Friko's World

Lately I haven been thinking about happiness. Not only asking what it is but is there anyone who is likely to have more than a few months of...

There is nothing easier than becoming a recluse, by accident or deliberately, they say. It doesn’t require action, no effort at all, in fact...

but it's not easy in the depths of winter, at this late stage in the season. I had a post planned about the turf wars breaking out among...

birch in November maybe. Try as I might I can’t find anything good about November, except that it’s nearly over and hasn’t been t...

The first thing I heard was a woman’s loud voice: “ Oh, he’s gorgeous. What a lovely boy.” She went on and on in the same vein. “What a d...

and guess what, you’ve got a China. When Kelly’s Georgie was six he had sex education lessons at school.  Nothing but the most basic facts...

One winds on the distaff what the other spins. (Both spread gossip).  Pieter Bruegel the Elder - Dutch proverb Gossip is idle t...

please. I understand you just had one of those annual events which change the history of your nation and put every citizen into a great ex...

Tom McCall as Hans Bethe, John Heffernan as J Robert Oppenheimer and Ben Allen as Edward Teller in  Oppenheimer . Photo by Keith Pattison...

Last weekend we went to a dinner party, that high point of social interaction. Yes, there are still people who invite us; in case you are w...

Or Aunt Josephine’s walking stick? I don’t know about you but my short-term memory seems to have gone on a long holiday, perhaps it’s even...

From This England, selections from the New  Statesman column 1934-1968: Benno A dog usually possesses those fine qualities in w...

I need a wife. Even a husband would do. I am old. Like the castle. And like the castle I just want to sit and look pretty. I want t...

Black tubs are sprouting all over the garden. Paul came yesterday, then today it was Gardener’s turn.  Gardener still hasn’t twigged abou...

"Any ideas for a blog post? I need something light and easy, nothing that will require research, nothing too serious, nothing too perso...

You know those ideas and thoughts you have which disappear into the great void of forgetfulness? Not the ones which happen to get lost on ...

Mud From A Scraper No. 6 In An Occasional Series An instrumental soloist is a musician who, by virtue of an over-developed ...

It was too hot to cook,  so lunch at the pub it was. Four late middle-aged ladies sat at the next table, all retired teachers to judge by ...

  . . . . . Parking at the White Horse Inn.

Act I We were off to the theatre. “As You Like It”, one of Shakespeare’s comedies with a silly story and lots of fun.  Our friends were on...