By Ray Wilson The day dawned fair with a hint of warmth, but with the ominous presence of black clouds clustering on the horizon, I had not slept the sleep of the righteous. Work hard and sleep sweet. A nagging, lingering concern that I could not attribute to anything kept me awake. I slowly recall
By Ray Wilson People Farm Some will attribute the maxim to Saint Ignatius Loyola himself. Yet the Jesuits believed even back then that it was an old idea: “Give us a child until he’s seven, and we’ll have him for life.” We lived on Brigstock Road in Thornton Heath until I was six, going on
By Ray Wilson It’s a sleepy Saturday morning in my dad’s little village. There is a frisson of warmth in the breeze. The soft rays of the sun gently illuminate Mum’s commemoration garden, constructed after her death in April 2020, enhancing its serene atmosphere. My hound’s ears twitch at the distant chirping of birds, which
By Ray Wilson The Ural Patrol T motorcycle, a copy of the legendary Cossack, demonstrates that war is a hellishly good driver of technology, or so the advertising blurb suggests. The Ural is a reconstructed Soviet World War II sidecar motorcycle that gives the same benefit as its forefathers: two-wheel drive. A crankshaft connects the
By Ray Wilson It’s still early; I am walking the dog; it’s the day of the carnival in my dad’s village; lawns are cut, gardens are manicured, and expectancy is in the air. I notice a small, slightly faded handwritten plaque with the words, “They wanted to keep my grandmother safe. I just wanted to
The Big Dog Project By Ray Wilson “A whistleblower accuses BBC bosses of ‘collusion’ with Sadiq Khan to silence ULEZ criticism. Exclusive: An informant at the BBC has released messages to Reform UK London Mayor candidate Howard Cox with a warning: Stories on ULEZ need top level clearance.” Rich waves a copy of the Daily
By Ray Wilson The introduction of the BBC Micro Computer to the masses in the early 1980s was an ambitious project, but one I now look on with a degree of suspicion It’s 1982, and we are busy In our factory at the edge of the Ashdown Forest. “Come on, the customer wants the Rosetta
By Ray Wilson Lazy Sunday Afternoon Garden Party It’s a lazy Sunday afternoon, and I am in no mind to worry, but it’s our first visit to see my oldest son and his partner since the COVID-19 debacle and government injections. Strangely, we were welcome on our illicit visits during lockdowns, but not so when
By Ray Wilson The UK is expected to record its hottest day of the year this weekend, with temperatures peaking at 30 degrees. It’s hot even by the river, and I am at the appointed rendezvous spot. I have walked with the dog down the shady paths from the toad sanctuary and through the marshes
By Ray Wilson It’s warming up, and we are lucky with the weather, and the motorcycle combination is lapping up the miles. Our breakfast stop is on the old “missing link” section of the iconic A30 on our run to the sun. We stop at “Max’s” snack emporium, where the emphasis is on proper food.