Hello! My name is Jim, and I’m a tuba player – I even wrote a book called Travels With My Tuba! I have written a lot of short stories and some poems about my life; many about music, some not. I hope you enjoy them.
Bike Ride – Part 7 (Finale)
Wednesday 10 July: Dornoch to beyond Brora I wake up early with a plan. I will get cash from the local bank’s cash dispenser, then some food from the local bakery for my lunch. Hmm. The local bank doesn’t have a cashpoint, and the local bakery, though there are wonderful smells coming from it, doesn’t…
Bike Ride – Part 6
Monday 8 July: Glencoe to Dornoch Pouring with rain that looks, for once, as though it is here for the day. I put on my waterproof trousers and overshoes for the first time. Despite the rain I feel a sense of lightness. I realise that this is the first time I haven’t started my day…
Bike Ride – Part 5
Sunday 7 July: Kilmartin to Glencoe After breakfast I have a chat with the mother and daughters. They all love Scotland and feel unhappy about their president Reagan. Imagine how they must be feeling about their president in 2025! It’s raining, but once again stops before I set off – I am so lucky. Ride…
Bike Ride – Part 4
Saturday 6 July: Arran to Kilmartin I am woken up by the sound of rain lashing on the windows. It doesn’t just rain in Scotland, it lashes (especially on windows). I am relieved in a way, as there won’t be any chance of paragliding in this weather. I go to breakfast and am served by…
Bike Ride – Part 3
Friday 5 July: Stair Inn to Isle of Arran I am woken up by the sight of the sun shining through my bedroom window. Turn on the TV and am rather amused to see that it is pouring with rain at Wimbledon. Large cooked breakfast, a good ride to Irvine, then a cycle path to…
Bike Ride – Part 2
This is the second post in Jim’s “Bike Ride” series. If you’re new here, I’d recommend starting with Part 1! Thursday 4 July: Dumfries to Stair Inn I turn on the TV, but after a few government inanities, I turn it off and go for breakfast. I set off at 7am, then discover that I…
Bike Ride – Part 1
Introduction This bike ride is the second half of one I had planned from Land’s End to John O’Groats. I had ridden from Land’s End in Cornwall to Annan (the next town to Gretna Green in the Scottish Borders), then run out of time and had to go back to work. Our first child was…
Completion
Five minutes after we arrived at the hospital, he yelled his way into the world. My firstborn. The realisation – something had arrived in my life, that I had wanted forever. I gazed into his old, young face. ‘The child is the father of the man’. A piece of doggerel I had always thought-It had…
Cornwall
The boy and the woman are standing in the shallows holding hands, looking towards the beach. There is a large bay behind them, which is bordered by rocky cliffs. They are both looking at the camera. The boy has a beaming smile on his face, which is flushed with excitement; the woman is hunching her…
Barbirolli
My third gig with The Hallé orchestra was to play Berlioz’s wonderful ‘Fantastical Symphony’ in the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea. It was to be conducted by Sir John Barbirolli, the orchestra’s resident conductor. The hall was named after Swansea’s most famous artist, Sir Frank Brangwyn. He had obviously been very inspired by Gauguin; the walls of…
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Jim Anderson 