December 2011. At 02.07 Gwen Sophia Ling, our sixth granddaughter, was born in Carmarthen Hospital. She came a bit early, at 34 weeks, and weighed just 4lb 8oz. Glenda and baby are well, Ben, the father, is still in shock.
Friday 25 November 2011. IT disasters. The University moved to the Exchange e-mail system this week, so I had to too. After ages attempting to set up, three phone calls and an hour actually with the IT boys, I'm almost there - netbook OK, PC not yet. This week, hate it - next week, love it (maybe).
Monday 7 November 2011. The first frost of the winter - it was -2ºC here this morning.
Thursday 27 October 2011. The oilman cameth - he's not been for 21 months. He left 1500 litres, a bill for £896.18, but also the prospect of a warm winter.
Saturday 1 October 2011. We celebrated Mum's 90th birthday with a family lunch at the Mill House, Swallowfield - 41 adults and 14 children present. Read my little tribute to her here.
Friday 23 September 2011. Walked around the Cardiff Bay area including the Welsh Assembly Government building (used only three afternoons each week!). Then on to Swansea, where Wendy had a troublesome wisdom tooth removed - ouch!
Thursday 22 September 2011. A notable day: deposited my 11+ exam bike (a wonderful Dawes Double Blue from 1958) at Cyclemart in Cilcennin (better than dumping it in a skip), lunched at Culinaria in Bristol (my favourite restaurant), saw Joshua for the first time (though he could not be bothered to open his eyes) and stayed overnight in Cardiff.
Thursday 15 September 2011. Lazy Lady has left her moorings and is back in our garden - the weather forecast for the next few weeks is miserable so we decided that, after 22 trips made and 142 fish caught, it was time to call an end to the season.
Monday 12 September 2011. At 4.24am, Joshua Joseph Ryman was born to Anna and Christopher in Bristol - a brother to Mia. He weighed a healthy 9lb. 6oz. Our first grandson, to complement our five granddaughters.
Monday 5 September 2011. Are you bugged by unsolicited phone calls trying to trick you into applying for home insulation grants, etc? We are - sometimes, two or three times a day. Today I have logged onto BT's Choose to Refuse service - it's free for a month. Is it effective? A month's time will tell.
Thursday 1 September 2011. A piscatory bonanza to start the month - two dozen mackerel caught on a sunny autumn morning. And have you tried a mackerel-in-a-bun, à la Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, for lunch? You should.
Monday 22 August 2011. Autumn is coming - I know because the grass is still moist before mowing, the early potatoes are over and the leaves of the cherry tree are beginning to fall. But the autumn-fruiting raspberries are ready to pick, the runner beans are in full swing and we are catching mackerel twice a week. It's swings and roundabouts.
Thursday 14 July 2011. Yesterday to Birmingham, this morning to Leamington Spa for a sub-committee meeting of LIFE trustees, this evening to Stratford-upon-Avon to see The City Madam at the Swan Theatre - wonderful, superb.
Saturday 2 July 2011. The boat moored in the harbour yesterday, fishing today - five mackerel - fish BBQ with new potatoes, broccoli and gooseberry sauce tonight.
Monday 6 June 2011. Copies of my new 45-page booklet arrive. The title plus strap line is, When does human life begin? Christian thinking and contemporary opposition.
Saturday 21 May 2011. The proofs of my booklet, When Does Human Life Begin? arrives from the Christian Institute. Coming to a bookshop, church or meeting near you, soon.
Monday 9 May 2011. Bean poles up and runner bean plants in - much earlier than usual.
Wednesday 6 April 2011. Just back from a five-day, anti-euthanasia speaking tour of the Isle of Man - read all about it here.
Wednesday 23 March 2011. Planted Accord potatoes in the ground and in a container - the latter should be ready to eat in 65 days. Also did some seriously harsh pruning here and there. A gorgeous, sunny day hitting about 20ºC.
Thursday 10 March 2011. Just like last year our Prunus nigra tree has flowered in March instead of the usual January - cold winters really do delay the flora. Even so, I have just cut the grass for the first time this year.
Tuesday 1 March 2011. Happy St David's Day to all our exiled family and friends: some suitable music here.
Monday 14 February 2011. Good result in the abortion pill case - the bpas challenge was dismissed by the judge. Attended the Affinity Social Issues Team meeting. Dinner with my Valentine at the Gay Hussar, London's iconic Hungarian restaurant.
Tuesday 11 January 2011. A wonderful day of writing yesterday - 1,000 words that made good sense. Then at 21.21, I lost the lot, gone for ever. So I stayed up until midnight rewriting while the stuff was still warm in my mind. The moral - back up frequently!
Thursday 6 January 2011. Just back from the Carey Conference at The Hayes, Swanwick. What a fine Conference - I was bored only twice! The main speaker, Bruce Ware (never heard of him before) was nicely mind-stretching. I understand the 'one person, two natures' of Christ so much better now. My session went well as judged by Wendy, comments/questions and book sales.
Tuesday 21 December 2010. The shortest day - summer is coming, even though last night it was -11.5ºC. Went Christmas food shopping yesterday - the check-out girl said she had already checked two trolleys worth over £300 - is there really a recession on? Ours was hardly £80.
Saturday 27 November 2010. Yesterday we has a good couple of inches of the white stuff. Ben and Glenda (and Tiana) moved house in the morning only to find that the removal lorry got stuck at the bottom of a steep and snowy hill. So they did B & B and EM with us. This morning the roads are clearer, their heating is on, so they should be installed by sunset.
Monday 25 October 2010. The Best Buy of the Year. I have amphibious circulation and hence constant cold feet, especially when sitting hour after hour reading or writing. Today I bought an electric foot warmer from Lidl for just £12.99. I am like a new man - mild and temperate!
Monday 18 October 2010. Just back from the 40th LIFE National Conference in Warwick. My PowerPoint presentation (The Truth About Stem Cell Technology) went well. Sold more of my books than at any other meeting. Such extensive and intensive listening, talking and driving take their toll on the elderly. But recovery is imminent.
Saturday 9 October 2010. It's official - autumn has arrived. I know because today I've taken down the runner bean canes, pulled up the tomato and courgette plants and winterized Lazy Lady's main and auxiliary outboard engines.
Wednesday 29 September 2010. Back from a two-week holiday in foodie Lyon and sunny Marseille. It rained (of course) as we approached Aberystwyth and the temperature was 11ºC - about half that which we had enjoyed in France. While there I read Peter Mayle's classic, A Year in Provence. My French has improved a little but my Gallic shrug is coming on nicely.
Thursday 9 September 2010. Brought Lazy Lady home. Not a great fishing season - there were five weeks around August when the winds and tides made it impossible to go out. But we did have some gorgeous omega 3-rich fish and there are still some in the freezer.
Friday 27 August 2010. Another first. This morning I went out in Lazy Lady on my very own - Wendy was busy elsewhere. And I didn't fall in, or have a heart attack, but I did catch enough fish for dinner for four.
Thursday 19 August 2010. There are few activities more satisfying than a job well done. And there are few activities more satisfying than plumbing - unlike electrical work, plumbing's errors are usually no more than a few drips rather than sparks, blown fuses or imminent death. So today I satisfactorily replaced a faulty radiator, and I am well satisfied.
Thursday 29 July 2010. Today is our 38th wedding anniversary - we had a long lunch at a local restaurant.
Tuesday 27 July 2010. After renovating the iroko patio table and building a 30-foot long paling fence, I am now clearing out and cleaning up my shed - apparently, sheds have become de rigueur as the last refuge of the married man. Anyway, my shed now has a stool, a 2 x 7 foot table, loads of shelves and drawers and a radio - sadly, I can't get a wi-fi connection to my netbook there!
Tuesday 6 July 2010. Went fishing this afternoon. When we left the harbour there was a nice southerly breeze - within ten minutes it was blowing a force 5 with waves to match. We came back in. Ah, the cruel sea - respect!
Friday 18 June 2010. So, I bought a bottle of Crabbie's original ginger beer and a tin of cashew nuts (roasted and salted) and prepared to watch the revitalised England team walk all over Algeria. The pundits said 3 - 0. I was ready for a great match. After a while I read the paper, did the crossword and got some online quotations for house insurance. I've seen more exciting games when my boys played for their primary school.
Wednesday 16 June 2010. Gotcha! Eleven mackerel and one gurnard. Not a bad start to the season.
Tuesday 15 June 2010. She's in! We launched Lazy Lady this morning. Now for some good weather to go fish hunting.
Monday 7 June 2010. New picture of me on the front page. I'm speaking at the Carey Conference in January 2011 and they wanted a picture for publicity, so on the principle of duo-utility, there it is, taken yesterday.
Wednesday 5 May 2010. Quite a shock today - Day One, the publisher of my book, Responding to the Culture of Death - A Primer of Bioethical Issues, tells me that it has sold out, none left, out of stock. I have just 25 copies remaining - I sold 10 yesterday. Is a revised and updated reprint on the way? We are about to enter into discussion.
Monday 3 May 2010. Simeon, our eldest, is 35 years old today - half way through his 'threescore and ten'. How do you think that makes me feel?
Tuesday 20 April 2010. Suddenly, because of the recent tragedy in Poland, the number of hits of my Polish talk entitled, 'Jak dobrze umrzeć' (How to Die Well) has jumped from 1000 over four months to 2000 within just a week. Nothing focuses the mind as much as imminent death.
Saturday 10 April 2010. First blossom on the plum tree, first lunch out on the patio, first potatoes peeking through, first picking of purple sprouting broccoli for dinner - Summer cannot be far away.
Saturday 27 March 2010. At last, our Prunus nigra tree has flowered. This is our tell-tale harbinger of Spring and it usually blossoms in late January. So this year our Spring is about two months later than normal.
Friday 26 February 2010. Planted a row plus a container of the newly-launched Accord early potatoes. They apparently have firm, creamy flesh with a distinctive, tasty flavour and even better disease resistance than Accent.
Monday 22 February 2010. My Polish talk entitled, 'Jak dobrze umrzeć' (How to Die Well) has now been watched 1,000 times over the last four months. You can see and hear it here.
Thursday 18 February 2010. Retirement is not all sitting around waiting for something to happen. In the last 12 days I've been to London once and Leamington Spa three times. No wonder I need new front tyres on the car. And next week I'm in court for three days.
Tuesday 2 February 2010. It's been 15 months (including two winters) since we last bought heating oil - 1500 litres for £660 were delivered today, which should last us until autumn 2011.
Friday 29 January 2010. Purchased a new mobile phone. My old one - given to me by Anna, some ten years ago, after she dropped in down the toilet - was about to die. My new one, a Nokia 1661, has no web browser, Bluetooth, camera or music player, but is perfect for the down-to-earth man who has never sent a text message in his life. And at £7.49, the price is pretty perfect too.
Friday 15 January 2010. Brought first-early potatoes. This time they are Accord, an apparent improvement on last year's excellent Accent. We shall see, and taste.
Saturday 9 January 2010. Who likes coincidences? I was about to make soupe aux poissons, and for accompaniment I put on 'The Very Best of Petula Clark' (my new Christmas CD - sweet, sunny voice, and incidentally, it lasts exactly the time it takes to make the soup), with its opening track 'Downtown'. I turned on the radio/CD player and guess what? On Radio 2, 'Downtown' was playing - I was slightly taken aback. Now, what is the probability of that occurring?
Friday 8 January 2010. Last night it went down to -11ºC. Today I am making borscht - good enough for frozen Russians, good enough for us.
Thursday 7 January 2010. It was -10ºC here last night - even Derek, the snowman I built yesterday, looks cold.
Tuesday 29 December 2009. You can read our annual Christmas newsletter here. I know some deride such round-robins, but we are always disappointed to receive Christmas cards with no news whatsoever included.
Friday 18 December 2009. The lights are up and on, Handel's Messiah is playing, the presents are bought and wrapped, the cards are written and sent, it's -6°C outside - I'm ready for some snow and Christmas.
Tuesday 15 December 2009. Back to see the doctor, yet again. Half my nail fell off this morning. The bacterial infection has apparently subsided. Now on Loceryl for the original nail fungal infection. Just another six months and I should be OK.
Thursday 3 December 2009. My