May 2021

  • Remotely civilized: fancy living Very Far Away?

    An occasional series for would-be urban escapees. 1: the single-track road Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life. And few there be that find it… There are single-track roads throughout rural Britain, and the ones receiving most attention at the moment are those making up the Scottish Highlands’ North…

  • Return of the red guitar

    . The Red Guitar Spotify playlist. From Steve Earle and Neil Young to…Red Guitars: It’s out of print now, my novel Red Guitars in Heaven, though you can buy a used copy easily enough on eBay or Amazon. It has its moments, and a few people liked it a great deal back in 1994, when…

  • Henry Hoover, Vileda Turbo mops and the Kata of the Thirteen Bins

    in the summer of 2020, I became a cleaner at the local health centre. Six nights or early mornings a week I vacuumed, scrubbed, mopped, wiped, disinfected and binned. Random thoughts occurred. Hoovering. Havering Hoover. I have hoovered. I will hoover. I have been hoovering. This carpet needs hoovered. Except it’s not a Hoover, of…