The man from the Clapham Omnibus

I have sent a DVD slideshow of my 4000 mile trip around part of Washington State and Oregon to some friends I have also included the jpeg's on a separate disk To be honest I have sent them because I want to - not because they want them . Throughout my life my mother clipped newspapers occasionally photocopying items , and sent them to me and others . I have still got a few envelopes unread though she has been dead for years . I seem to be falling into the same behaviour . When my brother is visiting nearby I always make an effort to see him and get my wife to invite him for dinner . I organise my whole schedule to fit in with him . He rarely says thank you and does not appreciate my efforts at all . I have thought about it and have come to realise that I actually do it for myself . It makes me feel good about myself . It truly is better to give than to receive . We have an idea or vision of how we would like to be and enjoy working towards this . we may delude ourselves that thi...

When unexpected major events occur we sometimes have to take stock , step back and re-evaluate our lives . I am a man possibly with an old fashioned moral code living in the wrong century . Alternately I may be among the best able and equipped for the changes that may be about to occur . I actually try to live by the British Stiff upper lip best set out by Rudyard Kipling in his wold famous poem about manhood IF . I have highlighted the lines relevant to my current situation and will behave accordingly . IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, But make allowance for their doubting too; If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, Or being lied about, don't deal in lies, Or being hated, don't give way to hating, And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise: If you can dream - and not make dreams your master; If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim; If you can meet wi...

When I was 21 I would have died for my country - now as I approach fifty , my main concern is to die outside it's punitive tax regime . It's hit the fan ! The Devil is in the detail ! I got a shock on Tuesday when my solicitor told me over the phone that , after discussion with the senior partners , he was no longer going to work on my mothers inheritance tax . My first response was " had I done anything wrong " Now I fear that there is some problem in the detail of her and our actions and recording of them which may make a huge difference to out tax liability . The kind of sum we are talking about is the kind of money you make in a lifetime of employment . The kind of money that made the honest bankers of the past jump out of their windows . The kind of money that the bankers of today expect for their yearly bonuses . A lifetime ago my mother contacted a solicitor to get professional advice on reducing the future liability of her estate to inheritance tax . We as a...

I'm back in the old UK and can best describe my experiences in Washington and Oregon in this way . It was as if someone had told the people that Jon. Hinchliffe , a slightly eccentric Englishman was coming and they were to make a fuss of him and make him especially welcome and that whoever treated him best would receive a huge reward with lesser prizes to all . It really was that good . The first toilets at Gatwick after landing were good but the next had taps that you had to turn off manually . The knobs were dripping with something and the exit door handle was whet so I had to re-wash and get some paper to turn the taps and open the door . Got to Portsmouth and found the trolleys needed a pound coin . Went into the small railway station shop to ask for change - explaining that I only had notes and American money . "I can't give you change you will have to buy something ! " she said . " Welcome to the U.K. " I thought . Turned on my U.K. mobile - firs...