If you want to live by the clock don’t have babies or Beagles.

I work and live in tied accommodation in London. I don’t need a car day to day, no one does, the city’s transport is brilliant. But my home is in Devon and I’m a keen canoe/ boat paddler. Travelling outside London and moving boats around is a challenge without a car. I’ve been lucky, many of my friends have cars. Tracey is, like me, ex -army. Unlike me she’s a trained killer! Her close protection (bodyguard) duties in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan have left her with a habit of driving far enough from the car in front that should it stop and gunmen get out she’s able to evade, or turn the car as a barrier and return fire. It’s a bit frustrating in London watching other traffic fill the gap and Tracey dropping back to maintain extra safe distance, but I always felt safe as a passenger with her. Mouse is a former Traffic Cop in Devon and...

We  Were There but We Saw it First on CNN The warning came over the net; ‘Air Red, Air Red, take cover.’ Just that, in a clam clipped voice and in a calm clipped manner we made our way to the Munro Shelter. As I counted my Troop in, the Air Raid Siren sounded and I admit I felt some excitement, not fear, more of a thrill I was trained for this and I wanted to know how I’d get on. Once all were in I checked the CAM and NAIAD and looked about. Around 800 metres away the lights of the Dhahran International Hotel were topped by the brighter lights of CNN’s MNT on its roof, Tornado and F15 Aircraft were taking to the air all seemed normal and so it was; the all clear sounded and I told the Troop to leave the Shelter. Most of us slunk in to the Rest Room to check in owith the news. We had become News Junkies and CNN was the station of choice. Chuck Jago came on screen...

Pat Rowe and I headed for a windswept beach at Cromer, to get a feel for the appeal of the North Sea in November.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man – as well as on some inland waterways.