The Time Bubble

What an awesome night out I had in Bicester last Sunday - significantly better than many of the ones I had when I was actually living there. I think this is one benefit of moving around - you make new friends wherever you go but the ones you made where you were before welcome you back with open arms when you return. The pessimist in me might suggest that people were only so pleased to see me because having been absent for almost two years they might have forgotten what a pain in the arse I am! The optimist in me hopes that's not the case and I am not actually one of those people who gets gets described as "alright in small doses" behind their back. I'm sure there is an element of absence making the heart grow fonder but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I had chosen this particular Sunday to revisit my old stamping ground after receiving an invitation to a Christening. My friends, Anne and Mark, had recently had a new baby, something that in itself had been ...

...like a Jason riled. It's not often I blow my top at someone, but when I do they know about it. In fact blowing my top is an apt phrase as anyone nearby will be in about as much trouble as the residents of Pompeii were in AD79. I did not blow my top today but very nearly could have done. Not so much because of what happened but because of the way another parent chose to deal with an ïncident". I've been coming to Corralejo on and off for 19 years and don't think I've ever had a cross word with anyone until today. Nearly everyone I've met in this hotel, the Oasis Dunas, has been lovely. This is our second visit and we have made many friends. Today however we had an incident. Now the boys have been very well behaved on this holiday and I have been so pleased with them. Lst night we went out to a very nice restaurant that seats only 24 people and is the #1 rated of several hundred in Fuerteventura on trip advisor. Round the pool they have also been good. At ...

I've been thinking about my relationship with alcohol rather a lot recently. We've been through a lot together, me and the wine, the beer and the cider. And all the rest of it. Yet it seems we have progressively fallen out of love over the past few years and may finally have reached the parting of the ways. It's several days since I last had an alcoholic drink. This is not because I'm on antibiotics, have been told not to drink, any moral, religious, or financial reason. It's quite simply that I just don't like it any more. If you are someone who witnessed the booze filled antics of the Jason of decades past, you might find this extremely hard to believe, but I am afraid it is true. I don't even set foot in pubs any more, that whole culture is something that no longer appeals to me. Perhaps I just got old, or boring, or maybe I just grew up. Who knows which, all I know is it is no longer for me. So how did I get to this point? Well the easiest way is f...

I'm delighted to be able to tell you (if you hadn't heard already) that I am now officially a newspaper columnist! My new column, "Stay At Home Dad" began in the Oxford Mail last Friday. Now as you know, I've written literally miles of material on this subject already - enough to fill two books (amongst all the unrelated ramblings) but there is never any shortage of material. Every day of being a parent brings new experiences, new challenges, and new moments of joy. Already I have had lots of positive feedback from the new column - both from those of you I know, and also from those I don't, which is really positive. Support from friends and family is fantastic but when it comes in from people you don't know, you really know that your work is being enjoyed by the wider audience. There is plenty still to be written on the subject of parenting and I'm hoping the column is set to run and run. Who knows where it might lead? For other writers out there, ...

I may have to rename this blog and my twitter account Bicester Banger soon, such has been the huge response to my recent excursion to Shropshire in my newly found role of sausage taster. In the meantime, in an attempt to come up with an amusing title for this blog entry you can see that I've come up with Bangers 'n' Cash - this is in recognition that I was delighted today to receive my first offer of a paid interview for my story - I won't say who from or how much as that would be inappropriate, however, it's very pleasing for me that all the time I have invested into my writing career is finally beginning to come to fruition. Speaking of inappropriate things, I went all through the alphabet thinking of words that rhymed with "Mash" whilst looking for my blog title, which produced some amusing combinations! I shan't lower the tone but I have been trying to think of a title for my going around the world eating a sausage in every country TV idea, but...

Full on - the title of this entry being a pretty accurate description of the week so far. I shall try and give you a summary of the main points here, which is after all the main purpose of an online diary. Unlike my usual offerings which divert off into complete randomness all too easily, which some people sadly just don't get. I was wondering - what percentage of you out there can distinguish between when I am being deadly serious and when I am exaggerating things for comic effect? I guess you have to know me. I've been hanging around the deli counter in Sainsbury rather a lot (as you do if you are me) and I think the girls on there are getting to know me rather well now. To the extent that they know that any reduced offal that they are desperate to get rid of may tempt me, but as one of my new found friends discovered yesterday, even I have my limits. Sorry, "brawn" is off the menu, but I am sure there must be some fans out there, they wouldn't sell it otherwi...

I still get emails from Friends Reunited imploring me to go and look at their site, but I never do. In fact it amazes me that it even still exists. Now it was a great idea when it started, about 15 years ago, but has been massively blown away by all the social networking sites that have come since. Asking me to go and try and talk to anyone on their site is about the equivalent of trying to sell me music on wax cylinders. Seriously, why bother? If there is anyone in the world who still uses Friends Reunited I'd be amazed to hear from you. Now why am I talking about Friends Reunited? Well last night was retro in every sense of the word. Allow me to elaborate. Now on bank holiday weekends, I no longer run my karaoke night at the White Hart, instead I put on a retro disco. This weekend it was a pure 80s night, which went down an absolute storm. The pub was packed to the rafters. However, when it came to my regular Sunday night karaoke people - well none of them were there. That...

Just before I start - and I am probably being incredibly thick but how do you put an accent on a letter - i.e. the word cafe in the title of this blog. I've often wondered. One of the things that I remember most about Tony Blair's Governement wasn't one of the biggies like war on terror or Iraq. No, it was his confident vision of Britain developing a Pavement Cafe Culture such as you see all the time in cities in Europe, particularly in Southern Europe. The vision I must admit when I was on holiday in Menorca a few years ago, I was struck by how lovely it was in the capital, Ciutadella. Clean, pleasant streets, even in the early evening - no litter, no chewing gum, and happy smiley people in the streets. Parents with their kiddies in the park, at 7pm, and the sun beaming down. Not a down and out sipping a can of White Ice in sight. Of course, the main drawback to this cultural ideal here, (putting aside general British yobbery and littering) is the weather....