2026 has been marked, so far, by a nasty virus. I haven’t coughed so much and for so long since my first bout of Covid in 2020. Nonetheless, I have been keeping up with my weekly Substack posts, where most of my writing finds a home these days. Each week I wonder if I have anything to write about; each week I somehow produce between 1000 and 1500 words. Some of my recent posts have been about revisiting my singles collection, from The Unplayables to Comedy and Novelty Records. I also wrote about Joe Wicks and Me, after discovering that the fitness guru went to the same primary school as me. The last of these prompted a welcome email from an old schoolfriend whom I haven’t seen since 1978.
The promotion of Learning to be Irish continues with an appearance at Faversham Literary Festival on 21 February, as part of The Poetry Hub. See Events for more details.
I am open to invitations from book groups and writers’ groups that invite guest speakers.
A belated happy new year to my readers. I hope that January finds you in better health than me!
