A poem from my first book, Something That Comes Close. Illustration by Spike.

For Betty. 16 January 1931 to 4 February 2025

Half a century and more, the signal keeps calling

In the immortal words of John Lennon ... love is all we need.

Traveling on Australia's 20th Century train service between the nation's capital and Sydney then on to Glasgow with Spike Deane

Pausing for a break from writing (not working).

Gifts that never stop giving ... Christmas cake, a mug of tea and reading The Guardian.

New Year's resolution #1. Do not drive the car into a ditch.

New Year's Day. Dooralong, NSW. After the rain.

Driving home to Spike's parents for New Year.

Down time. Sunday in Spike Deane's garden. Work can wait. We'll shake some different tree tomorrow.

You get up early on a day when the breeze has dropped and it's twenty-seven or twenty-eight degrees by breakfast. And your brother asks...

We visited Betty again today for three hours. By the time we said our goodbyes my mother was tired. It was time for us to go. Betty was...

Today we visited the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum; Glasgow's finest and my favourite for all kinds of reasons (not all of them to...

Sometimes the simplest delights of a long holiday are found in the most unexpected places. This morning that turned out to be adjacent...