Bad behaviour …

October 27, 2026October 27, 2026 SFLeave a comment

… or does increasing intolerance, come with age?

I recently commented on cyclists misbehaving particularly in London.

As a lifelong cyclist I’m shocked by cyclists showing disregard for pedestrians and generally breaking the rules.

Yesterday I had a return train trip. On arrival in St Pancras passengers for the return trip up-north piled onto the train, blocking the exit.

That and the behaviour on the tube questioned whether it’s our general attitude that’s deteriorating. This article by Emily Bratt in the Observer, picked up the issue.

My recent trip from London was by contrast, a great experience.

It’s cheaper

October 20, 2026 SFLeave a comment

I walk each day and meet more friends .. people, cats and lots of dogs.

There’s lots hereabouts and not just in the shops.

To photograph than to buy

Hebden Bridge

October 17, 2026October 17, 2026 SFLeave a comment

Our pizza supper.

Hebden Bridge is where Liz, Ben and I moved to from London in 1986

It’s a wonderful small mill town in West Yorkshire in the Pennine hills, famous for its cotton cloth (and hippies).

My house with the steep tree garden behind

Thinking back

September 6, 2026 SFLeave a comment

On this trip I’ve visited places I used to live.

Now I’m also visiting family, here my sister Claire and brother Jason, who live between Sheffield and Rotherham in South Yorkshire

They live next door to each other! Really?

She’s got out the family photos.

Oh no!

It’s also been an opportunity to revisit my Sunday School Chapel, second home and school in Sheffield.

Reflections

I first tasted honey at Sunday School and was taken aback. It was amazing. Why had I never had this before? I was maybe age eight and it was probably too exotic and costly for my family.

Compare and contrast.

It’s useful to return to my home city and country. I’m initially shocked by the price differences with India.

I expect the U.K. to be a little better organised but it disappoints.

More later ..

About time too

May 26, 2025 SFLeave a comment

My friends in the UK would laugh at this and declare ‘it’s about time too’.

I’m from the north you know and traditionally we are considered to have the wrong accent, miss letters out of our words and generally not be ‘up to scratch.’

Times have moved on now. We even have regional accents on the BBC .

But there might be some truth in that humour (as usual)

I’ve been helping Kaveri with her English while at the same time discovering it for myself.

🤭

I’m learning about grammar, the names and function of key words.

Christmas

December 27, 2021 SFLeave a comment

In Hebden Bridge, Yorkshire.

What a mess

April 6, 2021April 7, 2021 SFLeave a comment

That’s been with us for a thousand years.

I’m from the U.K./Britain/England/the North/Yorkshire… We often joke about the north/south divide, I mention how the British pronounce words oddly, sometimes (?) to hide their French origin, I’ll explain how my accent and the words I use enables others to place me geographically and allocate the class I was born into and then of course there’s Brexit.

The U.K. becomes more the disunited kingdom by the day, has a rich pedigree and mongrel history. There’s the rub, the divisions we recognise are far more ingrained than we realise and have been established over a thousand years.

The divisions we see, the power games and the ascendancy of certain groups, represented by ‘The Tories’ now seems to be breaking it apart.

I recommend this book . It reveals, in surprising ways, how the established patterns of behaviour are difficult to break, we continue to adapt our national house, following the foundations and seem unable to create any real and lasting change.

Huge Burden

November 23, 2018November 23, 2018 SFLeave a comment

A recent conversation with two young things who have become our adopted ‘children’ reminded me of a situation in the 80s

I worked for local government in the UK in social services. I was in my late 20’s with responsibility for managing the grants given to voluntary organisations (aka charities) who provided services that complemented ours so they were given financial assistance and developmental support. I also began developing programs to consult local people to engage them in reviewing services.

It was one of my favourite jobs and I was fortunate to get such a senior job at a relatively young age.

I was in many respects a ‘young Turk.’ Full of new ideas, wanting to challenge and innovate, create revolution. We did some really cool things.

There was an assistant director who we nick-named Huge Burden (it was almost an alliteration (?) of his name). We’d often cross Swords (blunt ones, it was govt!) and there have been times we’d have stand up rows. Well actually, it would be me, berating Hugh. Sometimes I may have been unfairly over-the-top at other times my concerns would have been quite legitimate but I now recognise, I could always have improved my approach.

So how does this relate to the recent conversation?

My lovely friends and I were discussing media relations. They were not particularly challenging me nor was there approach inappropriate, that’s not my point. They were, of course, dealing with a knowall Yorkshireman of a certain age. I felt I knew much of what they referred to, and maybe showed it too much being a bit harsh, reflecting insecurity? I’d designed and delivered with the wonderful Carol Barbone, a national roadshow for the U.K. government twenty years ago on media relations (clearly times have moved on but I’d say principles are much the same but they are the bright young things and so maybe it’s a young/old Turk situation regardless of the what’s and wherefors) so the real point is ….. I don’t want to be a Huge Burden but maybe I am.

That’s the fear, I’ve become the miserable grumpy old git! The old Turk!

I blame my parents

May 12, 2018 SFLeave a comment

I was there……

In the middle, to the foreground with the wings….

No, not actually in the photo. This is Butlins holiday camp pool in the early 1970’s when I most definitely was or had visited with my family. Take in the photo. Look at how white we were and slim! How things have changed.

So why do I blame my parents? A convenient excuse? A contradictory mix of experiences that helped me prepare for the consistently inconsistent life that is India. On the one hand we’d be pioneers driving through England and France to holiday in Spain. Visiting quaint villages that are now over fifty years later, Temples to package tourism. That was in the early 1960’s when I was a little nipper.

My holiday education did also include ten years later the decided working class holiday at this very holiday camp. Rows of cabins, knobbly knee competitions for the Dads, beauty completions for the mums, activities for the kids, soooo non pc. In terms of my working class upbringing, let’s not forget the ultimate: Charabanc (coach) trips to Blackpool illuminations and Skegness from our home in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England., organised by the archetypal ‘Working Men’s Club’

So why am I telling you all this?

It helps make up who I am.

Check the Guardian article that relates to the photo.

Coincidentally Martin Parr, who’s exhibition this all refers to, lived in Hebden Bridge early in his career probably shortly after this photo was taken. In 1986 when Liz, Ben and I moved to Hebden Bridge we bought the very same house where he’d lived.

What a lovely little tent!

August 18, 2017June 12, 2022 SFLeave a comment

Camping is in the blood.

As a family we camped in South West Wales most years. I sold my first grown up tent, a classic Force Ten, to myself at age 16 when I worked in a camp store in Sheffield.

This year we had a grand reunion camp in Wiltshire and at the WOMAD festival.

Every year we used to camp as a family in South West Wales, now I live in India but every year manage to get to camp in the UK.

So why am I telling you all this?

because we’ve found a wonderful tent, designed and sold by Hari in Bristol, England that is so good I want you to know about it.

This year as a 60th birthday present to myself I bought a new tent, the one that Hari built ;-). The first I’d bought since the early 90’s (our tents are looked after and last). It’s the one above.

I say small and it is if you compare it with it’s bigger family members but it can take two people, even a family and there’s space for lots and lots of gear. Its quite bulky and heavy when packed up but nothing more than you would expect of this type and size of tent made of canvas. It is however absolutely gorgeous, easy to put up, a great feel of round ness inside and with no centre pole!

My grandaughter reckons its a pumpkin or maybe Cinderella’s coach.

Everyone is attracted to it and want to know more. Its not cheap but fairly priced for what it is but then again what is cheap in the UK?

There are a couple of nice personal tie-ups. Lotus is of course a Hindu symbol, it was also part of my logo for my consultancy business set up in the early 90’s and is now even a tattoo on my arm! It is a bell tent, has a clever collapsible-poles-system, so there are no poles restricting the inside space.

Manjula has got to grips with putting it up and taking it down.

She does however still ask me why to people go camping!? It might be something to do with the rain, wind and completely unpredictability of our weather in the UK …. or perhaps camping in India is seen as something for the military or poor people.

I’m working on her.

Its perceived as a festival or Glamping tent and the big versions we’re being used at WOMAD this year