The Time Bubble

For as long as I can remember, I've loved quiz shows. When I was a kid it was Sale of the Century and Winner Takes All. I loved the gambling element of the latter, with it's betting odds on the answers. As a teenager it was Going For Gold at with Henry Kelly, which I used to watch on my lunch break when I worked for Martins. There have been hundreds of different formats over the years, the nature of which vary considerably, There are those where knowledge is everything e.g. Who Wants to be a Millionaire, to those where the questions play only a minor part in what is largely a game of chance. The dreadful, Babushka, recently broadcast on ITV, is a good example of the latter. I've been around a long time, but I am in no way exaggerating in saying this is the worst "quiz" show I have ever seen. And there have been some shockers. Some don't even bother with questions at all, a prime example being Deal or no Deal. That was quite an interesting concept when it s...

When I was a kid, I would recoil in horror if going for a walk in the countryside was ever suggested. Such an activity was filed firmly under the category of "boring" and something that old people did. Old at that time meaning anyone over the age of forty, a milestone considered truly ancient to a eleven-year-old. My perception was not helped by being hauled off on a twenty-mile walk around the Lake District in my formative years. This is not what you call easing someone gently into the joys of walking. It seriously put me off the whole idea for about three decades. Other than a brief interest in cornfields, during a period of amorous exploration in my late teens, the countryside hasn't held much appeal to me until recently. However, since some trips to the Lake District and other places in recent years, my interest has been rekindled. And fortunately for me. the kids are not averse to walks in the country, as I have eased them gently into the world of public footpath...

I think we must get better quality electricity up here on Kingsmere than we did at Chapel Street, as I have noticed something very unusual this year whilst heating up my mince pies. At the old house, in order to get my mince pies to the optimum temperature - nice and hot but not enough to burn my tongue, I used to have to do them for about 21 seconds in the microwave. Here, 15 seconds is more than enough to nuke them and I have burnt the aforementioned tongue on more than one occasion in recent weeks. Now on to the mince pies. As I believe I mentioned on Facebook, I have a free hand in this house to consume as many mince pies as I like. This is because none of the other gannets around here, who eat everything else in sight, like them. Therefore I have had free rein to sample a few different ones to see what's best this year. It's important to do this every year, as I reckon they change the recipes every year. It's a bit like drinking fine wines. The 2016 vintage may...

It falls in every Christmas movie you've ever seen, is in every TV Christmas special and advert. It's all over Christmas cards. We sing songs about it and even spray fake stuff all over the windows. But as I approach my 47th Christmas, there is one burning and ever more desperate question on my lips. Where the **** is the snow? A ridiculously over optimistic Christmas card scene Quite honestly, I have never ever seen what I would class as a White Christmas. I don't know what you call a White Christmas but I don't agree with the bookies definition, which is a single snowflake falling on the roof of the weather centre in London on Christmas Day. Sorry, one snowflake does not a Snowman make. A few bits of left over grey slush by the side of the road from a snowfall a few days earlier also doesn't count. For me, a proper White Christmas, like the ones you get in the movies, happens when snow starts falling after it gets dark on Christmas Eve so you wake u...

As Christmas is almost here, I thought that you might enjoy a sneak preview from my latest time travel novel, Rock Bottom, which is set during the festive season. I must make one small disclaimer. Although I have now completed the novel and been over it several times, this snippet is not quite the final version. The final draft is currently with the editor and proofreader, therefore please forgive me if you find any grammatical errors or typos in the sample below. These will be corrected before the final version is released. This is the opening chapter, which properly introduces the lead character of Kay, who previously had a minor role in my novel, Midlife Crisis. As you'll see. she is somewhat down on her luck, hence the title of Rock Bottom. All I can say is, things do get better as the book progresses! Enjoy, and Merry Christmas! Chapter One December 2018 Kay was so drunk that she practically fell out of the front door of the pub. Just about managing to sta...

Imagine if a friendly angel popped into your life and offered you the chance to go back and relive any six days of your life over again. There's a catch - you can't do anything to change history. So it's no good going back to last Saturday and picking the winning lottery numbers. Which days would you choose? You could go back and spend a day with a much loved, deceased family member and spend one last day with them. You could go back and relive a special moment in your life - your wedding day, the birth of a child, your first kiss. You could spend a hedonistic day, eating, drinking and indulging your every whim, knowing there would never be any consequences. Or  you could do what Richard Kent did in the first book in my new series and go back to get revenge on your evil boss by shoving the head of a large rubber dinosaur up his arse! Such is the premise of my new Second Chances series of books, featuring characters and situations from the original Time Bubble ...

What an amazing summer it has been. Not just in terms of the weather or the things I've done and places I've been - but in the way that I've done them. I've broken out of an early middle-aged rut which was in serious danger of developing into terminal couch potato syndrome into a new outdoors lifestyle. How has this happened? Well a number of reasons really. Just moving to Kingsmere was a start. The open air and space made a huge difference. An increasingly positive mental attitude also helped. And I could name any number of other little things. Things like the kids both learning to ride their bikes without stabilisers and their growing independence - all of these things make a huge difference. There are other things too. I haven't been to the gym for years - it's impractical when looking after children full time which in itself is also very exhausting. Now we have the outside gyms on Kingsmere - perfect for me! I can go down there with the kids on our bik...