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Articles by William Byford

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About William Byford

A partner in an international firm of loss adjusters, William is a keen blogger and member of the internet community. More Posts

A brush with the medical profession

Currently billeted with my 90 year-old father at the coast, I was out yesterday afternoon and returning to base when I was called from his house by She Who Must Be Obeyed (‘SWMBO’). Where was I? As it happens, I was just passing the church – less than half a mile away and counting. Well, [...]

June 30, 2016 // 0 Comments

And so to the final straight …

Last night, staying with my aged father on the south coast, I tuned in to watch the BBC1’s Question Time EU Referendum live ‘Special’ at 6.45pm in which Prime Minister David Cameron stood on a studio podium and faced an audience of questioners under the stewardship of veteran presenter David [...]

June 20, 2016 // 0 Comments

As long as you’re still learning new things yourself …

They tell me that the saying “Life is what happens to you when you’re busy making other plans” comes from a John Lennon lyric – a line from Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy) from the former Beatle’s last album Double Fantasy in 1980 – but these days there are two principle means by which I [...]

May 29, 2016 // 0 Comments

A difficult expedition

This is a true story. On Wednesday afternoon I travelled to the south coast to stay overnight with my 90 year old father, this in advance of travelling yesterday to Fulham for the 10.30am funeral of one of his oldest pals – they had first met at school in 1939 and had been in pretty much regular [...]

April 29, 2016 // 0 Comments

Recalling memories from the past

Down at the coast, spending some time with my father, yesterday I came across an example of a common experience with elderly people, i.e. that their memory of recent events can be sketchy but their recall of events long ago pretty pin-sharp. My mother, who spent the last years of her life in a [...]

April 19, 2016 // 0 Comments

Out on the water

A couple of days ago I popped off to the south coast with my son Barry, who is in the UK on a brief visit. When he first arrived I put him on my car’s insurance, since when he’s been driving around the country in it, having medicals, and meeting up with business contacts and personal friends. [...]

April 14, 2016 // 0 Comments

Different worlds

My son Barry, a professional seaman, is currently back in the country for one of his rare visits – having his annual medical and catching up with friends and family before returning to Spain where he is based. We have been having some interesting conversations because he has an inquiring mind and [...]

April 11, 2016 // 0 Comments

Because it’s there (not because it pays)

Sometimes, when you’re casting around for something to blog about, you can receive a helping hand from a traditional media outlet or vehicle. Today this happened for me when I came upon a blog by Ros Barber that appears today upon the website of The Guardian, giving her opinion on the experience [...]

March 22, 2016 // 0 Comments

A flickering candle in the darkness

In the 21st Century – bombarded by media scare stories, examples of unequal treatment and strident opinion on ‘how things would be in a perfect world’ – we tend to take it as read that political correctness rules. It’s reached the point where traditionalists like myself (call us old [...]

March 1, 2016 // 0 Comments

It all comes to this in the end

Yesterday I sent an email to my brother, five and a half years my junior, about our theoretical plans for playing golf this year and was slightly taken aback when he replied saying that he hadn’t been enjoying the game for some time and had decided to stop playing it – well, save for making a [...]

February 6, 2016 // 0 Comments

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