5 memorable flights

I didn’t take my first air flight until my mid 20s but I’d have to admit I’ve made up for it since. It’s not something I’m necessarily proud of but in my time I’ve held gold cards with three different airline groups (British Airways, KLM and SAS) and in more recent times I’ve done interim management jobs in Spain by effectively commuting weekly between Luton or Stansted and Barcelona.

Drink piss, screw women and drive fast cars

Parental advisory: this blog post contains no salacious comment. Despite the title.

Phil Judd second left; JDJ 4th left

I lived for two years in Jakarta, Indonesia when I was in my late 20s. After nearly four years working for Shell in London I joined Mobil Oil. This took me firstly to New York and then to Jakarta where I worked in a small ‘president’s office’. Mobil’s main operations were in North Sumatra.

5 pubs and bars I could call locals

The Old Quay House, Dock Road, Connah’s Quay, UK

If The Yacht wasn’t my local (click here to go to my previous post about The Yacht) then maybe the Old Quay House was. It was the closest pub to my home in Garthorpe Avenue in Connah’s Quay and I did drop in often when I was at home in the early 70s.

The Yacht in Oakenholt

You couldn’t really have called the Yacht in Oakenholt my local. Firstly because it wasn’t really local. It was in Flint which was 3 or 4 miles away from my home in Connah’s Quay which had at least 8 pubs of its own. And secondly because I didn’t go there that often because I was living away from home anyway. It’s just that I went there more often than I went to any other pub in the locality.

5 parties through my time

I’m not a great party goer, even less a party giver but there have been times when I’ve filled the latter role and it’s turned out rather well. They’re an eclectic mix and evoke multiple memories. It’s amazing what you remember when you set your mind to it. Sadly the photographic record is somewhat limited and even where there are photos they’re not as good as they might be.

and finally …

Every month I do a monthly report on my life as a county councillor. Rather sad I know but if you’ve got the job you need to do what goes with it.

My grandmother’s kitchen

I’m inclined to say I grew up in my grandfather’s house but it was of course also my grandmother’s and I lived there for most of the 1950s.

Going to the movies

Not something we can do at moment of course but that doesn’t stop me reminiscing.

My memories of going to the cinema, or to the flicks as we would have said in those days, began in the early 60s. As a teenager in I went to the local cinemas, every town had one, and, if you were impatient for the latest release there were the big chains: the ABC and the Odeon in Chester.

A lifetime of running (not)

I ran 4.5 km yesterday. No big deal you might rightfully think but it was a part of my progress towards a medium term goal of 5k in 35 minutes. But more about that later. In the meantime I’ve been thinking about my relationship with running from schooldays to the present.

I didn’t know my father

Well that’s not exactly true in that (a) I knew who he was, and (b) he was an active part of my life as I was growing up. But I guess that because my parents separated when I was only two years old and my mother ‘had custody’ as would be said these days and although I spent significant time including several holidays with him I didn’t and still don’t know very much about him.