Humanity

A glorious May in a Northern city. Being out in the empty streets at 9 o’clock in the evening was strangely soothing; people had gone home from their offices, the shops were closed and the large, black buildings had heaved a sigh and settled down for the night. I...

The migraine had started the day before the flight. Anxiety, fear, another strange city, another few days of second guessing, trying not to fall foul of the quixotic, moody boss who had to be kept happy or nobody’s life was worth living. Was it really any wonder this...

“And what skill will you be teaching?” “Guitar,” came the reply. “Great!” My enthusiasm was somewhat fake. In my experience the few surgeons who tried to teach guitar in five minutes, failed miserably. Depending on your experiences of guitars – or surgeons I will...

Grandparents. I used to worry I would be sacked over mine. For many years I had seven of them, and was terrified some of them would die at once and my employers would claim I was making up their funerals to get out of work. Most grown adults have no more than four and...