My husband and I went to see Aladdin, by Nigel Holmes, performed by the Chameleon Theatre Company at Ritchie Memorial Hall last Saturday.
I bumped into my neighbours at the hall. “How many are you here?” I asked.
“15!” [Read more…] about Review of Aladdin by Chameleon Theatre Company
I’ve found one side benefit of being a writer is that I appreciate words more than I did before I wrote seriously. Writing short stories, novels and blog posts such as this have all given me a greater appreciation of how other writers work. But it also makes me aware there are several ways to work with words.
It is ironic then that two of my heroes, who worked with words albeit in different ways, should both recently have died of cancer at 69. [Read more…] about The Magic of Words: David Bowie and Alan Rickman
I love the word serendipity. It has a lovely meaning and a great sound.
This post, I think, can be thought of as being a case of serendipity.
I was planning a post about the joy of libraries for some time and then read Mike’s wonderful article from Sri Lanka about renovating the school library, which confirmed to me I should go ahead with this now. [Read more…] about Sharing the Joy of Libraries
On the main road into Kandy there is a narrow doorway leading to Dharmawickrama, a school for 1,000 girls.
My wife Brenda arranged to visit to see what a state school is like. The contrasts within were striking. The building was poorly maintained and conditions were crowded and there were few facilities, no play area, squatter toilets, builder’s rubble in some corridors. [Read more…] about Journey to Sri Lanka: Creating a Local Library for 1,000 Girls
Should we be charged for visits to the GP?
I heard a report on the radio this week about an article in the British Medical Journal discussing the pros and cons of imposing charges on patients for visits to the GP surgery. [Read more…] about Should We be Charged for Visits to the GP?
I went to see the National Theatre’s production of Hamlet at Thornden Hall in October 2015 with Janet Williams and her son Ben.
Benedict Cumberbatch was superb in the title role.
I love the idea of being able to watch West End productions without having the hassle of going there. I’ve never been to a West End production and if I had the time to go there, possibly with an overnight stay, I should imagine that would be a wonderful experience. [Read more…] about Shakespeare Inspirations – Hamlet at Thornden Hall
There were extra opportunities for a parkrun over the Christmas period in Eastleigh.
As well as the standard Saturday morning events, runs were also organised for Christmas and New Year’s Day mornings. In addition, the New Year’s Day events in Winchester and Southampton started 90 minutes later.
This gave the truly dedicated a total of five parkruns in nine days. I managed three of the five – so I must be semi-dedicated. [Read more…] about News from Eastleigh parkrun
Tropical diseases? Not your problem? Oh yes they are and not just because of the need for anti-malarials when you go on holiday.
I heard about some of the problems and successes at the first International Meeting on Tropical Medicine to be held in the University of Peradeniya in Sri Lanka. I went along and learned a few thing of general interest. [Read more…] about Tropical Diseases – What You Need to Know
I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. They usually mean giving up alcohol, which is not a huge problem for me as I don’t drink much, or chocolate and that is where I do run into difficulties!
However, I thought I would list some things I would love to see in 2016, all of which would benefit Chandler’s Ford and its residents.
(Editor’s note: For new readers to Chandler’s Ford Today, just to say that once in a while this site has kind of become Sri Lanka Today, while our well-loved writer from Chandler’s Ford travelled to Sri Lanka as analysing snake poisons seems to be a fun hobby when you retire.
A few more interesting stories from Sri Lanka will soon appear in the next few days. Happy reading!)
To get to our house in Kandy we have to go through a tunnel. The alternative is a 3 km detour. The other day we had the Granddaddy of Tropical Storms with torrential rain from 3.00 pm until about 3.00 am. In the morning the tunnel was blocked and we had to get to work via another route. [Read more…] about Dispatches from Sri Lanka – The Tunnel in Kandy
Just for fun, I thought I would share a few Christmas linked short stories (the famous 100 worders) and limericks.
I also share a couple of my family traditions at Christmastime. [Read more…] about Christmas Stories, Limericks and Traditions
A choir of girls was scheduled to sing carols in the foyer of a new five-star hotel here in Kandy. As some of the girls attended the school where my wife Brenda has worked, we went along.
I expected to see a crush of proud parents but there were none. [Read more…] about An Unusual Carol Concert in Sri Lanka
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“She wrapped him in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger.” Luke 2 v 7
Last year, for the first time in nearly 25 years, we did not have the joy of watching a family dog open his Christmas present.
Our retrievers were clumsy animals, but [Read more…] about Christmas Unwrapped – Christmas Message from Churches Together in Chandler’s Ford
As a child in Chandler’s Ford, Christmas was a special time for my family and me, albeit mostly during WW2, as I was 5½ at the outbreak.
I was, to all intents and purposes, an only child (my sister, Jean, died from Scarlet Fever aged 7, 4 years before I was born), so, I guess, understandably, I was ‘spoilt’ (so I was often told). [Read more…] about Christmas Then and Now
Reading Andy Vining’s recent article, Farming in the Winter and Christmas at Hiltonbury Farm, sends me back to the 1950s and 60s, when my step-mother, Dad and I lived in the bungalows in the fourth service road (nowadays the third one!), on Hursley Road.
We looked from our back garden across the field to Hiltonbury Farmhouse where, in the 1960s, Andy was milking the cows and delivering milk. [Read more…] about Oh Happy Days! Fond Christmas Memories in Chandler’s Ford 1950s – 1960s
I am now going back to the 1962/3 before I was married, it was often very cold at this time of year. I used to get up at around 5.00 am to get the cows in for milking as we had yet to build the Cubicle House to keep the cows inside.
Sometimes when it was particularly cold and wet we kept the cows overnight in the cowshed but there was only room for thirty six of them in the cowshed so some had to stay under the lean-too to keep out of the weather, usually about 10 to twelve were the unlucky ones, usually the ones giving the least milk! [Read more…] about Farming in the Winter and Christmas at Hiltonbury Farm
I went to London on 5th December 2015 for the Bridge House Publishing/Cafelit joint book launch celebration. Naturally I left from Chandler’s Ford Station!
Though Bridge House published my first story in print, A Helping Hand in their Alternative Renditions anthology, this year I was going because my short story, The Magic Flute, is in The Best of Cafelit 4.
This was one of the books being launched, the other being Bridge House’s anthology for 2015 called Snowflakes. [Read more…] about My Year-End Review and Book Launch
I popped into Beacon Café on Hursley Road on Tuesday morning and was surprised to see the Christmas Café was in full swing!
Beacon Café at St. Boniface Church (SO53 2FT) runs on the first and the third Tuesday of every month, from 10am to 12pm.
Judith Bird from the Parish Church of Chandler’s Ford started Beacon Café in April this year. [Read more…] about Feeling Lonely? Welcome to Beacon Café at St. Boniface Church
Yes, I know that when it comes to Christmas, I am a miserable old fart.
This year I will be 7,000 miles from Chandler’s Ford; will I be unhappy because…? [Read more…] about Christmas in Sri Lanka: 9 Things in England I’ll Miss This Christmas
Did you know that every bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin is made in Hampshire?
Laverstoke, between Whitchurch and Overton, is the home to the Bombay Sapphire Distillery. [Read more…] about Days Out: Spirits from a Hampshire Village
