Alastair Johnston

A Message for the New Year

It's a new year. Out with the old, in with the new. New possibilities. New opportunities. Hold the hounds of despair at bay. They do...

The Llangollen Santa Special

If you've never tasted a Welsh Oggie, imagine a better version of a Cornish Pasty, only filled with a variety of delicious fillings, this one...

Self portrait of the artist - aged nine and a half

This was all I needed to put into my journal on the day. When my son came home from his childminder, and showed me this,...

Sweetcorn

I couldn't hold out any longer. It is late September. Rats or squirrels have started to steal my precious treasure. If I leave things much...

Pay yourself first, in time

I’m currently reading the excellent Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman and came across the idea of 'Pay Yourself First', but applied to time. I...

Try to put down your phone

It’s good to put down your mobile phone Lawrie. As I write this the iPhone is king, a smartphone. You’ll probably have something that I...

How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy - Book Review

I really, really wanted to love How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy. I battled stoically through hundreds of pages, every so often finding...