The Irish Tales

Second Life (19)
　
I have spent the last 5 weeks in solitary splendour, whilst my dear wife has frolicked around in Malaysia, Japan and Brazil, staying in luxury hotels, dining off the finest of local cuisine and waited on hand, foot and toes by lithe, semi-naked natives.
(I know, I know – I’ll pay heavily for that sentence.)
Over these weeks, I have had ample time to reflect on the joys of one’s own company and I’ve come to the following conclusions :
1. There ...

Second Life (18)

As I write this, my hands are shaking, my heart is pounding somewhat erratically and I have a tremendous urge to bite every one of my fingernails down to the bloody bone.
I doubt if I will get much sleep tonight and I may not even bother to go to bed.
Nope, it isn’t alcohol. It isn’t drugs. And I am entirely disinterested in the result of my latest MRI scan.
It’s simply that tomorrow is Gold Cup day at Cheltenham.
Just typing that sentence ...

Second Life (17)
　
　
I look around the dining room and do a quick headcount. I see Dave the Don, Kiss of Death, Old Frank, Too-tall Stu, Mad John, The Welshman, Jezza, Marc the Wop, The Arg and myself.
We have a full house. Plus two guests, Brian and Marty, though Brian was voted in just minutes before he arrived, which is why he has no nickname.Yet.
We are The Usual Suspects, a very exclusive luncheon club, which meets roughly 4 or 5 times a year at the ...

Second Life (16)
　
Today’s burning question is easy. No, it isn’t who will win the upcoming election or whether our English cricket and rugby teams are really up to it.
It’s much simpler than that : who the hell are all you people ?
Yes, you, those who have viewed these somewhat erratic and rambling memoirs.
At the last count, over 5,000 hits have been logged on this blog and it’s only been going since just before last Christmas.
Now, I am well aware that ...

If I were being totally honest, I would call this Third Life,(1).

Because that is how it seems at the moment. Despite my dearest wishes, I find myself unable to write anything at all that matters.

(Yes, yes, I know. I never did...right?)

I am going to trust those who have followed these scribblings so far, to understand that what follows is not a cry for help or a mea culpa in any way.

I have never pretended to be anything other than an old ...