Jackscott

LATEST ARTICLES ( 1098 )

• Room With a View

  

  When we first waded ashore to the fabled isle of Ithaca, we stumbled upon a tumbledown wreck of a house, perched by the waterside and overlooking a... Read more

  Posted on 27 September 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Dwile Flonking

  

  A couple of summers ago, I wrote a tongue in cheek piece about Dwile flonking, a notorious East Anglian pub game involving two teams of twelve players, each... Read more

  Posted on 17 May 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Lest We Forget

  

  We joined the enthusiastic crowd of locals gathered on Church Plain in front of the Loddon War Memorial to celebrate the 80th anniversary of VE Day – the end... Read more

  Posted on 10 May 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Spuds, Spies and Something for the Weekend

  

  The renaissance of the iconic Battersea Power Station and its surroundings isn’t the only radical regeneration along the old Thameside rust belt. Read more

  Posted on 03 May 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Lift 109 – What a Ride!

  

  We like a spectacular view, and they don’t get much more spectacular than the view of old London Town from the top of one of the chimneys at Battersea Power... Read more

  Posted on 26 April 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• What Have I Done to Deserve This?

  

  I do get some weird and not so wonderful spam emails. We all do. It goes with the territory, I guess. Many are littered with schoolboy errors – sloppy... Read more

  Posted on 19 April 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Gay Paree, Ooh La La!

  

  We had a ball in Paris for our double anniversary. It was my first trip to the City of Light since 2003, and I’d almost forgotten just how drop-dead gorgeous... Read more

  Posted on 12 April 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Okay, You, One Sentence Should Do It

  

  Our double anniversary has sneaked up on us again – 19 years since our eyes met across a busy West End gay bar fit to bursting with a gossipy after-work crowd,... Read more

  Posted on 05 April 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• It’s a Fair Cop, Guv’nor

  

  As my regulars know, I love an old-fashioned whodunnit. I’m still grieving over the loss of Vera. I’ll get over it eventually, as the pain fades with time. Read more

  Posted on 29 March 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Nowt as Queer as Folk

  

  Ours is a quiet little village where little happens except for occasional (but mercifully rare) low-level anti-social behaviour – like bored teens on the wacky... Read more

  Posted on 22 March 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Flirty Birds and Pesky Pests

  

  Spring is springing, bulbs are sprouting, the sap is rising and mating season is in full swing. The dawn squawk is dominated by flirty birds in the mood for a... Read more

  Posted on 15 March 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Sometimes, Big Boys Do Cry

  

  We binge-watched the third and final series of Big Boys on Channel 4, having been hooked from the very first episode of series 1. Read more

  Posted on 08 March 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Bridget Jones – Like Catching Up With An Old Pal

  

  It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since Renee Zellweger first climbed into her big knickers and staggered across our screens as the hapless,... Read more

  Posted on 01 March 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Shrek – Everyone’s Pet Ogre

  

  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Drama and performance can really help young minds build important life skills. But make no mistake, it takes guts... Read more

  Posted on 22 February 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Another Game of Trumps

  

  Back in 2016, the people at Displaced Nation asked me and a few others about the election of Donald Trump. Now that MAGAmouth has his dainty little hands on... Read more

  Posted on 15 February 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Singin’ in the Rain – Making a Splash

  

  Neither I nor him indoors are that keen on classic Hollywood-style musicals. We tend to go for something a bit more contemporary. Read more

  Posted on 08 February 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Money with Menaces

  

  From time to time the odd genuine email drops into my spam folder by mistake, so I check it regularly. Spam-wise, I get targeted with a load of old crap. We... Read more

  Posted on 01 February 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Coughs and Sneezes Spread Diseases

  

  Despite having had both the COVID and flu jabs, from the end of November I’ve endured a never-ending stream of colds which have all merged into one long... Read more

  Posted on 20 January 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• Jack on Wiki

  

  Blimey, you could knock me down with a feather boa. I’ve made it onto Wikipedia. Ok, it’s only the cut-down, ‘Simple English’ version but it’s still Wiki... Read more

  Posted on 18 January 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION

• End of a Vera

  

  I am bereft. After 14 series over 13 years, we’ve just watched the final two episodes of Vera, featuring the dishevelled and irascible detective from the... Read more

  Posted on 11 January 2025 DIARIES, EXPAT, SELF EXPRESSION