The snow fell hard and Chernobyl was a two hour drive from Kyiv. I’d seen enough dash cam footage from this part of the world to sit staring ahead. Hoping the minibus would stay rubber side down. My head hurt from a night out before. Not because of the multiple shots of absinthe, but because a part of the drinking game involved being set on fire and hit on the head with a barrel. And here we … [Read more...] about Two days in Chernobyl’s exclusion zone
Personal
My first eye test in 33 years
I wrote the following words in my newsletter. But realising I'd told a long meandering story few would be interested in, I thought I'd post them in these neglected, little read pages. So, let us begin. When I was gifted a pair of the weakest off-the-shelf reading glasses I thought it was a joke. As soon as I put them on though I could suddenly read tiny text close to my face. I … [Read more...] about My first eye test in 33 years
Sleep more, live longer – A conversation with my Dad.
The guy sat in the car with me is my Dad, Roger Payne. He lives in Wales and I don't get to see him or the mountains nearly enough. We got together recently as my Brother Dan was off to live in Brazil. We saw him safely on his way and while sat in the car and I took out my recording gear. As far as I remember I've never sat down to record a conversation with my Dad. He is in his … [Read more...] about Sleep more, live longer – A conversation with my Dad.
The Maiden Voyage of Story Maker
I bought a boat. A 55 foot Durham Steelcraft 6 birth narrowboat. Spent my life savings on it and at time of purchase I had no experiance of narrowboat life. Sadly the Storify embed that was here is no more. They changed things and now there is a massive hole. I told them that would happen. I said.. "The least you could do is let us download our stories as a PDF. Just in case." "Of course." … [Read more...] about The Maiden Voyage of Story Maker
Everyone’s Best Friend
Our dog Gypsy died alone. But at least she died at home. In her sleep. Late last night she was keen for a walk. So I took her out at 10:30pm. Once out she was slow. She sniffed everything. At a couple of points in our lap of the block her tongue lolled out of the side of her mouth. She had done the same earlier in the night and we had laughed at how silly she looked. I unclipped her lead … [Read more...] about Everyone’s Best Friend