Category Archives: gone west

The Quiet Life – or a hell of a holiday by Robin Banks

Posted on November 19, 2019 by j futrell

I ought have known something was wrong when the guest I was expecting insisted on the telephone that I am a “nasty person”. The woman, her mother and partner, had flown down for a short break and wanted to … Continue reading →

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The last Port Eliot Festival?

Posted on July 30, 2019 by j futrell

I was surprised at how much I enjoyed what may easily be the very last Port Eliot Festival.There was a look and feel and smell amid and among the rolling grounds, woodland and elegant Port Eliot House and gardens … Continue reading →

Posted in gone west, media, travel, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

An Inconvenient Truth – the end of the high street just a click away

Posted on December 11, 2018 by j futrell

Don’t you ever think convenience is, well, getting out of hand. What began as convenient – tv dinners for those too rushed to peel the potatoes stepped up a level to embrace teas-mades and bread-makers. Then supermarkets to save the … Continue reading →

Posted in gone west, shopping, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

I remember monkey bottles, kangaroo tails, and Frank Ifield

Posted on November 28, 2018 by j futrell

I am fortunate to have worked through a period in journalism when the gifts, the perks – the freebies to apply the correct journalistic parlance – were worth having. My diary is housed within a handsome Papyrus leather book … Continue reading →

Posted in gone west, London, media, Seashores, travel, Uncategorized | 4 Comments

The Price Of Fame

Posted on July 3, 2018 by j futrell

It’s flattering to receive an exclusive invitation, especially one from a Michelin rated chef. It reaffirms one’s faith in elitism, that select order of hedonists that has has a lot of bad press recently for being too clever and influential … Continue reading →

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Vandals at work – the death of the bungalow

Posted on September 25, 2017 by j futrell

There soon won’t be any 1930s bungalows left. While conservation groups, local authorities and investors, watched closely by the likes of English Heritage, take pains to preserve ancient cottages as well as properties from the Victorian and Georgian eras anything … Continue reading →

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A good day for Tilly

Posted on September 4, 2017 by j futrell

Little Tilly will never know how close she came to never enjoying another beach walk. Today, September 4, 2017, was to have been the Staffordshire Bull Terrier’s last. No more runs on Harbour Cove with Asta, her jaws clenched ever … Continue reading →

Posted in Dogs, gone west, Seashores, Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Raise a glass to Gilbert, and Ronaldo

Posted on July 18, 2016 by j futrell

Watching the France versus Portugal final of the European Football Championships it occurred to me that my limited knowledge of that nation extends to fortified wine, pasteis de nata, and just one single person. I’ve travelled to the far west … Continue reading →

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Gone Awall

Posted on March 31, 2016 by j futrell

I have built a wall. Alright, not a very big wall, about six foot long, two feet high and 18 inch deep, but a wall nonetheless; requiring sand and cement, shuttering, a spirit level, a trowel and back breaking application. … Continue reading →

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The drinker I didn’t know

Posted on October 25, 2015 by j futrell

It’s quiet living by the sea. Alright, it can seem a bit like London Fields during the height of the summer season when the Camel Trail teams with cyclists and every doorstep and bench is occupied by someone eating a … Continue reading →

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