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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

Getting a grip

I called my father last night in order to discuss our arrangements for the remainder of the week. First, however, he wished to tell me about his expedition earlier in the day from the coast to central London in order to have lunch with an old friend – in both senses of the word – at an hotel in [...]

November 6, 2014 // 0 Comments

Taking control of the situation

Having been a bit of a tart in my youth – tending to sleep with any girl that would have me – I liked to think that in my maturity (viz. from the age of 25 onwards) I gradually grew up and became adult in my approach to relationships. In short, I became more discerning. Gradually this shift in [...]

October 29, 2014 // 0 Comments

A day at the coast

Earlier this year my elderly father joined a couple  in his village [I shall call them ‘A’ and ‘B’ hereafter] in taking half-shares in a second hand catamaran 25-foot motor cruiser capable – at a considerable pinch – of sleeping four maximum, complete with a cabin, galley and [...]

September 30, 2014 // 0 Comments

I suppose somebody has to do it

Last night – on a wide-ranging array of travels this week – I travelled out Oxford way to have dinner with my daughter and boyfriend who had not long returned from last weekend’s Singapore F1 Grand Prix. Having arrived with nearly two hours to kill because of a previous pub lunch engagement [...]

September 25, 2014 // 0 Comments

Progress report

Ocean-going seamanship is a heavily-regulated world which – with inevitable regional variations – is organised by innumerable rules, regulations and conventions, never mind peculiar national customs and other administrative systems. One group of helpful aids are the marine-specific [...]

September 16, 2014 // 0 Comments

Bon voyage

At some point this morning, probably not before 10.00am, my son Barry and his crew will be departing on board his super-yacht for a ten-day voyage to southern Portugal. They have been holed up in a Gosport marina for the past ten days awaiting a suitable weather ‘window of opportunity’ and [...]

September 14, 2014 // 0 Comments

The rewards of history

Currently my son Barry and his crew are still holed up in Gosport, waiting for both weather and orders. Yesterday he rang to mention that in the afternoon they were going to visit the new Mary Rose exhibition centre at the Historic Dockyard in Portsmouth and on a whim I drove over to join them. As [...]

September 9, 2014 // 0 Comments

An outing and a half

I spent yesterday as a member of a family group of nine on board a sailing super yacht. We arrived at a well-known south coast marina at 11.00am as directed and were taken out for a three-hour trip into the Solent which included lunch. The only orders we were given were to remove our shoes and not [...]

September 1, 2014 // 0 Comments

Reflections

One of the plusses of blogging is the freedom it affords. On any day of your choosing you can bequeath the world your musings upon either some great issue of global importance or, if the mood takes you, some petty detail of your personal life. The ability to make the arrogant assertion that [...]

July 15, 2014 // 0 Comments

Inconvenient truths

I’m confused. Are there any absolute facts in this world? Those with religious beliefs appear to think so, though of course it depends somewhat upon which set of religious beliefs they possess because – of the full range – so many of them are incompatible. I refer not just to the differences [...]

July 7, 2014 // 0 Comments

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