The debonair Basil Marigold's

My wife owns a very stupid car. Here is the story and I am sure once you have read the story you will agree too! On Sunday the main car I use, we shall call it, 'The Amazing Car' had a little issue in that it started to make an unpleasant noise. Fortunately I was able to use my wife's car, as she was not at work this day. This allowed me to get the car to the garage to see if we could get it fixed. Nobody told me it was a stupid car. I have driven this car before. It is a tiny Toyota Yaris. It is something that I don't fit into so comfortably, but it can be done. So, it was done and I set off for work on Monday, knowing how to turn on the lights, and the windscreen wipers! what else do I need to know. The pedals were all in the familiar place, too! While travelling down the motorway I wondered to myself looking at the dashboard that the trip metre was set at 1000 miles, so I wondered to myself 'How many miles has the Yaris done?' This was quite an easy t...

I mentioned a few weeks ago about the sudden demise of my favourite pen shop in Nottingham, Pensense. It was a hammer blow to my heart!  However, I am not one to dwell and have decided that this great hole in my heart must be filled. So, I have found a new hobby!  I shall become a coin collector!  Here is my first real effort. It is a silver Antoninianus. It is 1780 years old. It could have been minted between 238 - 244ACE. We know this because it shows the profile of the Roman Emperor, Gordian III   He became the youngest sole emperor in 238 at 13 years old. He died, or was assassinated in 244 by his close friends or closer generals after the Roman Army was defeated in battle near modern day Fallijah, in Iraq, by the Persians.  It still, even now, amazes me at how far the influence and marching of the Roman army was. From a capital in Italy they were defeated 2,400 miles away on some dusty plain. In the end, either during the battle or afterwards Gordian died a...

It had started to get warmer and lighter, yet a few days ago it became really cold again. It is forecast that the next week will, again, be more winter than spring. Below Zero is forecast.  I was beginning to think that I should start packing my trousers away until November. I have postponed this for at least a week now.  The last two days have been gloriously sunny, but just so cold. 

He saw it rolled up on a charity shop table.  A magnetic darts board in a tube, with 6 darts. It was priced at £2. My son at the time asked if he could have it, but I had no money. So we carried on shopping. Today he wanted to go out and so raided his piggy bank for the £2 and proceeded to buy his first ever darts board. It has on one side a normal darts board, on the other it is a target board and it rolls up into a tube. Ideal for holidays!  The darts are just perfect for him, not me! and he has hung it on his bedroom door and has plodded away throwing his green and blue magnetic darts at it this evening. As an added bonus, it also helps his counting as he has to work out what a double amount might be, what his scores add up too. It encourages his maths skills without him realising. He just wants to play darts!  So, he seems a happy little Moleman. And maybe one day he might be Champion of the world!

It was recently Valentine’s Day. It is a day to celebrate your loved one. If you do not have a loved one you tend to have to buy your car a card. The driver for valentines, which like every type of festival has been caught and turned into a huge pressure event. If you don’t have a loved one, then you cannot participate. The commercialisation can make people feel alone and apart, a failure if you will.  I’m not sure how many valentines I have shared with anyone else. It was never a day that meant much. I know my grandfather died on Valentine’s Day. That wasn’t a happy event. He died in a street in Mansfield holding flowers for my Nannar. He’d never really bought her flowers. But, on the day he tried that happened.  However, Valentine’s Day presents, we are told by TV and social media now are; chocolates, wine - the popular tipple now being Prosecco, jewellery, etc.  I though, I got an immensely practical gift. I was bought a flask. Not any old flask, but in my humble opini...

My son, who is now seven. As he once said, 'I have been six a very long now'. Now though, he is seven. He is happy with this. One day we had a boys day out to the local shop. The main shop in our town has a car park. It is a car park designed as an afterthought on a postage stamp. On this day we had driven around it a couple of times to find a space. There were none. In the end we drove out and onto one of the nearby streets where I knew there was parking. We then walked back to the supermarket for a drink and to pick up some bits. On the way back to the car we spotted a police car driving around and then parking up in a space a few hundred metres away from where we were walking. At this point Joshua put his hand on my arm and whispered to me in a very serious voice, "Be sensible Daddy, be sensible." He made me laugh. I didn't know if he was talking to me or talking about himself. He's a quirky little boy. He may well be seven, but he must obviously be m...

It is important to remember in all circumstances that, Life must go on... The world never stops turning. It will not pause for you to gather yourself together and then choose to restart. The classic, you can never step in the same river twice. And so, this is the philosophical stance I am taking after receiving the following email this week; As a valued customer we wish to inform you that Pen Sense at King Street Nottingham will close on 10th February 2018 . We are retiring completely from the business, and wish to thank you for all your support over the years. My heart sank whilst reading the lines from beginning to end. It's the end. The finest shop in Nottingham, to close. I, the valued customer, left bereft by this news. But still, the world will turn. It will not think or care for my loss! Dark times.