A new function has mysteriously appeared on my phone which tells me how much screen time I have been using. It tells me how many times a day I pick the thing up and breaks down for me how many times I check Facebook or Twitter. And I am horrified. I am too embarrassed to… Read more »
Posts Categorized: HNM Column
Nuisance calls? For once I didn’t hang up…
For the last three years, maybe longer, I have been plagued with calls on my mobile asking for Jonathan Burrows. I have never heard of Jonathan Burrows, and Googling him didn’t given me many clues. The people who are phoning me are not looking for dance advice (one Jonathan Burrows is apparently a leading UK… Read more »
Overheard on the train.
I’m not one for eavesdropping but sometimes if just can’t be helped. On a train from the central belt back north this week – it couldn’t be helped, as much as I’d have loved to have remained oblivious to what was going on. Picture the scene – and if you’ve travelled by Scotrail in the… Read more »
Whaligoe: so much more than just a set of steps
I ticked off an item from my ‘Highland To Do’ list last week. It took me less than an hour, including hanging around to soak up the atmosphere; any longer and the damp would have started to seep through my boots. But even in the cold and the drizzle of last Thursday afternoon it didn’t… Read more »
Loss of a baby shouldn’t be suffered in silence
In a perfect world we wouldn’t need to have Baby Loss Awareness Week. But the world isn’t perfect. Baby Loss Awareness Week will be marked across the UK next week with over 40 charities coming together. It’s an opportunity to mark the lives of babies lost during or soon after pregnancy, and to raise awareness… Read more »
Wear your medal with pride.
Last weekend my Facebook feed was full of runners. On Saturday I saw their ‘one more sleep’ posts and their last requests for sponsorship. On Sunday morning I saw their ‘breakfast of champions’ posts. And on Sunday afternoon my feed was full of relieved smiley faces, finishers’ medals and messages of thanks. It could have… Read more »
An empty nest isn’t necessarily a sad one!
I officially have an empty nest, and not for the first time. With my daughters now in third and fourth year at Glasgow University, and Daughter No 1 having worked abroad before going to university, this is the fifth time I’ve done ‘the trip’. Believe me, it gets easier every time. It’s less a time… Read more »
Lack of consistency responsible for Serena’s outburst
At the weekend Serena Williams lost her cool and lost the US Open, and the fall-out has been significant. When her coach was seen to be sending her hand signals (a rule violation he admitted to, although it’s not clear whether Williams saw his gestures) she was warned for cheating. Williams smashed her racquet in… Read more »
Mark Beaumont, translating adventures into business advice.
I learned a new phrase the other day and it puts a lot of the exercise I do into perspective. ‘Type II Fun’ is the kind of stuff that hurts – really hurts – while you’re doing it, and you only start to enjoy it once it’s over. It’s stuff like a killer circuits class… Read more »
Is it time to finally ditch the booze?
Here we go again… we’re being told that alcohol is bad for us. Every week brings another sensational news headline telling us what we should or shouldn’t put in our bodies, should or shouldn’t do, and should or shouldn’t believe. And each new study seems to contradict the one before. But this report is a… Read more »