I hope everyone is having a pleasant Sunday? Please share a photo of something nice in the comments if you are. I often wish that people would post more online about decent cups of tea, or encounters with nature, or friends, than about philosophy or politics. Particularly on a Sunday. Leave a comment Social media […]
In my latest (publishable) dream I was standing on the quayside waiting for my ship to come in. I had been waiting for this ship for a very long time. As I caught a glimpse of it on the horizon, I received news that the ship had been infiltrated by treacherous rebels, and that we’d […]
I can only apologise for the recent radio silence, my friends. I’ve been a busy boy of late. It’s a bit of a shame that the cooler the stuff I do, the more NDAs and social media disclaimers I have to sign. I don’t think many of you have a spare $800M lying around that […]
It’s dim now, but what I remember most about that night was the physical pain. My mother woke me in the middle of the night in a state of total hysteria. ‘Get up, now! It’s Tony! He’s in the hospital! Get up, NOW!’ My left ear was in agony. It felt like it had been […]
Why does the whole world have to listen to America? Why is everyone supposed to care about this place, no matter where they live on earth? What is so important about this society? And can’t we just ignore them? Aren’t they just evil, selfish, bad, no-good merchants of death and inequality? The USA is a […]
Aloha to the illusion of history. I shouldn’t really be writing this. I’m meant to be writing a navigation training course for a client, for submission to the coastguard for approval next week. But I’m now becoming a person for whom the urge to write becomes a pressing question. No other activity can proceed until […]
Eternal Father, strong to save, Whose arm hath bound the restless wave, Who bids the mighty ocean deep, It’s own appointed limits keep; O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea. The Navy Hymn, William Whitting, 1860. Some went out on the sea in ships; they were merchants […]
Promotor Fidei, Punk. It has been one week since the anointing of King Charles III. King Charles the sausage-fingered. Sadly, William did not turn up in an Apache helicopter seeking trial by combat in a challenge to the throne, as I had hoped he might. The changing of robes, crowns and carriages was televised with […]
I’m back at sea. Well, I’m in Whitby now, demobilising from the aforementioned dive job in Bridlington Bay. No, we didn’t kill the Whale that washed ashore there this week. I think he committed suicide due to the cost of living crisis. I joined the ship offshore by Crew Transfer Vessel. After a 30-minute handover […]
I promised at least one reader of this stack a little bit of career advice a while ago. As I’ve spent the past week teaching five aspiring skippers their MCA Boat Master License this week, now seems like an appropriate time. I also had to drive the breadth of Scotland each morning and evening to […]