The pain hit me just as I tried to sit on the sand. The second one, more alarmingly, hit me as I tried to stand up, a wrenching tug on my left side that left me stunned. We – Trish, Sarah Jane, her fiancé Tadhg and I – were on a day out in Stanley, Hong Kong, a couple of weeks ago, part of a … Continue reading I travelled to Hong Kong and ended up in hospital
Your face is the first thing other people see when they meet you, which is why facial disfigurement is so devastating. It’s not just the physical difference that sets us apart, it’s also the psychological damage it causes us. That facial difference saps our confidence, fills us with fear, and if we cannot deal with it, limits our horizons. People point and stare when they … Continue reading An inspiring new Katie Piper show
How time flies when you’re having fun. A mere 32 years ago I married Trish, whom I had met for the first time a bare 10 months earlier. When you fall in love with someone you imagine somehow you’ll live happily ever afterwards. Life doesn’t work like that. We have been through some pain since then, but also a lot of joy. Quite a few … Continue reading Still in love after all these years
The ’70s and early ’80s were desperately bleak periods in my life, when I found it impossible to accept my facial disfigurement. I wanted to believe a girl could like me, could somehow see past my facial scars, but I wallowed in self-pity and fear. One of the things that helped keep me sane was a love of music, and because I didn’t drink or … Continue reading Songs in the key of life
This book-reading binge has to stop. Another 10 books so far this month and I’m about to finish no 11! You can check out the list and quick thoughts on them below, but first a little announcement… Trish and I are heading off to Asia for a quick tour. Our daughter is based in Hong Kong with her fiancée for the foreseeable future, so all … Continue reading Time to pack our bags and fly away
Another burst of book reading in February. Nine books! Of course I have been busy on other things, but from now on I’ll be slowing down a lot. My blog has been neglected for too long, so I’ll be writing more starting in March. Its amazing how time flies by. It’s 4.5 months since I left Teamwork? Hard to believe that at times. It was … Continue reading Books, books and more books
It’s the little things that keep a marriage together: the occasional bunch of flowers, YOU paying for a lunch or dinner (well, I am out of work), telling your partner she can have control of the TV because Man United aren’t playing tonight. Unfortunately, my ability to trip up occasionally (occasionally? I can hear her shriek) means trouble. Trish and I have been together almost … Continue reading How to save your marriage on the cheap
