Category: Columns

Weigh yourself often, learn to cook and cut back on sugar.  These are some of the activities a twenty-something should undertake in order to live a healthy life, according to a slightly dated New York Times article I read recently. Your late twenties, I assume, are reserved for undoing the damage of your early twenties. […]

I’ve been spending more time with my mum recently. Since she retired we hang out more, and I’ve been making regular trips down to Doncaster to see her. We’re like mates, now; mates who have a shared interest in nice restaurants and wandering around English Heritage sites (she’s a member – I have to pay). […]

There’s nothing like a letter from the accountant in Acomb to spur me into action. Fortunately, one arrived this week. “Please let me have all the paperwork for your next tax calculation as soon as possible,” it said. Well, that did it. It was just the prompt I needed to start excavating my fridge. I […]

Come with us as we journey backwards through the mists of time. No pushing at the back. Like many of York’s satellite villages, Osbaldwick is experiencing some changes. Tucked behind the mammoth B&Q store, and being encroached upon by both Tang Hall and the new Derwenthorpe development, it’s easy to see why Osbaldwick is often […]

I’m officially a British citizen now! That’s not true. I already was. However, in my experience, one requires certain elements in one’s life to truly be a British citizen. Some of these include: A love of tea – which I do not have. Give me coffee or give me death, but save your scalding hot […]

6+ miles, 2-3 hours  Scroll to the bottom to download the print-friendly version! This walk links three attractive villages, the two Askhams (Bryan and Richard) and Bilbrough. There are two length options. The full circular walk is just over six miles. The shorter version of four and a half miles, covering all three villages and […]

We’ve all had a conversation with a child in which every statement you give is responded to with “but why?” As annoying as it can be, kids are great at getting to the bones of every issue, which is what this issue’s Time Travel article is all about. Our question is ‘why York?’ Why is […]

Regular readers of this column might remember the York School of Charm. For those who are less regular (or who suffer from Middle Aged Brain), this notable training college produces all those ‘anything is too much trouble’ staff whom we encounter when we’re trying to do something outlandish and completely unreasonable like post a parcel […]

Mine, mine, mine… I was never much of a gamer. For Christmas 1991 I asked my parents for a SEGA Mega Drive so I could play Sonic the Hedgehog like all my friends. They were okay with this, until they realised a Mega Drive didn’t have a keyboard. “Of course a computer needs a keyboard, […]

I’m going to talk to you about the best new video games in 2019/20. Okay, surprise surprise: I like video games. Probably too much. Did I tell you my son’s named after Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog? No, his name isn’t actually ‘Tails’ because that would clearly be stupid. He’s called Miles. After Miles ‘Tails’ […]

What do the stars have in store for you? The first week of the month brings a degree of frustration and tension when other people close to you fail to recognise your dreams and desires. Between the 7th and the 14th you go through an intensely busy period in which all your energies will be […]

Last month we peeled back the layers of history to expose the early life of that chap who is immortalised in bronze outside the Minster, Constantine the Great. Now, we pick up where we left off and look at his later years, in which he did war. Lots of war. Tensions rising So… there’s local […]

How do you define who someone is, and what they mean to you? Well, you work out what kind of cheese they are, of course.  I used to turn my nose up at mild cheddar. It’s not refined enough. Too safe. Uncontroversial. Basically just a bit boring. But I’ll happily eat it, and it’s the […]

Need. It’s a funny old thing, isn’t it?  I was mulling this over while waiting for the Number 4 the other day, when I realised I urgently needed either an umbrella or a cagoule, followed by a cup of tea in front of a log fire. In June. So much for global warming. There are […]

At the ripe old age of 37 and a half, I have finally achieved something I never have before. No, I still can’t drive (legally), and no, I’m still not allowed within 50 feet of Sophie Ellis-Bextor (legally). I’m talking about my living arrangements. You see, I now live alone. It’s very exciting. From birth […]