As a child Crotchety Man lived in a south London council flat with his brother and parents. Sometimes in the summer when the weather was nice we would go to the south coast seaside resort of Brighton for a day out. The trip was usually planned the previous day and we looked forward to strolling…Read more The Battle of Epping Forest
A Glorious Dawn
Crotchety Man was brought up in a semi-religious environment: born in a (largely) Christian country, educated in Church of England schools, singing in the church choir, but growing up in a family for whom religion was essentially irrelevant. I was immersed in Christianity but not a part of it. Given no guidance I was left to…Read more A Glorious Dawn
Acoustic Environment
Are you tired of electric guitars? Fed up with the sound of oscillators, filters and shapers? Do you yearn for the sweeter tones of traditional musical instruments? Then Acoustic Environment by Mark Hillis is the album for you. Mark is a guitarist and photographer from San Diego, California. During his college years he teamed up with…Read more Acoustic Environment
Eyes Wide Open
Decisions, decisions... I've done most of my Yuletide shopping. There are still one or two gaps on the present list, though, for those awkward people who either have everything already or insist they want nothing this year. What shall I choose? Well, if inspiration fails me they'll just have to have whatever I gave them last…Read more Eyes Wide Open
Don’t You Wait
Ambiguous: adjective (Of language) open to more than one interpretation; having a double meaning. Unclear or inexact because a choice between alternatives has not been made. Cloves - Don't You Wait (live) Last month something in my inbox announced that Peter Green had released a new album. Intrigued, I clicked through to see what the ex-Fleetwood Mac guitarist has been up to recently. It wasn't…Read more Don’t You Wait
Waterloo Sunset
Between school and university I had a temporary job. It was the best vacation job a student could wish for: Assistant Scientific Officer (or some such title) at the Laboratory of the Government Chemist. It was the lowest and lowliest grade of scientific officer but I was paid the same as the permanent staff, which I believe…Read more Waterloo Sunset
Dirty Harry
There is a comedy slot on BBC Radio 4 at 6:30 p.m. weekdays. One of the programmes is called "I've Never Seen Star Wars". In it the comedian, Marcus Brigstocke, talks to well-known people and encourages them to do something they've never done before, especially if every other Tom, Dick and Harry on the planet seems…Read more Dirty Harry
A Whisper …
Tuesday morning. Barney is almost here. This year the UK's Meteorological Office is naming the storms that hit us. Abigail, the first storm of the season, brought floods last week; Barney is now following in her wake. The forecasters have promised us strong winds and more heavy rain; there is likely to be some disruption to transport.…Read more A Whisper …
Imagine
As I write this the death toll from the jihadist attacks in Paris on Friday night stands at 129. Another 99 people are critically ill and 350 altogether were injured. As I read the news bulletins the following morning my first reaction was anger. Then came a deep sorrow: for those who lost their lives, for their…Read more Imagine
White Rabbit
Mrs. Crotchety and I were watching the news the other day. There was a piece about the holiday-makers stranded in Sharm el-Sheik after the recent plane crash in the Sinai. A rankled Englishman was complaining about the delay and lack of information. I noticed he was wearing a Hot Tuna T-shirt and remarked that there…Read more White Rabbit
Crotchety Man 