Blind darts player (thanks to the archives at Blind Veterans UK for the image)
A query landed on The Phraser, linked to a piece I wrote seven years ago about an organisation that supports blind veterans.
No, I thought when I read the question. Surely not.
Then I thought again. If I’ve learnt one thing it’s that you should never underestimate an old soldier.
Here’s the query:
The art of seeing – if it hadn’t been for this query about blind darts I wouldn’t have known there was such a thing.
Wheels within Wheels – The Making of a Traveller by Dervla Murphy
I bought this book a while back and then left it sitting in the bottom of a drawer. Bad idea. If there’s anyone who shouldn’t be shut away, it’s Dervla Murphy.
She flew out of the pages.
Seaview on the Isle of Wight
The sun shines, the island is brand new to us, and the day is ours…perfect for a wander. We decide to search for Priory Bay.
“Our favourite, not far, and you can probably get a cup of tea at the hotel there,” was the advice from a frequent visitor to the island.
So off we set, via the High Street and the purchase of a few supplies.
Frances Simpson – Kenyan watercolour artist
‘Interview’ is quite a grand word for what was really a snatch of questions, but I did manage a few. Here’s what I found.
Frances Simpson (known to many as Franny) has painted in watercolour for years, encouraged, she told me, by her husband’s wedding gift to her…a studio.
View of Kilimanjaro on the road to Taveta, near the Tanzanian border with Kenya
We knew Kilimanjaro was there – we’d glimpsed it behind the clouds many times – but the first time we met for real was the day we left.
The early morning was fresh as washing on the line, with the great volcano high in the blue above us all. It was stunning.
Zimbabwe – “Caged Bird” (also a poem by Maya Angelou)
I love Zimbabwe – I was born there, my father was born there, I went to school there, and I was married there. A few weeks ago I returned for a wedding.
It was a packed ten days. We stayed on a farm, we visited friends in Harare, and we spent three days in the Eastern Highlands.
Every step of the way weary Zimbabwe was courteous and kind.
Horse on guard duty in London
I am off travelling for a while so The Phraser will go quiet, but it should only be a couple of weeks before I’m bothering you again. In the meanwhile I thought I’d leave you under the watchful eyes of this excellent London horse.
Thanks for your company and all the best.
Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2019
I found this post back at the very beginning of The Phraser. It is a brief profile of a wonderful football club I was introduced to shortly after I restarted my writing life.
Update 2019: I hear that this club is still run by Eddie Leroux and Anita Russell on the Roehampton playing fields, and that it continues to thrive.
This article appeared in The New Londoners in 2012
Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2019
