Category: Wellness

I was standing in the changing rooms at the leisure centre last Tuesday—the same one built back in ’74, if memory serves—and I watched a man struggle with a brand-new, high-tech waterproof smartwatch that cost more than my first car. It struck me then how much nonsense is out there regarding how to start swimming […]

I was out by the old flint boundary wall last Tuesday—the one we put up back in ’94—trying to shift a few stones, when my right knee decided it had quite enough of my nonsense. It wasn’t a sharp pain, just that dull, heavy ache that tells you the weather is turning and your joints […]

I was out in the garden last Tuesday, trying to mend a section of the dry stone wall near the old granary—built, as I recall, around 1840—when I found myself squinting so hard at a loose coping stone that my head began to throb. It wasn’t the sun, though it was bright enough, and it […]

I was out near the old flint boundary on Sunday, trying to mend a section of wall that’s been leaning since the Great Storm of 1987, when I realized I’d made a right mess of things. My head was thumping like a hammer on a joist, and my joints felt like they’d been filled with […]

I was out by the old flint wall behind the rectory last Saturday—a fine bit of 19th-century masonry, though the mortar is perished in places—trying to reset a few loose stones. Halfway through, I felt that familiar, sharp twinge in my lower spine, the kind that makes you realise you aren’t twenty-five anymore. Now, you […]

I remember sitting on the stone bench by the old mill pond—the one built back in 1842, though the foundations are much older—trying to make sense of the silence after Margaret passed. People tend to offer these polished, expensive little platitudes, as if you can solve a loss by buying a self-help book or attending […]

I was clearing out the old potting shed last Tuesday—the one built back in 1954, mind you, though the roof tiles have seen better days—when I found an old, tattered book on “holistic wellness.” It was full of nonsense about expensive retreats and mindfulness apps that cost a monthly subscription just to breathe properly. It […]

I saw a glossy magazine in the waiting room last Tuesday suggesting that the secret to mental longevity is a subscription to some expensive, flashing brain-training app on your phone. It’s absolute nonsense. If you ask me, staring at a digital screen trying to match coloured shapes isn’t the same as actually engaging with the […]

I was out near the old tithe barn last Tuesday—the one built around 1740, with the lovely flintwork that always seems to be shifting—when I caught myself doing a sort of frantic, uncoordinated jig just to stay upright on a patch of moss. It wasn’t a graceful movement; it was a sudden, jarring realization that […]

I saw a glossy magazine in the waiting room last week suggesting that the secret to a vibrant life is joining an expensive, high-end golf club or embarking on a luxury cruise around the Mediterranean. It’s absolute nonsense. If you’re looking for a manual on how to stay social after retirement that involves a membership […]