Hextol

For the record, I have given up on the smelly second garage

I HAVE spent the last three months trying to say goodbye to a dear old friend – but he just doesn’t want to go!

Last updated 15 May 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Feasting on foraged food will turn people green with envy

It's surprising what turns up in the large green box I keep at the side of my desk. Notionally, it’s a receptacle for council minutes, press releases, rugby programmes and other bits and bobs which have found their way onto my desk at various times.

Last updated 8 May 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Burdened with weighty responsibilities on a holiday in the sun

WAS there ever a more blatant rip-off set up than an airport? I have just returned from a trip to foreign parts with two suitcases containing less than they did when departing a couple of weeks earlier.

Last updated 1 May 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

A different career path was flushed away half a century ago

AFTER 46 years as a journalist, I still sometimes wonder whether I am in the right job.

Last updated 24 April 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Back in the glory days, real men played football after work

I WAS lucky enough to be invited to a charity function at St James’s Park a couple of weeks ago.

Last updated 17 April 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Keep the home fire burning and bask in a nostalgic glow

MRS Hextol and I turned the clock back to the joyous days of yesteryear at the weekend. While others shivered in the icy blast of the mad March winds of the lambing storm, and watched the level of their oil tanks plummet, we were basking in the glow of a real fire.

Last updated 10 April 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Left in a tight squeeze after a brief encounter in the shops

I HAVE never been terribly keen on shopping for clothes. While others emerge from the sales laden with once in a lifetime bargains, the few purchases I make tend to be unmitigated disasters.

Last updated 27 March 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Frustrated by the forlorn forays to foil formidable felines

WHEN I was a lad, I was a voracious reader of children’s comics of every description. The Beano and Dandy, the Topper and Beezer, were weekly purchases, along with the Hotspur and Victor in later childhood.

Last updated 20 March 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Fruitless search for treasured memories caught on camera

I WAS despatched by Mrs Hextol the other day to find one specific photograph from the many thousands we have accumulated over the years.

Last updated 13 March 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Testing times at university for the grey cells of the grey-haired

I NOTE with some amusement the Government is proposing to send the over 60s to university to retrain, in order that they can go on working longer.

Last updated 6 March 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

We’re left without a seat following a very strenuous shift

MY eldest son and I were carrying a settee weighing more than the England rugby team the other day when he suddenly put down his end.

Last updated 20 February 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Hitting the wrong note in my bid for musical recognition

I RECEIVED a frisson of vicarious pleasure the other day when fellow Bellingham resident Kathryn Tickell was named the BBC’s folk musician of the year.

Last updated 13 February 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

When push comes to shove, we can make it through the snow

THERE’S nothing like a bit of wintry weather for bringing out the hidden child in adults. The snow has barely settled when Dad’s out with his big red snow shovel, carefully clearing the path to places nobody really wants to go to.

Last updated 6 February 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Bitter experience shows that sticky situations rarely end well

OF all the great inventions of the modern age, super glue must be hard to top.

Last updated 30 January 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

It’s three cheers as beer tickles my old taste buds once again

I AM not what you would call a drinking man. Despite the misleading evidence of my bulging belly, I haven’t touched beer for 10 years.

Last updated 23 January 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk

Tynedale: Funereal tune heralds an unexpected brush with the Angels

I WAS driving down the A69 in a pretty sombre frame of mind when my mood sank even lower. I was on my way for an unexpected trip to hospital, and flicked on the radio – and the tune that was playing was the Fureys’ hauntingly beautiful refrain Now is the hour.

Last updated 16 January 2013
Published by http://www.hexhamcourant.co.uk